Featured This Was the Year That Electric Vehicles Took Off

i think it's a nice pace that won't outstrip the grid.

but maybe if we did put more pressure on the grid, politicians might finally agree to make swifter upgrades.
or, it might force more nuclear, which i'm not a fan of

 

Norway seems to be moving in the right direction at a pretty good rate. Hitting record, electric cars sales in Norway near 80% in 2022 | Reuters

 

if you have the clean energy supply and grid to support it, it's a great way to go. we don't yet

 

I personally marked the turn when the rental car companies announced significant (huge) purchases of EV's.

 

Maybe something to do with cheap always on hydro?

 

The government also put a lot of backing into them. Clean power doesn't matter if people won't buy them.

 

And, people can't buy them if they're not available. So, of course there's that too.

 

I would not couple them. An EV in coal country, West Virginia, is still cheaper to operate than an ICE.

Bob Wilson

 

If cheap is the criteria, government intervention is unnecessary

 

Isn't coal in WV cheaper than solar or wind? Yeah, dirtier, but cheaper.

Some years ago, I thought about converting our wood-burning stove to a coal-burning stove. Why... because bags of anthracite coal was cheaper than a cord of wood. And it was easier to handle, burns longer, burns hotter, and produces less smoke. There was nothing bad about coal-burning stoves aside from being a fossil fuel. It was a viable option back then... maybe not now, though.

 

Well if the government throws trillions of dollars at something, it's bound to "take off!" But are the initiatives practical and will they survive in a capitalist market? (Does anybody remember Solyndra?)
EV's are not cheap and the majority of people cannot afford $66,000 for one (that's the average cost). What's a youngster supposed to buy for a used vehicle if there are no "beater" cars available? Who's going to spend $40,000 for an 8-year old EV when the battery life left is questionable and replacements could be $10,000 or more?
It's a complicated subject and will interesting to see how it plays out. I think with gas prices remaining high we'll see new lines of smaller, fuel efficient and affordable 2-4 cylinder ICE vehicles that only cost just under $20,000 making a huge comeback like in the early 80's. People don't want two mortgages (one for a house and one for a car).

 

That’s why we have the semi free market.
Government has control of the rudder, but the rudder is very small

When hybrids first came out, they got a government subsidy, and look where we are 20+ years later

 

Well, there was also the mercury, and other heavy metals and radioactive isotopes settling on your property.

 

if 'cheap' is all you're looking for, it's a non issue

 

Early in the 2000's I had a wood/coal burning fireplace in my attached garage that I switched to mostly coal. Coal was really cheap, plentiful, and we had a local coal seller. I would take my truck there, weigh it, load the coal with a shovel into the bed of my truck and cart it back home. Chose only chestnut coal because it was harder and burned longer. Kept the garage a balmy 80º even in the coldest weather and we would keep the door open to the garage. I think the roughly 1/2 ton of coal I got cost me $80. Put it in an old wooden box that a bunch of plow parts came in. The coal fire lasted for 3 days once I got it started on a single 3 shovel load and there was never any smoke. The coal lasted the entire winter. All the coal stores went out of business, not because of government policy but because fracking made natural gas and oil much cheaper and plentiful. Technology improved NG furnaces dramatically to the 98% efficiency one that I installed and still have. Coal just got more expensive and they lost their biggest customers, electrical generation plants, to NG.