This lack of additional generating capacity need is partly why a Really Good Battery would have such a dramatic effect on society. You create electric cars that run much cheaper per mile without much need for additional fossil fuel generator use. Indeed, I think that such a device would encourage an explosion of alternative development that would quickly challenge utilities fossil fuel use. In their late night nightmares, I suspect that Arab nations fear such a development, as some of them take a long term view , such as the Saudis.
-----Original Message----- From: Michel Jullian [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 5:17 PM To: vortex-l@eskimo.com Subject: Re: Simple comparison electric car versus gasoline Jed you made an excellent point here, as amazing as it may seem no additional generator capacity would be needed (if your maths are right which they seem to be). Michel ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jed Rothwell" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <vortex-L@eskimo.com> Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 10:28 PM Subject: Re: Simple comparison electric car versus gasoline > Horace Heffner wrote: > >>We may get away with that for a while, but sooner or later the states have >>to find a way to pay for the road maintenance currently paid for by gas >>taxes. Meanwhile, the lack of road taxes on electricity is a great and >>automatic incentive. > > I had not thought of that. However, the Federal road maintenance highway > tax is only $.18 per gallon, or 0.8 cents per mile for the average car. > You could replace it with a mileage tax based on the odometer reading, or > a simple flat fee per vehicle. > > >>The above map only shows current electric prices, not the incremental >>cost of new electricity. It reflects much old capital invested in >>dams, etc. > > New electricity from wind power or large-scale solar in the Southwest is > presently expensive but if it is developed on a large scale it will soon > become dramatically cheaper. > > >>As vehicles are converted from petroleum to electric power the incremental >>demand will cause new the electric rates to come more closely in line >>nation wide. > > Actually, electric vehicles use such a small amount of electricity, I > doubt that any additional generator capacity will be needed. Some > additional fuel will be burned and fissioned, of course. Here is 2001 data > from the Annual Energy Review 2002: > > Average annual mileage (miles per vehicle): 11,766 > Miles per day: 32 > Electric vehicle consumption per mile: 0.3 to 0.5 kWh (Wikipedia) > Electric energy per day: 16 kWh > > In other words, recharging a car would be like plugging in a 1.5 kW > electric room heater for just over 10 hours. If every US household did > this from 9:00 p.m. until the next morning, it would put no strain on our > generating capacity. It would be a problem with everyone did it at 3 p.m. > a summer afternoon, but not at night. In many houses you could probably > turn off a half-dozen lights and a television to save most of this power. > If the car dealerships and grocery stores a few miles from my house would > turn off half the lights they leave burning all night, they would save > enough electricity to power every car in the County! > > - Jed > >
