UK Decision To Axe Fossil Fuels Vehicles Sparks Concern Over Power Grid Stability

As much as I LOVE the idea of a cleaner environment (i.e., better for our humans’ health and wellbeing), wishing things better does not make it so.

If a society wishes to transition from fossil fuels to “clean” electric energy, a number of things MUST be in place first… and they aren’t:

1) Reliable, cost-effective, and truly clean electrical power generation, in sufficient quantity, available when required, to supply the dramatically increased electrical demand. At this time, North America gets about 2/3 of its electrical power from burning stuff, ranging from coal and even garbage to relatively cleaner natural gas. Imagine your “clean EV” being powered by coal! As for nuclear generated electricity, anyone who has researched the history of nuclear incident clearly knows how expensive they are to build and run, how toxic their waste, and how dodgy their safety record truly is. This is not a North-American-exclusive problem.

2) A power grid that can reliably transport the additional electrical load from point of generation to where it is needed. This is not a North-American-exclusive problem.

3) Suitable electrical-powered replacements for energy consumers that current rely on fossil fuels. In North America, gasoline and diesel powered cars are a minor contributor compared to homes (heating and cooling, cooking) and industry. Just talk to someone in the Dakotas who heats their house with electricity versus natural gas, and you’ll quickly discover the “through the roof” electrical bills. This is not a North-American-exclusive problem.

Small European countries, where commutes are short and mass public transit (short haul and long distance) is already in place and of outstanding quality, are better candidates for getting rid of ICE passenger cars and going electric, though they still might be just marginally closer to making this happen as compared to the US.

Unfortunately, most of the United States and Canada were built on the “suburb and city” model, where people’s homes are in one location, and they work in a distant locale, and they must rely on personal transportation (i.e., “the car”) and a lengthy daily commute. Also, things are spread out much further geographically in North America. In the US, an hour-long drive to get somewhere is common, while in Europe, and hour-long drive might mean you’ve crossed two national borders.

@TheSteve:

"North America gets about 2/3 of its electrical power from burning stuff, ranging from coal and even garbage to relatively cleaner natural gas. Imagine your “clean EV” being powered by coal!"

Steve, like your diesel SUV, you keep spewing the same "half-true" stuff. It has been debunked times and again EVs are far more efficient than any existing ICE car - including the "well-to-wheel" stuff. The info is prominently available at DOE website - look up for yourself.

Are you looking for 100% clean energy ? zero-CO2 emission footprint ? If you look for Utopia, it's not here. If you are willing to reduce CO2 emission, then EV is your best chance at the moment.

HenryN: According to the info I'm seeing, EV's are "cleaner" than ICE, in *some* ways, depending on what and how you measure. You can look that up... you *can*, but you won't, because you already have your truth, so anything you don't believe is obviously a lie. Right? :-)