Battery based electric vehicles of today and tomorrow.

[buckeyefarmer]

His life work is meaningful only when the BMW owner uses the turn signal?

They never get used.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

This electric motorcycle brand sold out in just 2 hours, netting $7 million

This EV could be usable in many parts of the world.

 

[airbiscuit]

93 miles range
238 lbs
At $1,200, I might even want one.

 

[Grumpycat]

The more I think about it if we go solar one day I'm not sure I want to tie into the grid with the system.

Today you can only get 1.5¢/kWh from TVA for your generated PV power. When Congress passed a law mandating utilities provide gridtie for PV power they set the minimum to be the "audited incremental cost of generation". This is a genuinely fair price. The utility should not have to pay you more for a kWh than they themselves can generate. It doesn't pay for the construction of the generating plant, it only pays for the fuel, labor, and maintenance of having to generate 1 more kWh than not generating the 1 kWh.

Alabama Power has bastardized the Congressional act to the point there is almost no PV installations in the southern 4/5ths of Alabama. Charges the homeowner $5/month per kW of peak PV generating capacity.

Alabama Power fees on solar challenged

The Alabama Public Service Commission will hold a Nov. 21 hearing on a challenge to the fees charged by Alabama Power.

www.al.com

Newer information details the price Alabama Power pays for generated power but makes no mention of the above monthly fee. With perfect weather one has to be paid at least 3¢/kWh to break even on the $5/kWh fee. Assume full output for 5 hours/day for 30 days.

https://www.alabamapower.com/content/dam/alabamapower/Rates/PAE.pdf

To PV off-grid one must amortize the cost of battery storage. Batteries wear and must eventually be replaced. The cost of battery wear storing electricity is greater than the incremental cost to generate using traditional coal or nuclear means.

10-15 years ago the same intellectual doofuses who convinced leftist PSC Czars to impose "net metering" parity gridtie on utilities also theorized they had jurisdiction over your EV battery to commandeer for "load shedding". That they should be allowed to freely use your EV for temporary storage. Fortunately that got nixed.

Today the rolling blackouts in Texas and California are due to many mistakes and total lack of understanding of commerce and economics. They think their wishes will magically work if the opponents are silenced. With net metering parity pricing there is no benefit to having one's own energy storage. Quite the contrary, storage is a penalty because you can "store" in the grid for free. Sell your power to the utility for the same price you can buy it back tonight. The utility gets nothing for the cost of building the grid or maintaining the grid. They get nothing to pay the interest on capital, nothing to pay for the generating plants.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Today you can only get 1.5¢/kWh from TVA for your generated PV power. When Congress passed a law mandating utilities provide gridtie for PV power they set the minimum to be the "audited incremental cost of generation". This is a genuinely fair price. The utility should not have to pay you more for a kWh than they themselves can generate. It doesn't pay for the construction of the generating plant, it only pays for the fuel, labor, and maintenance of having to generate 1 more kWh than not generating the 1 kWh.

Alabama Power has bastardized the Congressional act to the point there is almost no PV installations in the southern 4/5ths of Alabama. Charges the homeowner $5/month per kW of peak PV generating capacity.

Alabama Power fees on solar challenged

The Alabama Public Service Commission will hold a Nov. 21 hearing on a challenge to the fees charged by Alabama Power.

www.al.com

Newer information details the price Alabama Power pays for generated power but makes no mention of the above monthly fee. With perfect weather one has to be paid at least 3¢/kWh to break even on the $5/kWh fee. Assume full output for 5 hours/day for 30 days.

https://www.alabamapower.com/content/dam/alabamapower/Rates/PAE.pdf

To PV off-grid one must amortize the cost of battery storage. Batteries wear and must eventually be replaced. The cost of battery wear storing electricity is greater than the incremental cost to generate using traditional coal or nuclear means.

10-15 years ago the same intellectual doofuses who convinced leftist PSC Czars to impose "net metering" parity gridtie on utilities also theorized they had jurisdiction over your EV battery to commandeer for "load shedding". That they should be allowed to freely use your EV for temporary storage. Fortunately that got nixed.

Today the rolling blackouts in Texas and California are due to many mistakes and total lack of understanding of commerce and economics. They think their wishes will magically work if the opponents are silenced. With net metering parity pricing there is no benefit to having one's own energy storage. Quite the contrary, storage is a penalty because you can "store" in the grid for free. Sell your power to the utility for the same price you can buy it back tonight. The utility gets nothing for the cost of building the grid or maintaining the grid. They get nothing to pay the interest on capital, nothing to pay for the generating plants.

A few months ago I had two guys that was out replacing a security lamp that quit burning. They were not pro on home owners selling power back to the grid. What I'm talking about would not be cost-effective but it would just make sure that I could charge an EV even if the grid was down and maybe just quit using the grid for everything depending how much money I put into the system.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I had not realized how much work had been put into electric planes.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Falling renewables costs undercut new and some existing coal plants - study

Coal is going away in time because most people can count. Most people will start buying EVs because they can count.

What Sam Walton did to lower our cost of goods Elon Musk is doing for the cost of transportation and energy.

Today a Tesla Model Y sells for about $3K more than a similarly equipped Model 3. The cost to produce a Model Y in TX is to cost $10K less than to produce the same trimmed Model 3 in CA today.

Just the new rear Giga casting for the Model Y reduces the parts count by 370 pieces.

Just as car makers are dropping the gas engine for the better and less expensive electric motor since Tesla showed them how to do it. They will move to the Giga Castings frames technology just like other rocket makers will start landing and reusing first stage rockets.

People will be buying EVs because they can count. People will be using renewable energy not to Save the Planet but to Save a Buck because people can COUNT.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

 

[Gale Hawkins]

New microinverter from the US

Could be one Renewables option.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Harley-Davidson CEO: 'The future is electric' ahead of new motorcycle launch

Another OEM makes the commitment.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I never thought about making cement energy requirements.

Hydrogen could meet much of our energy needs today being supplied by fossil fuels.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Saw a Tesla getting less than 10 mpg today, riding on a rollback.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Saw a Tesla getting less than 10 mpg today, riding on a rollback.

Just wait until that rollback is powered by hydrogen.

 

[lman]

Just wait until that rollback is powered by hydrogen.

I won't live that long.

 

[sd455dan]

This electric motorcycle brand sold out in just 2 hours, netting $7 million

This EV could be usable in many parts of the world.

Something screwy with the US price equivalent of $1200

The e bikes my son has built have all cost at least that much or more in just parts.
And are only 2000 watt continuous and 30-45 amp hour at similar Voltage.

There must be some significant type of Government Subsidy involved with the bike having over 200lb of materials in it.

 

[kenmbz]

The article does say they are getting massive gov subsidies to make the bike.
If you are riding a revolt bike badly, is that called revolting (sorry I have a thing for poorly named products and companies).
I see it plugs into a wall outlet, which does make it pretty viable for 3rd world usage.

 

[sd455dan]

The article does say they are getting massive gov subsidies to make the bike.
If you are riding a revolt bike badly, is that called revolting (sorry I have a thing for poorly named products and companies).
I see it plugs into a wall outlet, which does make it pretty viable for 3rd world usage.

The plug into 120VAC is easy, all of the bikes my son has built have on board charging. Just need a wall outlet and maybe an extension cord.
Pretty sure on board charging will be a standard included item on all ebikes

 

[Gale Hawkins]

Cyclist killed after car crosses lanes of traffic in Washoe Valley crash

This had to hit Tesla and SpaceX very hard. That was JB Sraubel's wife. He was behind the success of Tesla's battery pack and now is into lithium battery recycling.

Lane keeping technology could have prevented this needless death of a 38-year-old woman.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

I would like to see welding supply stores encourage each customer to offer EV charging, in cases where it would be convenient. Maybe just a 240v outlet on the outside of the building. Any shop that includes welding in the services they offer would have the heavy wiring, and some might make this service a sideline. The welding supply stores could make a little money on this new line of products.

Also - remote ranches might make this a sideline when there are no other public chargers for miles around. US-395 down the Eastern (desert) edge of California has nothing for many miles. After reading that, it occurred to me that pulling into one of the remote ranches near the highway might be the only alternative to a very expensive flatbed tow.

In both cases - welding shops and remote ranches - listing their service on the public lists of chargers that EV owners refer to, might be a new revenue opportunity.

Think outside the box ....

I put together a 50', 50a. 240v. extension cord for my welder. It was way cheaper than buying another 50' of welding lead.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I never thought about making cement energy requirements.

Hydrogen could meet much of our energy needs today being supplied by fossil fuels.

This is the same technology being built to drive a solar/steam powered generator. They built a temporary factory on site to save on shipping.