GM Going All Electric By 2035

[Kwon]

You have 11 posts and low reading comprehension.

Lol!

[Tapeworm]

that's if everything remains static, which is never does. Coal is trending down, as it has been the last 10 years while renewable sources are trending up

I've yet to see a convincing accounting of solar or wind which shows it produces more over its serviceable lifetime than the energy required to mine the materials, make it, transport it, and install it. Nevermind the batteries.

If such an accounting existed, it would be all we would hear about. A solar array can't produce enough energy to make another solat array. So in what sense is it sustainable?

I lean toward nuclear, even though mishaps are catastrophic. If they manage not to fuck up it's clean and bountiful.

[sync pulse]

I'd get it one piece at a time and it wouldn't cost me a dime.

Isn't this a Johnny Cash song?

[ThisisOverload]

Isn't this a Johnny Cash song?

Yup, glad someone caught that.

[Flexacon]

In reality this has nothing to do with going carbon neutral and pandering to lefties.

The tech required to make solar and wind energy viable (highly profitable) isn't very far off. Nuclear energy will also become sexy again. Battery technology has vastly improved and will continue to do so.

This isn't about going green, it's about the bottom line. They will be a far more profitable business by going electric as demand for petrol powered vehicles will dry up. It will just be something for enthusiasts, kinda like those who get off on steam engines.

[ThisisOverload]

In reality this has nothing to do with going carbon neutral and pandering to lefties.

The tech required to make solar and wind energy viable (highly profitable) isn't very far off. Nuclear energy will also become sexy again. Battery technology has vastly improved and will continue to do so.

This isn't about going green, it's about the bottom line. They will be a far more profitable business by going electric as demand for petrol powered vehicles will dry up. It will just be something for enthusiasts, kinda like those who get off on steam engines.

I used to work in Energy until a year ago; solar and wind farms are not even close to being "highly profitable". The only people making money off them are the Contractors that build them and maintain them.  Without incentives from the Government nobody would be building them right now. In the panhandle of Texas, it cost ~5 million to build, maintain and remove a single large turbine for it's life. This turbine will produce ~3.5 million in energy. Doesn't sound very profitable.

We built a large 300 acre solar array that produces 30 megawatts; this array was ~300 million to build and 500k a year to maintain. In 10 years it has not made a single dollar in profit.

We are still 20 years away from large scale profitability from these farms.

I'm fine with nuclear power, just need to find a better way to deal with the waste.

[Flexacon]

I used to work in Energy until a year ago; solar and wind farms are not even close to being "highly profitable". The only people making money off them are the Contractors that build them and maintain them.  Without incentives from the Government nobody would be building them right now. In the panhandle of Texas, it cost ~5 million to build, maintain and remove a single large turbine for it's life. This turbine will produce ~3.5 million in energy. Doesn't sound very profitable.

We built a large 300 acre solar array that produces 30 megawatts; this array was ~300 million to build and 500k a year to maintain. In 10 years it has not made a single dollar in profit.

We are still 20 years away from large scale profitability from these farms.

I'm fine with nuclear power, just need to find a better way to deal with the waste.

The problems and lack of profitability you mention focuses on old/current tech. New tech will optimize the process, produce higher yields and storage will be less of an issue.

Try watching a 4k video on a 10 yearold laptop and you'll see it isn't up to the job. That's basically the stage we're currently at with renewable energy sources. It's not up to the job, but it's not a matter of if it ever will, it's when.

[Humble Narcissist]

How long does it take to recharge one of these cars?  Seems like it would be a nightmare taking a cross country road trip.

[ThisisOverload]

The problems and lack of profitability you mention focuses on old/current tech. New tech will optimize the process, produce higher yields and storage will be less of an issue.

Try watching a 4k video on a 10 yearold laptop and you'll see it isn't up to the job. That's basically the stage we're currently at with renewable energy sources. It's not up to the job, but it's not a matter of if it ever will, it's when.

That's true. At this time the new tech has not been scaled up. It's just going to take time, but like you said we are a long way away from having the infrastructure to support it anyway. Which is why i believe we are a good 20 years away from being about to harness it properly.

[Primemuscle]

How long does it take to recharge one of these cars?  Seems like it would be a nightmare taking a cross country road trip.

A Tesla Model S can go up to 520 miles on a fully charged battery. This model Tesla has a 120 MPGe in the city. An electric motor doesn't waste energy idling. Electric cars use regenerative braking to recover energy typically wasted in braking.

It takes 6 to 9 hours at 220 volts to recharge it. It costs $0.03 per mile to operate. If gasoline runs $2.60 a gal. a vehicle that averages 28 MPG cost $0.09 per mile to operate. Whereas a gas engine uses less fuel on the highway, an electric engine is more efficient in city driving.

Taking a 600 mile road trip in an electric car adds 30% to the time it would take in a gas engine vehicle. Therefore, and 8 hour trip will take 11 hours in an electric car. This means that it would take almost 15 hours longer to drive from NY to California.

[Humble Narcissist]

A Tesla Model S can go up to 520 miles on a fully charged battery. This model Tesla has a 120 MPGe in the city. An electric motor doesn't waste energy idling. Electric cars use regenerative braking to recover energy typically wasted in braking.

It takes 6 to 9 hours at 220 volts to recharge it. It costs $0.03 per mile to operate. If gasoline runs $2.60 a gal. a vehicle that averages 28 MPG cost $0.09 per mile to operate. Whereas a gas engine uses less fuel on the highway, an electric engine is more efficient in city driving.

Taking a 600 mile road trip in an electric car adds 30% to the time it would take in a gas engine vehicle. Therefore, and 8 hour trip will take 11 hours in an electric car. This means that it would take almost 15 hours longer to drive from NY to California.

I don't think most people are aware of this.  For people who love to make good time they will be very disappointed.