166
US to announce sharply lower vehicle fuel economy requirements (www.reuters.com)
submitted 1 day ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
74 comments fedilink hide all child comments
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[+] -18 points 1 day ago (8 children)

Serious question. What happens when the electric grid can no longer support everything, and starts either Browning or blacking out entire city blocks? I've seen the numbers, and the EVs are incredible in a lot of ways, but the pull on the grid if every household has an EV is also incredible. Also, supply economics will play a roll eventually, and just like petrol, which used to be 50p/L, electricity costs will rise as demand rises. We need a renewable energy EV. I agree with you, though, that EVs are better in almost every way. Just the grid isn't ready.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 16 child comments
    •
  • [–] 22 points 1 day ago (3 children)

    This is a deadly ignorant take. If every home has 2 EVs to charge, it won’t make enough of a difference to matter. It’s like leaving on extra lights. Residential solar panels are cheap and only getting cheaper.

    Meanwhile, data centers have to build diesel turbines because the grid can’t handle their massive draw. But by all means blame the EVs.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 6 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago

    But isn't a residential grid just another form of socialism?

    Is it really worth the investment from government?

    Obviously depends on where you live, but factor in climate change and ever increasing demand with decades on neglect...

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 0 points 1 day ago* (2 children)

    I am worried about the future of fuel taxes at the state and federal level here in the United States. It inevitable that gasoline and diesel taxes will drop if we convert to EV. How will governments recoup this tax reduction?

    Edit: This isn't a criticism of EVs. I'm genuinely curious if this is being considered.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 3 points 1 day ago

    The plan in the UK is to start charging road tax for EVs per-mile, though there's ongoing discussions about how that will work in practise it'll probably be based on the mileage recorded during the vehicle's annual safety checks ("MOT Test"). This seems reasonable enough to me since ICE vehicles essentially pay per-mile based on the amount of fuel the owners buy.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 6 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Something like 40% of our electricty in the UK is from renewables - on some days it's 100%! There are days where we're having to pay wind farms to NOT generate electricity as we already have an oversupply. I honestly don't see energy supply as a bottleneck for EV uptake.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    I'm not commenting to dogpile on you, I think the others have explained why the grid is less of a concern than you might think.

    Just wanted to add that we charge ours primarily using excess solar from our home panels, which is an option through our system management tool. It takes longer, but it means even less grid dependency (and virtually "free" vs paying for electricity, which you're right, will go up in price... though largely due to data centers now, not EVs).

    I won't be surprised if this becomes the norm for EV drivers in the future, as a kWh in the "tank" is worth more than one backfed into the grid. More responsible use for extra power not immediately used.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 4 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 18 hours ago* (1 child)

    we charge ours primarily using excess solar from our home panels

    This is excellent! It is cost prohibitive where I am, but I guess if one can afford an EV, theoretically, they can afford a solar charger for it. I don't think it will catch on fast enough everywhere, but I like this.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 40 minutes ago

    We did our solar panels first, to help address our home's energy use (our electricity company is a monopoly and keeps charging more year after year). Plus we liked the idea of being green and energy independent, the vehicle is a newer addition to the setup.

    Not sure where you are, but even if you can't do solar now, you might be able to do plug-in solar soon! Super popular in some countries already, and coming quickly (hopefully) to the States. And even if you can't do a four wheel passenger EV, e-bikes are a great choice for traveling on the power of the sun.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 4 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Yeah, I'm just nearing the end of my first year with solar, and I know the best thing I can do is use every drop of the energy I get. The power company pays me something like a quarter to a third of what I pay them per kwh.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago

    100%, though I'm thankful to have net metering at all, as I know it's not available in some areas! Building up some credit to use in the less sunny months is nice, helps offset potential days when production doesn't exceed consumption.

    Congrats on going solar!

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 4 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Charging at home isn't a major issue for the grid IMO, it will be fairly predictable en masse.

    Those 1500 kW quick chargers taking the electricity consumption of a small town and putting it into one car for a few minutes will be an issue when many cars happen to be charged at once. It's coming in future Chinese EVs, but requires compatible chargers of course

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 1 point 18 hours ago*

    The quick chargers are where my concerns lie. If every EV stays with that standard plug-it-for-8-hours charger, my question is negated. But that's not what's going to happen, I don't think most grids are ready for that level of mass adoption. I think they can get there with offloading (one commenter said solar chargers for EVs), but we're not all there yet. The revolution implied here will cripple the grid in the short term. Similar to what those "ai" datacenters are doing now, but on a larger scale and in a way that can't be similarly regulated or limited. EVs are the future for sure, but we need to be ready to charge them in every home, and we're not.

    And to clarify, I'm not (and wasn't in my original comment) suggesting Evs should be stopped or that they're bad. Only that we must be ready to support them.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent