On 30/11/2020 12:19, NY wrote:
By 2030, will we have the generating capacity to supply the extra energy
that electric cars will use - and to do so in several peaks during the
day (when everyone gets home in the evening, when everyone gets to work
in the morning)?

Indeterminate. Consider the salient issues
1/. Will we have an economy able to sustain multi billion year on year
investment in infrastructure? If the answer is windmills, we most
certainly will not have...
2/. If the answer is nuclear power, once again will we have the cash to
invest in that AND a massive grid upgrade?
3/. If we are overwhelmed by fast breeder immigrants, would they even
care enough to let it happen?

The conservative approach is to let things develop naturally adding in
capacity as it becomes needed without second guessing where it will all
end up, but with contingency plans to deal with reasonable possible
variations.

The current total energy consumption of the nation equates to around
300GW. Now that doesn't directly equate to electrical needs since e.g. a
BEV is 90% efficient whereas a diesel today is at best 40%, and electric
cars can have regen braking to further improve MpKwh.

Obviously if you are generating electricity from carbon based fuel at
55% efficiency then its not much less carbon emitting...but if we shift
to nuclear power where efficiency is not a huge issue, due to the cheap
cost of uranium, then we can say that in terms of transport we will need
perhaps half the energy in kwh as in the fuel we put in the tanks.

So perhaps the lower limit on grid uplift is only 150GW - which is when
closure of coal is considered something like a 3:1 increase in the grid
capacity.

The last time I looked at government policy, it was something like 75GW
nuclear and 75GW of windmills and solar panels. I don't think that is
enough and mixing windmills with nukes is pointless anyway.

So it all depends how much longer the renewable fraud continues.

And if that goes down die to force majeure pist COVID, then its
reasonable to suppose that so to will legislated for BEVs.

I hope, with a little confidence, that in fact COVID 19 and Brexit will
break the spine of the post consumer cabal that seeks to impose
totalitarianism by stealth, getting us to sign away freedoms for fear of
whatever it is they have dreamed up this time.

A rational policy would be to clear the way for massive nuclear
expansion by rewriting the rules needed to deploy it, defund
'renewables' and allow fracking.

BEVS would then penetrate the market as when when users found them a
better choice than fuel cars.,


Most house supplies can probably cope with the
increased current - even with a car charger, a cooker, a tumble drier
and an electric fire, you're probably within the 60 A (or 80 A) limit of
the "company fuse".

Or 100A..

But add together all the extra power from all the
houses, and you may start to overload HV distribution lines or
generating capacity. OK, car charging can be staggered so some cars
charge as soon as they are plugged in and some charge as late as they
can manage while still being complete by the time you set off. But the
longer the range, the longer the charging time and so the less leeway
there will be to stagger the charging.

Of course. We know this. We are not art students. But in fact a longer
range helps. recharging can be scheduled into when its convenient, not
when the damned thing is totally flat.




--
"I guess a rattlesnake ain't risponsible fer bein' a rattlesnake, but ah
puts mah heel on um jess the same if'n I catches him around mah chillun".