Winnebago Electric Motorhome on a F-53 chassis

Rick Jay wrote:
This has been an interesting thread to read, both Pro & Con. Thank for the entertainment.

As a self-proclaimed pragmatist, this is the problem I see. If EVERY passenger vehicle and RV/Truck on the road today would be replaced, free of charge, with an electric vehicle, commerce in this country would STOP. Why? The electrical distribution infrastructure is not there to supply that much electricity. Even if just a small portion of all vehicles could be replaced, we'd be in a lot of trouble.

It doesn't matter if the perfect electric vehicle technology (1,000 mile range/10 minute recharge) is available IF there's no way to charge them.

It seems all of the government funds are going into EV research and "green energy" alternatives. But solar & wind power can't even supply a significant portion of the demand we have now, let alone when millions of EVs are running around.

And even if we COULD create the needed energy with solar & wind, HOW is it going to get distributed to where it's needed? The current electrical grid is incapable of doing so. And utilities, as regulated bodies, are limited as to how much they can increase their rates, so that limits them as to how many dollars they can spend on improvements to their infrastructure. It's a catch-22 situation.

The utility infrastructure in many parts of this country, electric & natural gas specifically, is very old and in need of major overhaul. We had a very serious natural gas incident here in Massachusetts earlier this year, partly blamed on the old gas pipelines and equipment.

Money needs to be spent to fix this, but it's not as "glamorous" as a shiny new EV or a field of photovoltaic panels, so it's easy to sway the politicians to support the new technology, and just keep letting the utilities patch the old infrastructure piece-meal. There are technologies which COULD provide the electricity needed (more nuclear and fossil fuel plants) but those aren't the "popular" options now. Their construction is so riddled with government regulations, it takes forever to get them approved and built, IF they get approved.

The generation of and the pipelines to get the electrons to the vehicles have to be modernized. Until that happens as a concerted, NATIONAL effort, this technology will have very limited appeal. What will be the appeal of buying a $100,000 vehicle when you have to make the decision each hot summer's night to either turn on your home's Air Conditioner or recharge your vehicle so you can get to work?

As an Electrical Engineer (>35 years...dang....I'm getting old too! LOL), I'm fascinated by the technology that is before us. But as a pragmatist, the technology has to be able to "fit" into the societal infrastructure(s) we have. Or, we have to be prepared to invest huge amounts of money to change those infrastructures to accommodate the new technology. I don't see many signs of this occurring, so that casts serious shadows over widespread implementation of EV use.

As an aside, off-topic, sort of parallel topic to ponder...can you imagine if the internal combustion engines were just now under development and the developers were trying to approve them for street use? I envision conversations such as this: "What do they use for fuel?" Gasoline. "Never heard of it, is it dangerous?" Hell yeah, very explosive. "OK, How are you going to get it to these vehicles?" Oh, that's easy. We're going to build a distribution network from refineries, to depots and then transport them by over-the-road trucks to stations on street-corners around the country, and they're going to store thousands of gallons of this stuff in underground tanks!. "DENIED!!!" LOL, it would never happen. Fortunately, we developed that technology back in a time that was far less regulation driven. But the EVs are, to some extent, facing a similar uphill battle. They NEED a new electrical distribution infrastructure.

Good thread, though. Very thought provoking.

Happy New Year to All!!!

~Rick

Very well put...thank you Rick. As the "older" EE here I agree with everything you point out. I get into many discussions with my friends and neighbors regarding solar and wind power, and most really think we can replace all of the fossil fuel and Nuke plants with the above easy-peasy. I hate to burst their bubble, but when I explain how many panels they would need to run their home, PLUS the batteries for night and very cloudy weather they begin to understand. I hope one day we do get there, but, independent of the oil and gas lobby, we are still 10-20 years off at least....Happy New Year!!

Al