westernrvparkowner wrote:
Doubling will not and cannot continue. Just like you can double your savings every day for a limited time if you start at a dime, the math quickly catches up with you. As you say, do the math. You can't go a month doubling your saving every day starting with a dime, it gets into the millions of dollars. The low hanging fruit (the first dimes) are pretty much going to be picked quickly.
Much easier to rely on solar panels in Southern California, than it is in Montana where there is snow cover and overcast skies 6 months out of the year. While solar may in fact be able to provide power for a single family home in San Diego, it isn't going to serve a high rise apartment complex in Boston.
A two or three hundred mile range on a small electric car is fine for commuting 10 miles to work, but it doesn't help when I need a truck to take a 200 mile round trip hauling a couple of thousand pounds of material. On top of that, those ranges that electric vehicles can obtain diminish quickly when you factor in mountain climbs, sub zero temperatures and the need for heat.
Doubling your money can actually go on much longer when you have others contributing. Yes the people involved today is small and as participation grows the doubling can continue much longer. Yes there are natural limits as the goal is within reach.
Yes I do wonder about the effect on industry when the south and especially the south-west is more easily able to capture the low cost energy of the sun. Then there is the water issue.
200+ mile truck will not be too long. Tesla X with a utility trailer could already make the run.
Yes the cold does require more energy. At least with electric you only pay the extra in Winter. With gasoline you get free heat but also pay for it whether or not it is used. EV does allow heating the battery while charging and can have your vehicle warm and defrosted ready to go. This avoids the large initial drain on the battery during the first couple miles to heat everything up.
Hills don't hurt total range as much as you think as long as you come back down.
