Trouble In Paradise For Future Electric Cars

time2roll wrote:

theoldwizard1 wrote:
Forget the whole issue about BEV being "zero emissions", the US does NOT have the infrastructure to charge a very large number of cars. Some people are predicting 30% of the light vehicles will be BEV by 2030, just 12 years away.

I don't think it can happen because of the lack of power generation capability in high population density areas. There is too much loss in power lines to send solar power generated in the desert west of even the plains to feed big cities in the East.

I understand if everyone drove electric tomorrow it would add 30% to the grid and would work fine even if there were a few tight spots. Ask any utility and they are actually excited to have EV plugging in. Between LED lights and required efficient appliances most revenue has been dropping.

And I happen to think solar panels across the south could easily power the nation.

And what if those 100 million or so residents of the south don't want every square inch ground covered in solar panels? You do realize the land that isn't in residential use is usually in agriculture. Also, you can't just put in some solar panels in Georgia and magically transfer the power to Michigan. That would take untold billions of investment to re-route the entire electrical grid, if indeed you are theoretically correct.
There is no reason to believe that electrical power will be the end all to beat all for the rest of history. I am sure that 200 years ago nobody thought that the horse would ever be replaced as primary transportation. It is just as likely that hydrogen powered engines or fuel cells could be the next big breakout, eclipsing battery power. Kind of like how the internal combustion engine eclipsed steam engines when transportation changed from those horses to the horseless carriages.