โNov-17-2017 02:13 PM
โNov-22-2017 05:35 AM
2oldman wrote:
Let's assume 500 HP.
1 HP =746 watts, 500x 746= 373,000 watts. At 1000v that's about 373 amps. You'd certainly have to run some pretty high voltage to keep the cable size down. Diesel/electric locomotives do it.
Now, that's PEAK performance, so I suppose it would be less than that most of the time.
โNov-22-2017 04:21 AM
โNov-21-2017 08:45 PM
โNov-21-2017 06:58 PM
profdant139 wrote:
If my series of assumptions is right, the long-term role of the power companies will change from energy providers to energy distributors. Eventually, the market (guided by the awkward hand of the PUC) will adjust to the new reality. Rainbows will sprout from the high voltage pylons, and we will all be driving electric vehicles using renewables.
I am guessing that since I know nothing about the electricity industry, I am missing something here??
โNov-21-2017 03:40 PM
Ductape wrote:time2roll wrote:
Grid is not static.
Exactly. People ignore the fact of population increases that have already happened, just Google the population increase in Florida over time as one example. And yet the grid's not failing.
In 1917 the same belief system would predict cars will never succeed due to lack of petroleum distribution systems and refining capacity. Transportation won't be solved by governments, but it will be done by private industries.
Moreover, the IOT now enables the grids to manage loads intelligently and interactively. You'll be able to choose your priorities, whether you want to purchase high cost peak power vs.low cost off peak for a particular load.
A bonus is that distributed power generation and storage is more resilient than the single points of failure presented by large facilities.
โNov-21-2017 03:28 PM
profdant139 wrote:
Mex, I find your posts refreshing and thought-provoking! I don't always agree with you, but it is fun to break out of my coastal California echo chamber once in a while.
But your comments have provoked this thought: let's assume that there is a surplus of solar and wind power. Let's also assume (a big assumption) that there will soon be a cost-effective way of storing that surplus power, either in centralized banks or at the consumer level. (Without cheap storage, we're done here. The energy density of stored hydrocarbons will be hard to beat.)
The deal-killing problem that you have spotted is that the present grid is not up to the task of redistributing that surplus power. Based on what you have written, I think you know what you are talking about.
But here is what I don't yet get -- if the grid is the bottleneck, and if there is sufficient demand for redistribution of excess supply, why wouldn't the power companies build extra grid capacity?
The power companies could theoretically pass those costs to everyone who relies on the grid, assuming that the Public Utilities Commission permits them to do so. (Of course, if there are lots of "cord cutters" who go off-grid, there is no way for those companies to charge the end users for the amortized cost of the capital expenditures. Let's assume that's the exception and not the norm.)
If my series of assumptions is right, the long-term role of the power companies will change from energy providers to energy distributors. Eventually, the market (guided by the awkward hand of the PUC) will adjust to the new reality. Rainbows will sprout from the high voltage pylons, and we will all be driving electric vehicles using renewables.
I am guessing that since I know nothing about the electricity industry, I am missing something here??
โNov-21-2017 03:05 PM
โNov-21-2017 08:24 AM
โNov-21-2017 05:46 AM
Ductape wrote:It's so easy to criticize new things.
In 1917 the same belief system would predict cars will never succeed due to lack of petroleum distribution systems and refining capacity.
โNov-21-2017 03:57 AM
time2roll wrote:
Grid is not static.
โNov-21-2017 03:30 AM
โNov-20-2017 07:43 PM
โNov-20-2017 06:56 PM
โNov-20-2017 06:16 PM
John & Angela wrote:(amended) ....
So it couldn't be something as simple as people just like driving them better. And as far as completely non polluting gas engines, probably best to continue to leave your garage door open when your car is running inside.
And to assume that everybody else is too stupid to figure out that there are challenges is...well...yah...kinda condescending.
Too each his own.
Cheers.
โNov-20-2017 05:57 PM