Would you have an electric car if you had the money for a new car and were in the market for one?

[Horse]

Not sure if the Texas grid has the equivalent of National Grids STOR (Short-Term Operating Reserve) but if it does there are financial incentives for 'generators' that can start delivering quickly as much standby power generation has start-up times of minutes through to hours.

I think the article suggests that.

Not really.

Well, it says:

By storing excess electricity when prices and demand are low, battery owners can sell it back to the grid when prices are high.

[Kneerly Down]

Not really.

Well, it says:

By storing excess electricity when prices and demand are low, battery owners can sell it back to the grid when prices are high.

STOR isn't about electricity prices. It is about short-term response to keep the grid from collapsing.

[edit] don't mean to have a virtual fight over this.
My main point is regarding STOR.
STOR generally works against being able to arbitrage electricity prices as the whole point is that capacity is ready to 'spin up', hence you can't really use it other than when requested...and even then you're getting your contracted price that isn't the same as general market pricing.

[niggle]

Back to vehicles and I have serious doubts about the viability of battery electric motorcycles due to the weight and bulk of batteries required to give the desirable range and performance, even a swappable battery would need to be very large and heavy to give the equivalent performance and range of your average sports tourer or adventure bike.

Hydrogen (compressed to liquid form) is a very concentrated energy store in comparison to lithium batteries, promising much lower weight and volume for the same range and performance, but will require very strong tanks and/or protection of said tanks, plus pipelines etc., to be reliably leak and burst proof, including in the event of a crash.

Fuel cells are the usually suggested and apparently most efficient way to convert hydrogen into energy, this being electric energy so again essentially an electrically powered motorcycle with probably a requirement for an additional smaller battery between the fuel cell and motor enabling instant high power output for acceleration. I don’t know the weight and size of a suitable fuel cell and I understand high cost is another issue.

[Wreckless Rat]

Dazzle will be along to tell you are wrong and it’s his “day job” etc etc etc

[Mr. Dazzle]

They're dead right actually

And yes it is my day job, thanks for noticing.

[ZRX61]

[Horse]

https://www.newcivilengineer.com/latest ... 0-11-2020/

[Horse]

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/ge-ann ... ia/591869/


GE Renewable Energy announced Tuesday a multi-year agreement with Veolia North America for the first U.S. wind turbine blade recycling program of its kind.

The majority of blades from onshore turbines that GE changes out during repowering efforts will be shredded and used to replace raw materials for cement manufacturing, creating a "circular economy for composite materials," Anne McEntee, CEO of GE Renewable Energy's Digital Services, said in a statement. In Europe, such recycling processes have grown to commercial scale, and GE plans to deploy the program at scale quickly.

The process will make wind turbines fully recyclable, while reducing carbon dioxide emissions from cement production by a net 27%, according to environmental impact analysis by Quantis U.S. The reprocessed blade has a net-positive environmental impact by replacing coal or other raw materials in the cement production process, according to GE.

[Mr. Dazzle]

There's quite a lot push in the composites industry towards "bio materials"....so fibres made from things like flax rather than glass and resins that are biodegradable. They're not as high performance as many alternatives but then they don't need to be.

I don't think anyone is denying the fact that these things need an end of life route though, as Horse says.

Maybe we need some pics of oil soaked beaches or open coal mines for balance?

BTW...cement? Environmental disaster innit? The CO2 from concrere/cement production and use is more than from Airliners ISTR.

[Rockburner]

So that's where you bury all the hookers.

[Horse]

[Mr. Dazzle]

On a related note....and it's been a long time since I actually worked in the Nuclear biz so my memory is fuzzy....but ISTR you can accelerate the decay of nuclear waste if you bombard it with the right sort of radiation. Basically you give it a nudge so it decays more quickly than it naturally would.

This raises the prospect of being able to 'force' nuclear waste to decay into harmless products in years rather than millenia.

All you need is a source of high energy radiation which doesn't generate more nuclear waste. I.e. Nuclear Fusion.

It's all coming together!

In 50 years.

[Horse]

All you need is a source of high energy radiation which doesn't generate more nuclear waste. I.e. Nuclear Fusion.

It's all coming together!

In 50 years.

Saga (or CJ, can't remember the usual source) will tell you that the correct description is:
"Just around the corner - and has been for 50 years"

[Mr. Dazzle]

Ah but this time it's different.

This time they're actually building stuff which won't work for another 50 years!

[Horse]

https://highways-news.com/vw-recycling- ... batteries/


Volkswagen Group Components says a new plant for recycling electric car batteries is delivering another step towards sustainable end-to-end responsibility for the entire value chain of the electric vehicle battery.

The company says the of the plant in Salzgitter in Germany is the industrialised recovery of valuable raw materials such as lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt in a closed loop together with aluminium, copper and plastics, achieving a recycling rate of more than 90% over the long term.

VW says the unique feature of the plant is that it only recycles batteries that can no longer be used for other purposes. Before the battery is recycled, an analysis determines whether it is still powerful enough to be given a second life in mobile energy storage systems such as the flexible rapid charging station or the mobile charging robot.

[Cousin Jack]

Ah but this time it's different.

This time they're actually building stuff which won't work for another 50 years!

Pah!

Some of the stuff I have built won't work for another 1000 years (and maybe not even then).

[wheelnut]

I had a go in a tesla for the first time the other day. It was ok. Put your foot on the pedal and it went. Build quality seemed very suspect.

I think once mainstream manufacturers, the ones that can actually build cars, throw their hats properly in the ring then we'll have somehting worth driving.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Build quality seemed very suspect.

Deffo this. Having driven both Tesla and Jaguar electric cars I know which I'd rather own. Fair play Tesla for lighting a fire under everyone else, but its pretty apparent going from 0 to 500,000 cars a year in a decade leaves a few gaps....doubly so when you introduce lots of new stuff which more sensible/boring firms wouldn't do all at once. But old Elon has never been short of ambition, if nothing else.

I've seen a few VW ID3s on the road now, you may all have seen one too and not even twigged what it is. It's their Golf sized all electric car, which is just different enough to look a bit 2025, but also not properly out there either.



Pretty much decided now that we're keeping the 320d for a couple more years (unless unforseen circumstances force our hand) and then getting an electric BM/Jag/Merc/Polestar etc. There's a proper glut on the horizon.

Really want a go in a Porsche Tacan.

[Kneerly Down]

I've seen a few VW ID3s on the road now, you may all have seen one too and not even twigged what it is.

Looks a bit like a DS (modern Citroen) style.

[Horse]

Build quality seemed very suspect.

going from 0 to 500,000 cars a year in a decade leaves a few gaps....

And not just panel fit. Suspension not bolted in correctly?

https://www.thedrive.com/news/38579/the ... nd-serious