Electric Vehicle Mandates Threaten U.S. Grid

[Kamaji]

Electric Vehicle Mandates Threaten U.S. Grid

Carbon dioxide emissions reduced by moving away from one fossil fuel will be replaced by those from burning another.

MICHAEL FUMENTO
APRIL 22, 2022

Don’t want to drive an electric vehicle? Well, depending on where you live, you may not have a choice soon. Converting the nation’s fleet of automobiles and trucks to electric power is considered a critical aspect of the battle against alleged manmade global climate change.

The Biden administration wants to see “emission-free” vehicles account for half of all vehicle sales by 2030, while New York state law bans new fossil fuel vehicle sales by 2035 as does a California executive order. If two of the nation’s most populous states forbid internal combustion engine sales, that could drag the rest of the country with it. This is all a crucial aspect of the Biden goal of U.S. carbon neutrality by 2050.

But riddle me this. Will the current electrical grid support this transition from petroleum fuel to that generated by power plants, and if not, what type of plants will be built to support the enlarged grid? To what extent will the fossil fuel petroleum refined into gasoline and diesel give way to plants that burn natural gas or even—shudder—coal? Or can we supply the extra energy with solar and wind as environmentalists seem to fervently believe? Conversely, can we do it with nuclear power?

These headlines, all from the last half of last year, show it’s not particularly clear cut. The Washington Post says, “Plug-in Cars Are the Future. The Grid Isn’t Ready.” But Forbes suggests “Electricity Grids Can Handle Electric Vehicles Easily.” Meanwhile, the Gray Lady puts it in question form: “Electric Cars are Coming, and Fast. Is the Nation’s Grid Up to It?”

Clouding the crystal ball is that we don’t know how successful the mandates and subsidies will be, nor how electric vehicle battery technology will progress. We can just consider the basic parameters.

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While there has been almost no U.S. increase in electricity demand in recent years, a U.S. Department of Energy study found that increased electrification across all sectors of the economy could boost national consumption by 20 percent, to 38 percent by 2050, mostly from an increased use of electric vehicles. Hence, the grid will need dramatic expansion. More generation plants and more transmission lines.

How? U.S. nuclear reactors are being taken offline. Nuclear power opponents have safety-featured them to death. Required upgrades aren’t worth it compared to building new natural gas powered plants. Likewise, the plants currently being built face nightmarish cost and completion overruns. The only two U.S. nuclear reactors under construction are six years late and at least $16 billion over budget. It’s the end of the line for so-called “Generation 3+” plants in the country. The U.S. Energy Information Administration projects electricity provided by nuclear plants will drop from about 19 percent now to only 12 percent by 2050. And no, that study is not taking into account an increased exchange of gasoline and diesel for voltage.

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Source:  https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/electric-vehicle-mandates-threaten-u-s-grid/

[berdie]

Well, that's just crazy talk. Everybody knows you just plug into a wall outlet with no problem. BTW...what is a grid? /s

[Kamaji]

Well, that's just crazy talk. Everybody knows you just plug into a wall outlet with no problem. BTW...what is a grid? /s

[Fishrrman]

[Smokin Joe]

The real question is one of what environmental cost will be incurred by the mining, manufacturing, and construction needed to expand the grid. Add that to the mining, manufacturing, and construction of the cars, and my bet is that on a per unit basis all this greening is just another squishy and aromatic pile of brown.

[roamer_1]

all this greening is just another squishy and aromatic pile of brown.

Ooh, GREAT! Methane. We can use that. 
 

[Smokin Joe]

Ooh, GREAT! Methane. We can use that. 
 

Back to 'biomass'...like the settlers coming across the plains. No shortage of that, nowadays.

[roamer_1]

Back to 'biomass'...like the settlers coming across the plains. No shortage of that, nowadays.

If only there was a way to harness the flatulent gas emanating from DC. Talk about your endless supply...

[LMAO]

The real question is one of what environmental cost will be incurred by the mining, manufacturing, and construction needed to expand the grid. Add that to the mining, manufacturing, and construction of the cars, and my bet is that on a per unit basis all this greening is just another squishy and aromatic pile of brown.

See, that’s your problem. You have good questions that require good answers.

What you have to do is you have to behave like your average leftist. Shout one line slogans, silence anybody who would dare question the narrative, throw bottles of body fluids, and just believe that this will all  work

[Hoodat]

Back to 'biomass'...like the settlers coming across the plains. No shortage of that, nowadays.

I seem to recall there being a lot less trees back in those days than we have now.

[Smokin Joe]

I seem to recall there being a lot less trees back in those days than we have now.

Dried (animal) dung was used as fuel on the plains. Critters have a high fiber diet.

[sneakypete]

Well,given that some areas of the country have brown-outs every year due to things like hot weather and everybody running air-conditioners,how can it NOT help the situation to put everybody in electric cars?

Just think of all the exercise these people will get from walking to the nearest charging station and begging someone there to send out a charging crew to save them.

[Hoodat]

Dried (animal) dung was used as fuel on the plains.

When there are no trees for wood, sometimes ya gotta settle.