EV's, Reliable Power, et al

[Herman]

Alberta spent hundreds of millions of tax dollars on wind. Last month they had to buy electricity from us. We produce power from coal.

https://edmontonsun.com/opinion/columnists/gunter-so-called-green-energy-cant-meet-demands-of-today-or-the-foreseeable-future
During last month's electricity alert, alternate energy (mostly wind and solar) was one of the big reasons Alberta came close to rolling blackouts. "Green" energy just isn't reliable enough, at least not with current technologies.

During our January cold snap, wind turbines got brittle and had to be turned off so their blades wouldn't. At peak demand in mid-January, the province's nearly 50 wind farms were contributing just 0.4 per cent of Alberta's total requirement.

Natural gas was contributing 94 per cent, even though two of our larger natural gas power plants were out of commission.

But alternate energies aren't just unreliable when they're needed most — in deep, deep cold spells. Since the beginning of the month, there has been very little wind in southern Alberta where the bulk of our turbines are.

At any moment, Alberta's homes and businesses are using around 11,000 megawatts of power. There are enough turbines in the province to generate 4,481 megawatts, about 41 per cent. But I never recall a time when wind power maxed out.

Most of the time, wind's contribution to the grid is under 1,000 megawatts. And since Feb. 1, there have been several times when wind was supplying under 10 megawatts to the grid.

At the time I'm writing this (3 p.m. Thurs. afternoon), all of those extremely expensive turbines that dot southern fields and rangeland were kicking in just two megawatts. That's a minuscule 0.04 per cent of what wind is theoretically capable of delivering — even less than during January's deep-freeze alert.

Also at the time of writing, Albertans were consuming 10,450 MW of electricity, which means wind was responsible for just 0.02 per cent of the province's total electrical needs — next to nothing. Hooking up all the exercise bicycles at all the gyms in the province might provide about that much.

On a Thursday afternoon, when temperatures were fairly mild and power demand was on the low side, wind power couldn't keep up.

It was also an overcast day, so solar power was delivering just 226 megawatts to the grid. That's a measly 2.2 per cent of total consumer demand.

The Trudeau Liberals think they can simply will more wind and solar power into existence. Do they also imagine themselves to have magical powers to command the wind to blow and the sun to shine more?

t's the same with plenty of the Liberals environmental obsessions, such as the electric vehicle mandate and the idea that we can switch our homes from gas furnaces to electric heat pumps.

Last weekend, the Maritimes was hit with a powerful snowstorm. It is in the Maritimes where the Liberals have worked the hardest to convince homeowners to switch to heat pumps.

Yet even before the storm hit its peak of 70 to 100 centimetres of snow, there were scores of complaints from around the eastern provinces of heat pumps clogging with snow and ice, then stopping (because unlike furnaces, heat pumps are installed on the outside homes).

Is it possible there will come a day when "green" power is up to the challenge of a Canadian winter? Maybe. That day hasn't arrived yet.

[Oerdin]

https://youtu.be/e4M-59gVwys?si=qMk615at4Gy1RfNG

[DKG]

https://youtu.be/e4M-59gVwys?si=qMk615at4Gy1RfNG

They don't advertise that ev's are a lot heavier than internal combustion engine vehicles. This will increase the severity of accidents.

And then there is the damage to roads from heavier vehicles.

[Oerdin]

Not to mention the fires and explosions.

[formosan]

https://youtu.be/e4M-59gVwys?si=qMk615at4Gy1RfNG
[/quote

https://youtu.be/e4M-59gVwys?si=qMk615at4Gy1RfNG

Very good information Oerdin.

[DKG]

Not to mention the fires and explosions.

That isn't in the brochures either.

[DKG]

The ev fantasy is meeting the reality of increased electricity demand, limited natural resources, and expensive infrastructure.

Germany's dream of 15 million EVs is fading away

Without subsidies, German EV sales set to drop 14% this year
Audi, VW are among those scaling back EV-related ambitions

Zipse has been Berlin: Standing at the front of the room at an auto industry association's new year reception in Berlin last week, BMW chief executive Oliver Zipse had reason to feel vindicated.

Onstage, Transport Minister Volker Wissing was preaching to the crowd of policymakers and industry executives about the importance of "technological openness" in reducing transit emissions.

A singular focus on battery-powered vehicles by policymakers and manufacturers is leaving Germany's most important industry exposed, he said, with a forecast of slumping electric vehicle (EV) demand in Europe's biggest car market hanging over his messagemaking that same point for years, advocating for flexible production lines for combustion, hybrid and even hydrogen-powered cars.

His cautious strategy – which chimes with his predecessor's – was attacked as not aggressive enough on challenging electric leader Tesla Inc.

Now, Zipse appears to have seen into the future. With EV adoption slowing and plug-in hybrids making a return from the sidelines, BMW's careful approach no longer looks like such a bad idea.

"In Germany, demand for EVs does not look good this year," said Jan Burgard, head of automotive consultant Berylls strategy advisers.


"The upper end of the EV market is almost saturated, and there is little on offer in the lower-end �25,000 segment."

After years of surging growth, selling EVs is becoming tougher. Generous government incentives are disappearing in Europe and fewer vehicles qualify for them in the United States.

While a range of new models and commitment-light leasing options have attracted the attention of electric enthusiasts, some years into the EV revolution, infrastructure and price still remain roadblocks to widespread adoption.

In Germany, sales are set to drop 14% this year in response to the government yanking subsidies in December, the first decline since 2016, according to the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) lobbying group.

Globally, market watchers have trimmed forecasts amid the enduring reality that the vehicles are much less affordable than equivalent combustion-engine cars – despite a price war kicked off by Tesla.

Last Thursday's event was an attempt to inject some optimism into an increasingly sombre industry. Wissing praised German carmakers and extolled their technology as "celebrated abroad".

When asked what the government could do to bolster the German EV market, the transport minister offered one thought: "Charging infrastructure."

Yet on this front, Berlin has lagged. In October 2022, Wissing rolled out an ambitious strategy to invest �6.3bil in a nationwide infrastructure that would increase the number of charging stations in Germany to one million in 2030.

That hasn't gone as quickly as planned. As of last September, there were only about 105,000 functional public charging stations in Germany, according to the infrastructure authority.

At the current rate of construction, VDA noted, Germany will need to triple its pace if it wants to hit its 2030 goal.

The charging conundrum, and who pays for it, remains unresolved many years into the EV transition. While policymakers and car industry representatives at the VDA event agreed that charging was key to reigniting interest in EVs, none wanted to say who should finance such an infrastructure expansion – or how.

Rising electricity prices have further tamped down demand, according to a Deutsche Bank analyst note.

The other main challenge for EV uptake is pricing. The coalition must meet its goal of getting 15 million EVs on the road by 2030, or face missing emissions targets. As of November, only about one million – or 2% of all cars – on German roads were fully electric. Without further subsidies, some analysts think hitting the 2030 target will be a challenge.

"I think it's unrealistic from today's perspective to reach 15 million EVs on German roads by 2030," said Burgard, the automotive consultant.

Car makers are already beginning to hedge their bets.

Volkswagen's Audi brand is paring down its EV lineup, and VW is taking a step back from plans to sell stakes in its battery unit. — Bloomberg
https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2024/02/05/germanys-dream-of-15-million-evs-is-fading-away

[Shen Li]

EV sales aren't booming like they are supposed to be less than 11 years away from a government ban on new ICE vehicle sales.

The Boom in Battery Metals for EVs Is Turning to Bust

hen the world's most valuable lithium company last year announced plans for a $1.3 billion plant in South Carolina, local officials hailed it as transformative for the Palmetto State.

The high-tech project from Charlotte, N.C.-based Albemarle was designed to process different sources of lithium, including from recycled batteries, and serve as a supplier of the critical mineral for South Carolina's burgeoning electric-vehicle industry.

Less than a year later, those plans have been hobbled by a crash in battery metal prices, undercut by a slowdown in electric-vehicle sales growth in the U.S. and China. Albemarle has deferred spending on the project, amid companywide cost-cutting that includes layoffs and delays to other investments as well.
Producers of lithium and nickel, which are used in lithium-ion batteries for EVs, have been stalling projects and closing mines to save cash after a painfully quick fall in commodity prices. Prices of lithium are down as much as 90% since the start of last year, while the price of nickel has roughly halved.

Swiss mining and trading giant Glencore last week said production would be suspended at an unprofitable nickel mine and processing plant in New Caledonia, a French island group in the Pacific that provides more than 6% of the world's supply. It will seek a buyer for its stake in the operation, a decision the company attributed to high operating costs and a weak market.

Days later, BHP Group, the world's biggest miner by market value, said it may need to shutter its Australian nickel business for an unspecified period, cautioning that it doesn't anticipate a quick market recovery. BHP has supply deals with Tesla and Ford Motor.

The world is suddenly awash with the metals after producers ramped up new projects to feed the global EV industry when sales of the vehicles have been losing momentum.

Several automakers, including Ford, General Motors and Volvo, are delaying investments and striking a more cautious tone about the outlook for EV consumer demand. British electric-vehicle maker Arrival's U.K. business filed for bankruptcy this month, citing challenging macroeconomic and market conditions that delayed its products getting to market.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/markets/the-boom-in-battery-metals-for-evs-is-turning-to-bust/ar-BB1ivynd?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=dec767e2bd6445438612488b40b05649&ei=39

[Thiel]

The Biden administration will roll back some of its requirements on emissions from exhaust pipes in what is being reported as a concession to unions and automakers.

The original plan, touted as an ambitious move to combat climate change, involved limiting tailpipe pollution that would have ensured 67% of new passenger vehicles in the United States would be emissions-free by 2032. Another 46% of new medium-duty trucks, which included delivery vans, would be all-electric or some form of zero-emissions, the New York Times reported in April 2023.

Heavy-duty vehicles, including 18-wheelers, were also required to be electric by 2032.

The Environmental Protection Agency used the Clean Air Act to tightly limit the amount of emissions a car manufacturer can produce in total with all of its cars. The limits were so strict that they would have required complete compliance from manufacturers to go fully emissions-free or face billions in fines.

TThe EPA's plan under Biden is set to ease, however, reportedly giving manufacturers a slower timeline to boost their electric vehicle sales before 2030 but still requiring zero emissions by 2032.

This is still unrealistic.

[DKG]

The Biden administration will roll back some of its requirements on emissions from exhaust pipes in what is being reported as a concession to unions and automakers.

The original plan, touted as an ambitious move to combat climate change, involved limiting tailpipe pollution that would have ensured 67% of new passenger vehicles in the United States would be emissions-free by 2032. Another 46% of new medium-duty trucks, which included delivery vans, would be all-electric or some form of zero-emissions, the New York Times reported in April 2023.

Heavy-duty vehicles, including 18-wheelers, were also required to be electric by 2032.

The Environmental Protection Agency used the Clean Air Act to tightly limit the amount of emissions a car manufacturer can produce in total with all of its cars. The limits were so strict that they would have required complete compliance from manufacturers to go fully emissions-free or face billions in fines.

TThe EPA's plan under Biden is set to ease, however, reportedly giving manufacturers a slower timeline to boost their electric vehicle sales before 2030 but still requiring zero emissions by 2032.

This is still unrealistic.

I expect North America to push back the timelines for mandating only EV sales.

[Lokmar]

I expect North America to push back the timelines for mandating only EV sales.

Only if Republicans control government.

[DKG]

Only if Republicans control government.

Even with Dems in control in the US and Liberals in power in Canada, current timelines are not doable and they know it.

[Lokmar]

Even with Dems in control in the US and Liberals in power in Canada, current timelines are not doable and they know it.

Thats the problem with libtards tho, even if it fails, they'll stick to their failure and have everyone sitting in the dark!

[DKG]

Thats the problem with libtards tho, even if it fails, they'll stick to their failure and have everyone sitting in the dark!

I see some hints of relaxing EV timelines. But, they will stay the course.

[Lokmar]

I see some hints of relaxing EV timelines. But, they will stay the course.

Red states are and will continue to push back, especially once Trump is in office again. California specifically will only double down on the stupidity. Again, when Trump is back, they will double down out of TDS. They wont GAF if they wind up making everyone walk to work!