
GollyOlly
VIP Member
What happens to the EV batteries when they no longer power the car? Are they recycled? I agree, we need to move away from fossil fuels but the carbon footprint to generate electricity is HUGE; much larger than the utilisation of the fossil fuel itself. Check out why electric boilers, while more efficient (99-100%) than gas boilers, have a lower EPC rating because it takes more energy to generate electricity than it does to buy and burn fossil fuels. So, if everyone moves to electric, unless everyone has renewable energy sources such as solar PV cells on their homes AND storage batteries, they are reliant on the energy companies to generate electricity to power the EVs. And how does the grid generate electricity? Currently it comes primarily from fossil fuel and that will not change in the near future. So, the government cannot meet the demands of electricity requirements with the push for the public to buy EVs and the only way to do that is generate more electricity; i.e. burn more fossil fuel. Another disadvantage not advertised by auto companies is the battery management system and the degradation rate of the electric battery. VW batteries were degrading at 8% per year, so along with the reduction in battery power, the range reduces as well. Tesla batteries performed the best with a 1-2% reduction per year. But at 8% per year under normal conditions, that means the battery needs to be changed at about 12 years. Tesla battery changeouts cost IRO £20,000. Under cold climate conditions, battery degradation accelerates in the long term. In the short term, range diminishes, so any trip needs to take into account ambient temperature.They’ll be loads more by then. If there’s money to be made out of chargers, people will build them. Shell have just built an entire “petrol station” in Fulham for EVs. They’ll be under pressure to decarbonise from investors, so will push into things like that.
( And I never said it’s convenient now, it’s a pain. But so is camping in a Cali with 5 of us, and we still do that).