Electric Car Breakthrough

[Prebe]

if the increased demand is due to electric cars it should work. The problem I can think of is the transition. You will most certainly need to build new power plants, and this expansion should be mainly - but perhaps not exclusively - in the form of non poluting energy sources.

[Avatar]

So we're really back where we started, aren't we?

--A

[Prebe]

Where was that? I forgot

[Avatar]

The need to build non-polluting energy sources.

--A

[Prebe]

Ah yes! But as I interjected driving electric cars would still be beneficial due to hightened efficiency and centralisation of polution, even if we continue to burn coal and oil. I just thought that IF you have to built more powerplants, this would be an ideal time to use some of the already exitsting non poluting alternatives.

You know me, I'm a wind man. And the non continuous problem with wind-turbines wouldn't be as much of an issue here, since say, 1/3 of the total power consumption (cars charging), will not need to be as constant as for other uses, since the energy is tapped for storage an not immediate use.

I believe that the signal transduction capability of the power grid can be used to send out a couple of bytes now and then telling the charging software of each car how much power is currently available/the total grid load, and the charging effect could be automatically adjusted. Hey! There could be a patent there!
*Rushes off to patent office!*

[I'm Murrin]

Well, ITER goes online a decade from now, and that will be the big step toward fusion as a viable power source. Give us fifty years and we'll have plenty of safe*, clean nuclear power to fill our batteries with.


*Erm.. until something goes wrong.

[Prebe]

Why must it be so "Trekkie"? What the hell is wrong with wind and waves?

[I'm Murrin]

Nothing in particular. Fusion just happens to provide a relatively controllable, consistent power source, while also being much cleaner and safer (not to mention more powerful) than fission and fuel-burning power stations. Wind and wave generation is... transient.

[Prebe]

Wind and wave generation is... transient.

Indeed they are (wind at least, waves are relatively constant), but the more decentralised the power sources are and the more turbines you have, the more constant the total energy output is going to be. It's bound to be windy somewhere

Besides, energy used to charge batteries (accumulation of potential energy) doesn't need to be constant, as opposed to energy needed for kinetic output.