Hybrid Electric Vehicles

[Kirkhill]

China's Electricity Supply - 62% Coal Fired.

China is the world's largest electricity producer, having overtaken the United States in 2011 after rapid growth since the early 1990s. In 2021, China produced 8.5 petawatt-hour (PWh) of electricity, approximately 30% of the world's electricity production.

Most of the electricity in China comes from coal power, which accounted for 62% of electricity generation in 2021 and is a big part of greenhouse gas emissions by China. Power generated from renewable energy has also been continuously increasing in the country, with national electricity generation from renewable energy reaching 594.7 TWh in Q1 2023, an increase of 11.4% year-on-year, including 342.2 TWh of wind and solar power, up 27.8% year-on-year.

In 2023, China's total installed electric generation capacity was 2.92 TW of which 1.26 TW renewable, including 376 GW from wind power and 425 GW from solar power. As of 2023, the total power generation capacity for renewable energy sources in China is at 53.9%. The rest was mostly coal capacity, with 1040 GW in 2019. Nuclear also plays an increasing role in the national electricity sector. As of February 2023, China has 55 nuclear plants with 57 GW of power in operation, 22 under construction with 24 GW and more than 70 planned with 88 GW. About 5% of electricity in the country comes from nuclear energy.

Electricity sector in China - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Good2Golf]

54% renewable…China is awesome!

 

[OldSolduer]

If they work in India and Australia, the ‘Peg should be no problem.

Of course

 

[captloadie]

I love my 2500HD Diesel. I bought it to pull my fifth wheel, and to have when I needed the extra size and power, which is in truth a rarity. It is really just a commuter for me most days. I did some quick math. We'll say the cost of my truck and a new Electric truck is a wash. If I put 30K Km on it a year, for 10 years, at current average cost of fuel and fuel mileage, I would spend close to $62,400 on fuel over the 10 years. I could invest all of that into a huge solar system, with additional battery storage that would allow me to charge my truck daily, feed power back into the grid and have a backup system for power outages, for 30 years, not just the life of the vehicle.

People will say, well, what happens when you are away from home and need to charge it. What about the time and cost? Well, for the cost, fueling along the highway costs more than your favorite place in town, so I say that's a wash. As for the time, when I was young, I'd drive straight through from one gas stop to the next, stop long enough to fill one tank and empty the other, then head out again. Then I got married and had kids. Which meant I had to stop every 2 or 3 hours, for variable amounts of time, but usually no shorter than than 30 minutes. The lesson: as things in my life changed, I adapted to accommodate for them.

I'm not saying we should do away with all of the traditional methods of power generation, or get rid of every ICE vehicle. But for heaven's sake, individuals have to take it aboard that change is coming, and they need to learn that not everything new is bad.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

I think a lot of the push back against electric or hybrid vehicles comes from Governments at various levels attempting to dictate a “one size fits all” solution to transportation needs, in a country as diverse as Canada.

Let the consumer decide for herself what they can afford and what fits their needs.

If Electric vehicles are all that and a bag of chips- ICE will die like horse drawn buggies and betamax…

 

[Quirky]

But for heaven's sake, individuals have to take it aboard that change is coming, and they need to learn that not everything new is bad.

For us, an EV is a complete non-starter until solid state batteries are available.

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a45942785/toyota-future-ev-battery-plans/

 

[Kirkhill]

I love my 2500HD Diesel. I bought it to pull my fifth wheel, and to have when I needed the extra size and power, which is in truth a rarity. It is really just a commuter for me most days. I did some quick math. We'll say the cost of my truck and a new Electric truck is a wash. If I put 30K Km on it a year, for 10 years, at current average cost of fuel and fuel mileage, I would spend close to $62,400 on fuel over the 10 years. I could invest all of that into a huge solar system, with additional battery storage that would allow me to charge my truck daily, feed power back into the grid and have a backup system for power outages, for 30 years, not just the life of the vehicle.

People will say, well, what happens when you are away from home and need to charge it. What about the time and cost? Well, for the cost, fueling along the highway costs more than your favorite place in town, so I say that's a wash. As for the time, when I was young, I'd drive straight through from one gas stop to the next, stop long enough to fill one tank and empty the other, then head out again. Then I got married and had kids. Which meant I had to stop every 2 or 3 hours, for variable amounts of time, but usually no shorter than than 30 minutes. The lesson: as things in my life changed, I adapted to accommodate for them.

I'm not saying we should do away with all of the traditional methods of power generation, or get rid of every ICE vehicle. But for heaven's sake, individuals have to take it aboard that change is coming, and they need to learn that not everything new is bad.

You could do all those things...

Or, when your old truck finally gives up the ghost you can run over to the dealership and buy a replacement.

Your self-described alternative requires not just a new vehicle but a major renovation of your house and a general contractor. Not to mention a disruption to your life and lifestyle.

I am not saying that it may not be worth it to you but inconvenience is an issue.

Just take a look at old houses that still have their hot water radiators, coal chutes or oil tanks.

Change occurs slowly as things wear out.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

I would also point out that, for my family size, there are really not that many Hybrid or Electric vehicles that work- certainly not at a price point I am willing to consider.

 

[Good2Golf]

I love my 2500HD Diesel. I bought it to pull my fifth wheel, and to have when I needed the extra size and power, which is in truth a rarity. It is really just a commuter for me most days. I did some quick math. We'll say the cost of my truck and a new Electric truck is a wash. If I put 30K Km on it a year, for 10 years, at current average cost of fuel and fuel mileage, I would spend close to $62,400 on fuel over the 10 years. I could invest all of that into a huge solar system, with additional battery storage that would allow me to charge my truck daily, feed power back into the grid and have a backup system for power outages, for 30 years, not just the life of the vehicle.

People will say, well, what happens when you are away from home and need to charge it. What about the time and cost? Well, for the cost, fueling along the highway costs more than your favorite place in town, so I say that's a wash. As for the time, when I was young, I'd drive straight through from one gas stop to the next, stop long enough to fill one tank and empty the other, then head out again. Then I got married and had kids. Which meant I had to stop every 2 or 3 hours, for variable amounts of time, but usually no shorter than than 30 minutes. The lesson: as things in my life changed, I adapted to accommodate for them.

I'm not saying we should do away with all of the traditional methods of power generation, or get rid of every ICE vehicle. But for heaven's sake, individuals have to take it aboard that change is coming, and they need to learn that not everything new is bad.

I’m cautiously watching my neighbour’s experience with his Rivian R1T, but I could see myself looking at one of those in the future, but not to replace an NG-powered Stby generator for my house. I also passed the go-no go point for solar panels for my current house when I was building it 10 years ago. If HydroOne had allowed microFIT qualification of panels, I would have considered it, but our region was disqualified from microFIT participation due to solar panel saturation, we were told…ie. Too many panels already.

 

[SeaKingTacco]

I looked into panels for my house, plus a power wall. With a 20 year amortization period and both the battery wall/panels losing 1-2% efficiency per year, I could not make the numbers work in my favour.

Now, I am considering a backup generator. Suddenly, the numbers start to work, when you look at it as a backup power source.

 

[captloadie]

You could do all those things...

Or, when your old truck finally gives up the ghost you can run over to the dealership and buy a replacement.

Your self-described alternative requires not just a new vehicle but a major renovation of your house and a general contractor. Not to mention a disruption to your life and lifestyle.

I am not saying that it may not be worth it to you but inconvenience is an issue.

Just take a look at old houses that still have their hot water radiators, coal chutes or oil tanks.

Change occurs slowly as things wear out.

So, in my case, living on an acreage, I wouldn't do a roof system, but a separate stand, but I understand what you are saying. That said, there are points in homeownership that making the change may make sense. If I were doing a large renovation for instance, the disruption would already be happening, and I'd make the decision then.

One of the things that I see as a major setback for many subdivision homeowners from taking full advantage of a solar system is the Canadian regulations on where backup battery storage can be located. To my knowledge, they must be in a separate structure than the main home. The big fear, I have to assume, was thermal runaway in the battery system. I would love to see this change. How many of these instances have occurred in districts that allow this? Or even in the outbuildings housing the systems in Canada? Yes, the risk exists. But the risk is likely less than parking your EV in the garage, or your larger electric rechargeable batteries, or your multitude of electronics that are being thrown around. Without the ability to store the energy onsite in a backup system, the numbers will never really work, especially where you can't get onto a system where you sell back excess production to the grid.

 

[lenaitch]

One of the things that I see as a major setback for many subdivision homeowners from taking full advantage of a solar system is the Canadian regulations on where backup battery storage can be located

Ontario's Hydro One has a Residential Reliability Improvement Program involved Tesla Powerwall batteries (currently closed to new applicants) and they only specify that they be installed in 1-hour fire rated utility closet (drywall?) that doesn't open onto a bedroom.

 

[Good2Golf]

6-7K for a 24kVA stby gen amortizes pretty quickly over the years.

 

[Brad Sallows]

Do you worry this much about the recyclability of your fridge, stove or dishwasher? Solar panels and battery packs are appliances. And as long as they have material in them that is valuable, they will be recycled.

I replace major appliances roughly every 30 to 40 years. What is the lifetime of a solar panel in Canada?