Electric cars and Blackouts

I'm sweating on "synergy"... Come on synergy....

 

Power cut in Wentworth, this morning. 6-9am-ish. Went back to bed..

 

Amazing how the entire broadband network can be upgraded in 18 months to new fibre, but we've not touched the electricity network infrastructure for years.

 

I really ****ing hate that word. Doubly so when "increase" could have been used.

 

The Grid infrastructure in the UK will undergo a lot of changes. Firstly the demand will need addressing. For every 6 fast EV chargers a small ‘sub station’ is needed. This means the concept of micro-grids and smart grids is important. To add, the increase in renewable sourcing ie wind, solar etc brings new issues in grid stability. Technology will be needed to stabilise. This should all help develop the infrastructure, create jobs and help the environment somewhat

 

https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/news...-steel-firm-nationalised-significant-21163228

At a guess the above will happen . The whole lot will be nationalised then huge amounts of investment will ensue at the cost of the taxpayer . Then re privatisation with the narrative of a great deal for mr and Mrs taxpayer . See the recent nationalisation of large sectors of the rail network for further info .

 

It is right and proper that reports such as this highlight the urgent need for investment to ensure the infrastructure is ready but it is fair to say that it is improving rapidly right now.

In terms of the national grid and our use of power, there will be large scale technological changes over the coming years that will assist with meeting the demand that EVs place on the grid and some of those can be seen coming through now.

The key requirement is to smooth out the supply/demand curve. Many people with EVs who charge at home already generally take this into account by charging overnight when there is a surplus of energy at a fraction of the cost of peak day rates by having a smart meter and switching to a time of use tariff which incentivises that behaviour such as Octopus Go which gives me 4 hours at night for 5p/kwh.

GridServe, the company that has recently taken over the running of the electric highway charging network (hurrah, bye bye Ecotricity) is into charging cars almost as a by product of their main business model- they are into mass scale solar generation and battery storage to smooth out demand peaks - I see that model increasing.

The one advance that is in early days yet but within 10 years I think will be large scale is V2G - vehicle to grid. Smallish scale trials are being run with signed up volunteers at the moment but it has the potential to assist with the demand curve. Cars are parked up at home for large periods of time. Plug them in, allow them to be used to draw power from when demand is high and put back after when demand is low, get paid for the loan of the energy - that's the principle. Be interesting to see how it develops and whether people will engage.

Yes, investment is needed and lots of it. But technology is a big part of the answer in my opinion.

For me, it is some of the other issues the report touches on that are just as important such as the postcode lottery regarding charger provision. It is a bit like the universal post system - it will need govt intervention to provide the incentives and the regulation needed to ensure that chargers are available in more remote places where just leaving it to the market wouldn't work because they need to be placed where they wouldn't be commercially profitable.

 

My eldest son has been working on Flow Cells for a few years now. These are high capacity cells which sore energy by converting one chemical into another by the application of an electric potential. The energy is then stored until required at which point the chemical is pumped back through the cell and is converted back to the original chemical. These have been around for many years based on aqueous chemistry but they aren't very efficient, my lad is a Chemist and he's designed and built a small scale cell to try out different organic chemicals which may be vastly more efficient. If the project is successful, it will be a huge step forward for green energy.

 

As a BBS Administrator why aren’t you setting up a separate board listing for political posts like this?
It would be good to dump all the perpetual whining and angst in one place where it can be completely ignored by those who have no interest in politics.

 

This route could be very important, I hope they make good progress because the only answer will be from a variety of sources...mains electric on it's own isn't going to do it. Just from a practical point of view.. a serious number of people live in terrace houses or flats, how the heck are they going to recharge batteries when in these days of multi car households you can't guarantee to park near your home. A number of companies are now building internal combustion engines based on hydrogen and organic fuels ( that sound similar to your son's project), it seems to me the practical solution, at least in the short term is a mix of the above technologies with possibly hybrid cars being significant.

 

It was NOT “fairly” clear at all. ffs.

 

You're right. It was crystal clear.

 

Seeing as a few people seem to be involved or just more aware of the energy/EV sector than I am (not difficult!), what do you think about the next few years and potential advances in ranges of EV's?

My current lease expires in the first few months of next year and I'm starting to consider what the best option is. My car can be sat for weeks and weeks and when i use it, I can do a lot of miles in a day and over the course of a week, and as covid is playing a huge part in our particular circumstances, holidaying in the UK is only going to add to that in the next few years.

I've only glanced at a handful of EV particulars, but range would seem to be an issue given I can't guarantee a charge to be available in remote areas. So i'm veering towards sticking with leasing another petrol car to give the market time to evolve sufficiently.

If anyone has any thoughts or guidance, feel free to chip in.

 

You might find this article interesting.
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-lands-end-to-john-ogroats-in-an-electric-car

 

i have a Merc EQC and the car is great but range is only about 220 full charge.Thats ok though for me as i dont travel a lot UK side and travel abroad a lot for work. There are some with much higher capacity. I think your circumstances would be suited more in another couple of years as not only the car ranges are limited but the infrastructure is still evolving. Remember there is a cost saving advantage on both ‘fuel’ (also personal tax on business vehicles). Growth is exponential so will move quickly. As the thread states the grid infrastructure also needs to catch up. All these topics are relevant to me beyond the personal side as the company i work for is heavily into EV innovation, not only cars, power networks and infrastructure and process industries energy eff too. We are also the headline sponsor of the Formula-E series.

 

Thanks for that. Ideally I'd like to switch to electric, but I'm struggling to overcome the niggles like you say. Being able to go through central london without charge would be very welcome, even more so now. And the car is parked on the street and often wherever it will fit, so charging from home isn't that easy either. I think there are 3 EVs on the street. One lamp post conversion and the other 2 are just snaking cables across a pavement whenever they feel like it.

If you were to hazard a guess, how long do you think it might be before there is better and wider infrastructure, an significant improvement in driving ranges and speedier charging?

 

The market in the UK tripled for EV from 2019 to 2020. Corporations are switching their fleet of vehicles to EV fully as we speak. Our company will have all 500 cars EV by 2025. In fact based on the lease duration its more likely we will achieve it sooner. We also know the 2030 target of no Diesel or Petrol sales allowed. We will support the new GRIDSERVE network with ultrafast chargers in hubs of 6 to 12 chargers. This will be motorway stations and cities and towns. May commercial businesses such as supermarkets are also installing as it will be attractive now for customers and an essential me too in about 12-24 months. Car manufacturers now are all in, some with 2nd and 3rd gen vehicle tech. The price is the main issue but its coming down. I felt the time for me to switch was now. I have less back to back on the road journeys, captialise on the home charging gov incentives so had a home charger fitted, and the electricity companies now almost all have EV night tariffs. So i think its down to you deciding when your ready to change your habits (you will need to but that is just an adjustment issue not a long term issue), build your confidence to make the shift. It seems the limitation for you is the vehicle coverage so i think its a case of seeing how prices and availability develops of the car ranges in the next 12 months.