Where do most people live? Near coastlines. And this is true world-wide. Something like ( don't quote me ) 75% of all people live less than 100 miles from an ocean.

When people talk about natural energy ( sun, wind, hydro ) no-one mentions TIDAL energy. There will always be tides, and they ( while they have peaks and valleys) run 24/7.

99% of the people out there will agree hydro-electric from dams, etc is a good thing. Hoover Dam ( near Las Vegas ) powers all of Vegas ( cheaply ) and most of Los Angeles as well! And it has run for 75 years, and will last for 100's of years.
That's good ol' over engineering at work!

Along coastlines, you build tidal dams. Sure, you have fewer feet of "head" but you have an unlimited # of gallons of water. And you generate power at high tide when the water rushes in, and you generate at low tide when water rushes out. During the "mid-point" when you have your reservoir at the same level as sea level, you are screwed, right? WRONG!

During off-peak hours, when you have excess generating power, you use some power to PUMP water uphill to an above sea-level reservoir. During times of "non-tide" or peak demand hours, you tap your elevated reservoir.

This is simple, proven technology. We just need the legislation to do projects on a grand scale... like in the days of Hoover Dam. We need a governmental action, such as the CCC or WPA of days long past, as no single corporation could tackle such a huge undertaking. Once built though, it would last generations. Then you have cheap, near unlimited electricity, and EV's become reality.

-Cheers
-John

There's nothing wrong with EV's. The problem is with people who don't realize an EV can meet a huge majority of their commuting needs.

OK, there is so much wrong with that first post that I'm going to have to reply.

First, range and performance are not an issue for EVs. Look at the 300+ mile range T-zero and Solectria Sunrise. Look at the 0-60 in 3.6s for the T-zero, or less than 3 seconds for the Wrightspeed X1.

Second, lithium-ion safety issues have been solved. There is no longer any danger of thermal runaway, fires, explosions etc even with serious overcharge/puncture/crush/abuse etc. See the Valence safety video here.

Finally, with regards to the whole fast-recharging thing, people will just be sensible about it. For the impending plug-in hybrids with about 20 miles EV range, they will only require 4 kWh of onboard storage. To charge that in 5 minutes requires only 48 kW, and there are already 60 kW chargers around today at EV charge points (here is a picture of a 50 kW charger).

When the batteries start getting bigger, as with EVs and longer range PHEVs, people will just move to charging up at the supermarket. While they shop, the car charges outside in its parking space. It's a win-win for the supermarkets because the charging is an incentive for you to shop there, and the longer you charge, the longer you shop. A half-hour shop at 100 kW charging rate would give 50 kWh, enough for 200-250 miles range. Probably only about half of people will actually charge up at home.

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/ecotech/ecot.htm

According to this site the T-Zero's range is 100miles. Also, they only built 4 and the price tag was $120K.

According to this site the Solectria Sunrise never made it into production. They claimed 200 mile range on NiMH batteries.

Even if they did get the 300+ mile range you suggested, it's still a limit. It would be fine for most driving, but if I go away for a weekend, that limits me to 150 miles each way. I wouldn't feel comfortable driving to a relative's house and asking to plug my car in so I can get home.

Frankly, the fact that they have any range limit restricts their utility, in my book. It would be perfectly fine for a commuter car, but personally, I wouldn't consider it an option for my only car.

Later this month, I'm driving from NYC to Miami (and very much looking forward to seeing what sort of mileage I can get). That's just not possible in an EV.

http://www.darelldd.com/ev/

There are your answers.

Kinda funny how we got close to EVs, then they were squashed. We could be alot further along in non-oil transport.

Humans are quite stupid sometimes with regards to what they "need". Read the site on why...

'04 Seaside Pearl #7. Fumoto oil drain, mudflaps, rear bumper scuff protector & rear warn system, compass mirror, EV mode button, 8" subwoofer in right rear cubby & 6" subs under seats, power lumbar in the front seats, Coastaletech hitch w/ Aspen bike/snowboard rack. iPod2car, 2 amps, Alpine component speakers, and DVD video, solid 47 MPG @ 70000 miles.

That was with the old lead-acid batteries. With lithium-ion it now has a range in excess of 300 miles.

The Solectria holds the record for range in an EV, 373 miles. But this was back with NiMH batteries at only 65 Wh/kg. The new lithium-ion batteries are up to 220 Wh/kg, which means retrofitting such a vehicle with these would give it a range of about 1,260 miles - probably more like 800 miles in ordinary driving conditions.

As for longer trips with smaller batteries, just use a plug-in hybrid, or hire a range-extending trailer from a garage if you just have an EV.

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/ecotech/ecot.htm

Fair enough, I stand corrected. Now they just need to enlarge it.


I have to say, I find this really funny. Honestly, I had never heard of or thought of such a solution, so today I can say I learned something new.