EV

The Dirty Secrets of “Clean” Electric Vehicles

usissuescom Energy Policy , , , , ,

By Tilak Doshi – Re-Blogged From WUWT

The widespread view that fossil fuels are “dirty” and renewables such as wind and solar energy and electric vehicles are “clean” has become a fixture of mainstream media and policy assumptions across the political spectrum in developed countries, perhaps with the exception of the Trump-led US administration. Indeed the ultimate question we are led to believe is how quickly can enlightened Western governments, led by an alleged scientific consensus, “decarbonize” with clean energy in a race to save the world from impending climate catastrophe. The ‘net zero by 2050’ mantra, calling for carbon emissions to be completely mitigated within three decades, is now the clarion call by governments and intergovernmental agencies around the developed world, ranging from several EU member states and the UK, to the International Energy Agency and the International Monetary Fund.

Continue reading →

Electric Vehicle Sales Fall Despite A Proliferation Of New Models

usissuescom GDP & Employment , , ,
By Brad Anderson – Re-Blogged From CarScoops

As more and more electric vehicles hit the market, it would be reasonable to assume that sales of EVs would be rising consistently. However, according to new figures, that’s not the case.

The Los Angeles Times reports that while 45 new all-electric and plug-in hybrids debuted in the U.S. last year, just 325,000 EVs and plug-in hybrids were sold across the nation in 2019, a fall of 6.8 per cent from the 349,000 of the year prior. Numbers regarding how many EVs were sold in California last year aren’t available quite yet.

“The number of battery-electric models available more than doubled last year, but EV sales didn’t budge much. That’s troubling,” the head of the automotive practice at consulting firm AlixPartners, Mark Wakefield said.

Continue reading →

Ireland Fast-Tracks Law Banning Gas Vehicles Within A Decade

usissuescom CAGW Alarmism, Foreign Policy , , , , , , ,

Chris White ,From The Daily Caller– Re-Blogged From WUWT

Ireland is fast-tracking legislation that will effectively ban all gas-powered vehicles within a decade, leaving customers who are buying cars in January confused about what to do next, local reports show.

The country’s Climate Action Minister Richard Bruton plans to publish the Climate Action (Amendment) Bill 2019 enforcing such a ban, the Independent.ie reported Monday. The ban was officially announced in June, according to the report. One of Ireland’s political parties is pushing back.

Continue reading →

Congress Says Nay to Expanding EV Tax Credits

usissuescom Regulation, Taxes & Spending , , ,
By – Re-Blogged From The Truth About Cars

year-end tax package. Automakers were hoping that would include an extension of electric vehicle tax credits, but it was a doomed proposition.

An extension was initially included in the bipartisan Driving America Forward Act, which manifested this spring, before being incorporated into the Democrat-friendly GREEN Act (Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now). That got it through the House but not the Republican-controlled Senate, which wasn’t interested.

Continue reading →

British Police Admit Electric Vehicles are Useless for Police Work

usissuescom Foreign Policy, Regulation , , , , ,

By Eric Worrall – Re-Blogged From WUWT

h/t Breitbart; Police forces in Britain are facing questions over the waste of millions of pounds purchasing electric vehicles which are not up to the job of chasing criminals or responding to emergency situations.

Police ‘waste’ £1.5MILLION on electric cars that they admit are useless for chasing criminals because they ‘can’t go fast enough or far enough without a battery change’

  • Reports found cars do not meet demands of urgent response or pursuit driving
  • Forces have bought at least 448 environmentally-friendly vehicles to help them 
  • However almost all cars and vans are being used in non-emergency situations
UK Police Lego. Rob Young from United Kingdom [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons (image modified)

Continue reading →

Pathway 2045 Part 3

usissuescom Energy Policy , , ,

By Rud Istvan, – Re-Blogged From WUWT

This is the third in a six part series.

Here are links to Part 1 and Part 2~ctm

The second SoCalEd component to its roadmap to decarbonization by 2045 is 75% vehicle electrification.

clip_image002

Thanks to the California DMV annual registration database, we can learn what that implies. There were in 2018 about 25.6 million registered automobiles, 5.3 million non-CVRA trucks (pickups, delivery vans), 0.5 million CVRA trucks (Class 7-8 diesels), and 1.8 million ‘Foreign IRP’ trucks (CVRA licensed in another state but also registered to operate in California). The total is about 33.2 million vehicles excluding trailers and motorcycles. Since it is impossible (despite Elon Musk’s TESLA fantasies) for working pickups and big trucks to be meaningfully electrified with foreseeable battery technology, the SoCalEd roadmap implicitly means virtually all automobiles (25.6/33.2=>77%) will be full electric in 2045.

Continue reading →

Some Chinese Electric Cars Are ‘Simply Worthless’: Industry Body

usissuescom Energy Policy, Foreign Policy , , ,

By Dave Yin – Re-Blogged From CaixinGlobal

It’s “inevitable” that China’s electric cars have little resale value and some are inherently worth little, according to one of China’s top auto industry bodies.

In its latest weekly update on China’s ailing auto market, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA) listed several reasons why value retention is “too low” for new-energy vehicles (NEVs), including fully electric, fuel-cell and hybrid cars.

Photo: VCG

Photo: VCG

Continue reading →

Electric Car Charging Stations May be Portals for Power Grid Cyberattacks

usissuescom Energy Policy , ,

by NYU Tandon School of Engineering – Re-Blogged From Techxplore

The map displays substations connected by transmissions lines along with electric vehicle charging stations. The size of the blue circles is proportional to the charging station demand. Such information can be used by hackers to disrupt either charging of electric vehicles or the power grid itself. Credit: NYU Tandon School of Engineering

Electric cars are an essential component of a lower-carbon future, but a new report from researchers at the New York University Tandon School of Engineering raises the specter that plug-in electric vehicles—and the charging stations that supply them—could be prime vectors for cyberattacks on urban power grids.

Continue reading →

Automakers Flash Warning Over Supplies Of Critical Metals

usissuescom Stocks & Commodities , , , , , , ,
By Stefan Gleason – Re-Blogged From Silver Phoenix

While motorists continue to enjoy the benefits of a longstanding supply glut in crude oil, car manufacturers are becoming increasingly worried about shortages. Not in liquid fuels, but in metals.

The automotive industry requires certain strategic, rare, and precious metals. Without them, batteries for electric cars wouldn’t function and catalytic converters for gasoline engines wouldn’t work.

Many of the metals that play a critical role in both conventional and electric vehicles now face potential supply shortfalls.

Continue reading →

Green New Deal Could Be A Huge Boon For China

usissuescom Energy Policy, Foreign Policy , , , , , ,

By Michael Bastasch From The Daily Caller – Re-Blogged From WUWT

  • Plans like the Green New Deal could end up making the U.S. more dependent on China, according to reports.
  • A new study found the U.S. would need to import more rare earth minerals from China to build more offshore wind turbines.
  • “These demands would total over 15.5 [gigagrams] of neodymium by 2050,” reads the study.

A new study underscores a longstanding concern about sweeping plans, like the Green New Deal, to increase renewable energy use in America: dependency on China.

[I’d be interested in knowing if China (secrtly) has funded any democrats. -Bob]

Continue reading →

Tesla May Not Make It Past Q1

usissuescom Education , , , ,

By Ener Tuition -Re-Blogged From Seeking Alpha

“In Q3 last year, we were able to make a 4% profit. While small by most standards, I would still consider this our first meaningful profit in the 15 years since we created Tesla. However, that was in part the result of preferentially selling higher priced Model 3 variants in North America. In Q4, preliminary, unaudited results indicate that we again made a GAAP profit, but less than Q3. This quarter, as with Q3, shipment of higher priced Model 3 variants (this time to Europe and Asia) will hopefully allow us, with great difficulty, effort and some luck, to target a tiny profit.”

“However, starting around May, we will need to deliver at least the mid-range Model 3 variant in all markets, as we need to reach more customers who can afford our vehicles. Moreover, we need to continue making progress towards lower priced variants of Model 3. Right now, our most affordable offering is the mid-range (264 mile) Model 3 with premium sound and interior at $44k. The need for a lower priced variants of Model 3 becomes even greater on July 1, when the US tax credit again drops in half, making our car $1,875 more expensive, and again at the end of the year when it goes away entirely.”

Continue reading →

Italy Proposes €6000 (US $6800) Vehicle Sales Tax to Subsidise Green Electric Vehicles

usissuescom Energy Policy, Foreign Policy , , , , ,

By Eric Worrall – Re-Blogged From WUWT

h/t Dr Willie Soon / Steve Milloy – the Italian government has proposed plans to subsidise sales of electric cars, by taxing sales of gasoline and diesel cars.

Italy proposes measures to spur sales of low-emission cars

MILAN/ROME (Reuters) – Italy plans to offer subsidies of up to 6,000 euros ($6,800) to buyers of new low emission vehicles and will increase taxes on new petrol and diesel cars, two government officials said on Wednesday.

Concerns over climate change are pushing European lawmakers to tighten emissions regulations, but the car industry says that would harm its competitiveness.

RomeThe Imperial fora belongs to a series of monumental fora (public squares) constructed in Rome by the emperors. Also in the image can be seen the Trajan’s Market. By Rabax63 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
 Continue reading →

Vehicle Electrification Common Sense

usissuescom Energy Policy , , , , ,

By Rud Istvan, – Re-Blogged From WUWT

This is the first of two loosely related technology posts that ctm suggested might be interesting to WUWT. In full disclosure, the details stem from my financial interests in energy storage materials and related topics, having spent much time and money since 2007 on fundamental now globally issued energy storage materials patents for supercapacitance (the Helmholtz double layer physics that creates lightning in thunderstorms). Some of the info cited below is slightly dated because I was too lazy to make everything current. Some of this info was borrowed from my ebook The Arts of Truth and from a 2017 Climate Etc post. All conclusions nevertheless remain valid.

Continue reading →

Weekly Climate and Energy News Roundup #333

usissuescom CAGW Alarmism, Energy Policy, Regulation , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Brought to You by www.SEPP.org, The Science and Environmental Policy Project

By Ken Haapala, President

Biased: TWTW has been accused as being biased. It is biased against speculative ideas being used to justify far reaching government policy, particularly if the primary support of these ideas are complex mathematical models that have not been validated. Politicians and the public are often overwhelmed by such models even though the models may contain significant omissions and logical errors. Government policies based on speculative thinking can be harmful to the economy and to humans.

Over the past two weeks, TWTW discussed significant problems with the reports of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its followers such as the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). Physicist Richard Lindzen brought up two: the climate system is unrealistically over-simplified and the global climate models fail to address critical issues regarding clouds and water vapor. Water vapor is by far the dominant greenhouse gas.

Continue reading →

Electri-Fried Fusion

usissuescom CAGW Alarmism, Energy Policy , , , , , , , , , ,

By Renee Hannon – Re-Blogged From WUWT

My dad is an off-the-grid kind of guy and the cost of his lifestyle choice is usually secondary. He was one of the first in Delaware to install a solar hot water heater on his roof in the early 1970s. During the past decades a gorgeous oak tree grew tall and shaded his solar panels. But that’s OK because the oak tree brought birds, squirrels and other wildlife near his deck for countless hours of viewing pleasure. So, in a sunny spot he put solar panels on the garage roof plus a new free-standing solar panel by the driveway. That free-standing solar panel is big enough to park a car under and, so far, the neighbors haven’t complained. I’m not sure what those solar panels cost but his electric bill is about $5 a month. Continue reading →

Why You (Probably) Have Bought Your Last Car Already

usissuescom Discussion Categories, GDP & Employment , , , , , ,

By Justin Rowlatt – Re-Blogged From BBC News

[If the images don’t show up, please see the original article. -Bob]

I’m guessing you are scoffing in disbelief at the very suggestion of this article, but bear with me.

A growing number of tech analysts are predicting that in less than 20 years we’ll all have stopped owning cars, and, what’s more, the internal combustion engine will have been consigned to the dustbin of history.

Continue reading →

Groups Want End to Subsidy of Electric Cars That Only Benefit the Rich

usissuescom Regulation, Taxes & Spending , , , ,

By Michael Barnes – Re-Blogged From Liberty Headlines

A coalition of 30 free market policy groups has delivered a clear message to Congress: Don’t expand the $7,500 federal tax credit for purchasers of electric vehicles, the vast majority of which are extremely wealthy.

On its face, the electric vehicle subsidy is “misguided as a whole,” coalition signatories said in a Wednesday letter to Rep. Kevin Brady, chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

‘Americans can make their own decisions about how to spend their money and what cars they want to drive…’

30 Free Market Groups Urge Congress Not to Expand Electric Vehicle Subsidies 1

IMAGE: mmurphy (CC) via Pixabay

Continue reading →

Weekly Climate and Energy News Roundup #324

usissuescom CAGW Alarmism, Energy Policy, Foreign Policy, Regulation , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Brought to You by www.SEPP.org The Science and Environmental Policy Project

By Ken Haapala, President

Group Think-Bureaucratic Science: Last week’s TWTW discussed Judith Curry’s review of a rather remarkable paper by retired MIT professor Carl Wunsch, who participated in 1979 report “Carbon Dioxide and Climate: A Scientific Assessment,” headed by Jule Charney. The findings in Charney Report have become the core reasoning for the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and many US government actions, including the EPA’s illogical finding that carbon dioxide endangers human health and welfare.

Continue reading →

How China Is Muscling In on Lithium-Ion Batteries

usissuescom Energy Policy, Foreign Policy , , , , , , ,

Re-Blogged From Stratfor

Highlights

  • In spite of potential global pushback against Beijing’s investments, Chinese companies will acquire control of a majority of the lithium-ion battery market, giving the country a significant advantage in a sector of growing geopolitical importance.
  • The United States will exploit economies of scale and focus on finding domestic sources of materials as it attempts to carve out a market share amid China’s growing dominance.
  • Japan and Korea will have the most success penetrating markets in which there is significant pushback against Chinese investment, such as in North America, Australia and parts of Europe.
  • Europe will likely fall behind because its battery manufacturing capacity does not have the ability to meet its demand.
    Continue reading →

What If India And China Used Natural Gas And Oil Like The U.S.?

usissuescom Energy Policy, Foreign Policy , , , , , , , , ,

By David Middleton, petroleum geologist – Re-Blogged From WUWT

From Forbes…

JUN 17, 2018

What If India And China Used Natural Gas And Oil Like The U.S.?

Jude Clemente , CONTRIBUTOR

BP’s just releasedStatistical Review of World Energy 2018 has got my wheels turning. The first thing you should know is that global energy consumption has essentially just begun: around 85% of the global population – 6 in every 7 humans – still lives in developing nations. They don’t live in rich cities, like San Francisco, Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, London, or Tokyo; they live in poorer ones, like Mumbai, Lagos, Jakarta, Guangzhou, Calcutta, and Karachi. This is where the future energy action is man: at least 90% of future demand will be in nations that are currently not developed. We rich, “all the energy that we want at our fingertips” Westerners still aren’t grasping a sad and cold reality: most of the world is poor and energy deprived.

Continue reading →

Freeze, Reduce or Eliminate CAFÉ Fuel Standards

usissuescom Energy Policy, Regulation , , , , , ,

By Paul Driessen – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com

Too many small, lightweight cars cause too many deaths and injuries to justify tighter mpg rule

A 2002 National Academy of Sciences study estimated that automotive mileage standards had helped cause as many as 2,600 extra fatalities in 1993 – at a relatively lenient standard of 27.5 miles per gallon. Other studies reached similar conclusions. And yet, in 2012, the Obama Administration began ratcheting the standards upward, with the goal of hitting 54.5 mpg by 2025.

Fund Managers Predict the Decline of Oil, But We’ve Heard This Before

usissuescom Energy Policy , , , , , ,

By Steve Goreham – Re-Blogged From Washington Examiner

World fund managers predict a fall in the value of oil companies. According to a survey published last month in the United Kingdom, climate change risks will force a lower valuation of oil company stock prices within the next five years. But despite many predictions of demise over the last 50 years, global consumption of hydrocarbon energy continues to grow.
The sun begins to rise behind a pump jack and oil storage tanks near Williston, N.D.
The sun begins to rise behind a pump jack and oil storage tanks near Williston, N.D.
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Continue reading →

Electric Cars Could ‘Power Our Lives’

usissuescom CAGW Alarmism, Energy Policy , , ,

By Anthony Watts – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com

Energy from electric cars could power our lives — but only if we improve the system
Two apparently contradictory studies come together with recommendations

Oxford, November 22, 2017 – Power stored in electric cars could be sent back to the grid – thereby supporting the grid and acting as a potential storage for clean energy – but it will only be economically viable if we upgrade the system first. In a new paper in Energy Policy, two scientists show how their seemingly contradictory findings actually point to the same outcome and recommendations: that pumping energy back into the grid using today’s technology can damage car batteries, but with improvements in the system it has the potential to provide valuable clean energy – and improve battery life in the process.

Continue reading →

In Defense of the Electric Car – part 3

usissuescom Energy Policy , , , ,

By John Hardy  – Re-Bloged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com

Full disclosure: I own an electric car, and I think they are useful for city transportation. However, having owned one for a decade, I can say that it hasn’t been practical or cost-effective. John Hardy believes they are the future, I’ll let you, the reader, decide. – Anthony Watts

Part 1 of this series expressed the view that regardless of “the environment”, EVs are poised to inflict a massive disruption on the automotive industry, and outlined the strengths of the technology and some of the reasons that it is happening now.

Part 2 discussed the main issues for Western automakers in handling this disruption

Part 3 below is devoted to common misconceptions which cause some to mistakenly conclude that EVs will not be practicable in the foreseeable future.

Continue reading →

In Defense of the Electric Car – part2

usissuescom Energy Policy, Foreign Policy , , , , , , ,

[Full disclosure: I own an electric car, and I think they are useful for city transportation. However, having owned one for a decade, I can say that it hasn’t been practical or cost-effective. John Hardy believes they are the future, I’ll let you, the reader, decide. – Anthony Watts]

The demise of the Western auto industry: Part 2 – the problem

By John Hardy – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com

Part 1 of this series here, expressed the view that regardless of “the environment”, Electric Vehicles (EVs) are poised to inflict a massive disruption on the automotive industry, and outlined the strengths of the technology and some of the reasons that it is happening now.

In Part 2, I outline what I see as the main issues for Western automakers. They need to wake up and smell the coffee: the history of technology is strewn with examples of once-great companies that failed to adapt to a technology advance and went to the wall. Traditional Western automakers may just do the same. They appear to have failed to realise that gearing up for EVs is not just business as usual with a different drivetrain. In particular they have until very recently shown no sign of thinking about fast charge, sourcing the cells that go into batteries, the dealer network or maintenance.

Continue reading →

In Defense of the Electric Car – Part 1

usissuescom CAGW Alarmism, Energy Policy , , , , , , , , ,

[Full disclosure: I own an electric car, and I think they are useful for city transportation. However, having owned one for a decade, I can say that it hasn’t been practical or cost-effective. John Hardy believes they are the future, I’ll let you, the reader, decide. – Anthony Watts]

By John Hardy – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com

Preamble

In the West, almost all climate change activists consider Electric Vehicles (EVs) important because they are believed to emit less CO2 per mile. In contrast, many (but not all) climate sceptics consider them a waste of space because they regard them as a solution to a non-problem: they believe that all that EVs are good for is virtue signalling.

Continue reading →

Oil Paradigm Shift Dead Ahead

usissuescom Foreign Policy, Monetary Policy, Stocks & Commodities , , , , , , ,

By Spock – Re-Blogged From http://www.Silver-Phoenix500.com

Global Macro Thesis: Copper, Copper, Copper

The Chinese are holding their next national congress assembly from 18th October. This is a major event where macro policy for China is agreed and implemented. On the agenda will be the electrification of national road transport, with a plan to be all electric by 2050. This will achieve two objectives: Reduce pollution in the major cities and to be the global leader in the electric vehicle (EV) technology, and associated technologies. The Chinese are also building the infrastructure around the concept, including a huge electric grid upgrade across the country over the next 10 years, to cope with the additional load.

Continue reading →

Fair Trade for Thee, But Not for Me

usissuescom CAGW Alarmism, Foreign Policy, Regulation , , , , , ,

Imagine what a Tesla or wind turbine would cost if the Left followed its own “principles”

By Paul Driessen – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com

“Nobody wants to buy something that was made by exploiting someone else,” Ben & Jerry’s and Fair Trade co-founder Jerry Greenfield likes to tell us. Let’s hope he doesn’t drive an electric vehicle, doesn’t use a laptop or cell phone, and doesn’t rely on wind or solar power.

We’re constantly confronted with slogans and lectures about fair trade, human rights, sustainability, environmental and social justice, little people versus Big Corporations. Most of these subjective terms reflect perspectives and agendas of the political left, and are intended to advance those worldviews and stifle any discussion about them. But most of their self-avowed adherents never look beneath the surface of their own purchases. Indeed, they would have no standards at all if they didn’t have double standards.

Continue reading →

Global EV and Related Climate Alarmist Colossal Messes

usissuescom CAGW Alarmism, Energy Policy, Foreign Policy, Regulation, Taxes & Spending , , , , , , , , , , ,

By Larry Hamlin  Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com

EVs have been hyped by the climate alarmist renewable energy activist crowd as an effective approach for reducing greenhouse gas emissions regarding transportation energy consumption, which for many nations is a large portion of their total energy use.

EVs are fundamentally energy handicapped due to the low energy density of batteries versus the high energy density available in fossil fueled vehicles which results in significantly reduced mileage capabilities for EVs compared to fossil fueled vehicles.

These EV mileage limitations versus fossil fueled vehicles become even more exaggerated when additional energy demands are needed to support vehicle air conditioning and heating loads, hill climbing requirements and operation in cold temperatures that decrease battery stored energy capabilities.

Continue reading →

Tesla Battery, Subsidy and Sustainability Fantasies

usissuescom Energy Policy, Regulation , , , , , , , ,

By Paul Driessen – Re-Blogged From http://www.WattsUpWithThat.com

More subsidies from exhausted California taxpayers cannot compensate for hard realities

The first justification was that internal combustion engines polluted too much. But emissions steadily declined, and today’s cars emit about 3% of what their predecessors did. Then it was oil imports: electric vehicles (EVs) would reduce foreign dependency and balance of trade deficits. Bountiful oil and natural gas supplies from America’s hydraulic fracturing revolution finally eliminated that as an argument.

Now the focus is on climate change. Every EV sale will help prevent assumed and asserted manmade temperature, climate and weather disasters, we’re told – even if their total sales represented less than 1% of all U.S. car and light truck sales in 2016 (Tesla sold 47,184 of the 17,557,955 vehicles sold nationwide last year), and plug-in EVs account for barely 0.15% of 1.4 billion vehicles on the road worldwide.

Continue reading →