Topic: Electric cars - not quite so green

[Rik]

The Telegraph reports a slight dent in the advantages of electric cars:

Switching all cars in the country to electric would drain the National Grid of nearly a fifth of its capacity unless the equivalent of another six new nuclear power stations are built, claims a report.

The Royal Academy of Engineering said that to convert the countries fleet of 30 million vehicles would increase current demand by 16 per cent or an extra 10 gigawatts of power.

With the 70 GW grid currently running at near full capacity that would mean building the equivalent of six large nuclear power stations or 2,000 wind turbines to meet demand.
 
It would also mean that it will have to be controlled by a "smart grid" of millions of charging points in order to deal with increase and wild fluctuations in demand.

There goes another bright idea then.

[Clive]

I have never been a fan of electric cars since my Sinclair C5 packed up on me in fast lane of the M4.   

[Rik]

Your little legs must have been going like the clappers, Clive.

[Clive]

The brushes in the motor probably burned out.   

[Rik]

And that was just you.

[Clive]

   For such an intelligent chap he had no common sense at all.  I'm shocked that Hoover manufactured thousands of extra washing machine motors on the sales expectations of the C5.  Which amounted to zero.   

[Rik]

No wonder they lost market position.

[sam]

With the 70 GW grid currently running at near full capacity that would mean building the equivalent of six large nuclear power stations or 2,000 wind turbines to meet demand.

and... I don't see the problem with that.