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Comment Re:gas isn't going anywhere hybrid is fine (Score 1) 434

Since you mentioned Superchargers I assume you are specifically talking about Tesla's EVs
In a Tesla you don't stop for 30 minutes every 100 miles. You start the day with 300+ miles of range and drive for 3-4 hours. Then you stop for lunch. Superchargers are very widespread, and almost always are next to food., A 30 minute stop adds 200+ miles of range, so you can drive another 2-3 hours.
So there's your 500 mile round mile trip. One stop. You did stop somewhere along the way right? Otherwise why did you make the trip?
And although there is only one place with the newest V3 supercharger, they will be rolling out, and they reduce the charge time for 200 miles to 15 minutes.

Comment Re:$100 million for 2490 classrooms? (Score 5, Informative) 147

Heat lags peak solar by several hours. Hawaii's grid can't absorb the excess generated at nonn, and strains to supply the need as consumption ramps up just as solar is starting to fall. Some storage to time shift the produced solar power by a few hours is pretty much mandatory, once solar starts to be a large fraction of the total supply. You also need the storage to smooth out sudden dips likes a storm blowing in. Solar production can drop by 80% in a fraction of an hour. That's not a problem if solar is only a few percent of your energy mix, but it can lead to grid instability if the solar is meeting nearly 100% of the total demand at noon, and the conventional power plant is idling near zero output. Fossil fuel plants take time to ramp up. Battery storage (or other grid scale storage) is mandatory for a stable supply once solar (or solar and wind) become a large percentage of total supply.

Comment Re: Business 101 (Score 1) 159

As soon as someone mentions "hydrogen energy" I know they can be dismissed as uninformed. Hydrogen is a lousy, inefficient way to store or transport energy. The reasons are so numerous and fundamentally intractable that anyone who thinks hydrogen will be an economical way to power anything on a mass scale has to be lacking in basic science and engineering knowledge. Hydrogen will have niche uses, but is very unlikely to be the fuel of choice for cars.

But in about 18 - 24 months we will have a definitive answer as to whether or not "actual consumers would voluntarily pay the true cost of these vehicles." Tesla will soon cross the threshold of production volume where the subsidies on their cars phases out. Most of the 330K+ people who have put down deposits to get a Model III will be getting that car after the subsidies end. Or they will cancel. Time will tell.

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