Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

libtodeath

(2,888 posts)
47. Interesting
Sun Feb 12, 2012, 02:12 PM
Feb 2012

Would love to see more and more alternative energy cars on the road just wondring though if any calculations have been made about if we have the generating and transmission capacity to meet requirements as more electric cars hit the market.
If we had to build a bunch of powerplants and run a lot more lines then that will have an enviromental impact and also would maybe effect the values given.

That's only fair if you compare the energy it takes to make the batteries Lionessa Feb 2012 #1
That energy is already calculated in the energy it takes to build the vehicles, building an electric grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #2
Really? Got a link for that? I doubt you do. TheWraith Feb 2012 #6
No, the fact that it will take about as much energy to make a gas guzzler as an EV is common sense grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #22
No, it's not. It's a fairly large and unsupported assumption. TheWraith Feb 2012 #52
I'm pretty sure the batteries are not made on site but by battery manufacturers and then shipped for Lionessa Feb 2012 #7
That's true for a great many components of automobiles, the majority in fact.. Fumesucker Feb 2012 #11
Correct. Prius batteries travel a great distance before placement into the cars themselves. cherokeeprogressive Feb 2012 #18
About the same thing that happens with the oil. But over and over again, every time you fill your grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #23
"About"? Nuclear Unicorn Feb 2012 #56
The energy to make the batteries is a 1 time expense, energy to make a gallon of gas is per gallon ShadowLiberal Feb 2012 #9
You have a point, but batteries don't last forever, even if there corrosive chemicals do. Lionessa Feb 2012 #13
Batteries can be recycled. grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #31
Those "corrosive chemicals" do not last forever. PavePusher Feb 2012 #53
Batteries have to be charged as gas tanks have to be filled. NCTraveler Feb 2012 #28
The question isn't that focused. It's an energy-side question. joshcryer Feb 2012 #15
What about the energy it takes to provide the fuel hughee99 Feb 2012 #50
For the purposes of this discussion it is not useful to measure energy in kwh lumberjack_jeff Feb 2012 #3
Far less. Every time you drive a Gas car 30 miles, you use a gallon of gas PLUS whatever grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #5
You're looking at this backwards. lumberjack_jeff Feb 2012 #8
Eh, while true, it's not particularly useful. joshcryer Feb 2012 #19
The electricity comes from some source of fuel as well. antigone382 Feb 2012 #17
The point is that it requires 7.5 kwh of electricity to make a gallon of gas; so grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #32
Erm, if you're consuming less energy, and that energy is still fossil fuel based... joshcryer Feb 2012 #16
No. If I buy electricity to generate kinetic energy... lumberjack_jeff Feb 2012 #20
Nah, even if you take the nuclear plants in Lousiana and California... joshcryer Feb 2012 #21
You'd lose the argument, and by quite a bit IDemo Feb 2012 #36
It all depends on where you live. lumberjack_jeff Feb 2012 #49
Won't THIS piss off the hybrid-bashers on Craig's List? WhoIsNumberNone Feb 2012 #4
Hybrids cause more greenhouse gas emissions in many areas tabasco Feb 2012 #10
You're missing the point of the post - the gas powered car uses the electricity PLUS the gas. grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #26
No, you're missing the point. tabasco Feb 2012 #35
This tired old myth pops up on each and every EV thread online IDemo Feb 2012 #37
The "tired old myth" comes from Argonne National Laboratory tabasco Feb 2012 #44
Look at it this way, refining one gallon of gas requires 7.5Kwh of electricity. So, grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #40
I want an electric car but can't afford one Rosa Luxemburg Feb 2012 #12
Mitsubishi Imiev or the Prius-C (under 20K)??? Me, I ride a bike. grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #25
I can have only one car. So my car can't be electric. Honeycombe8 Feb 2012 #38
The problem with these type of calculations is they ignore the power plant. former9thward Feb 2012 #14
No, the gallon of gas uses NOT ONLY the electricity, BUT ALSO the oil!!! grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #24
Really? Got a link for that? LOL just kidding. Zalatix Feb 2012 #27
Thank you! I don't understand why they want to use the electricity AND the gas to go the same distan grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #29
K/R and DAMN, there's a LOT of misinformation in this thread... NYC_SKP Feb 2012 #30
K&R Scuba Feb 2012 #33
Damn, only 22 miles per gallon average? Art_from_Ark Feb 2012 #34
The calculation is wrong -- 21000 BTU can generate about 2.4 kWhr of electricity FarCenter Feb 2012 #39
It takes 7.5 kWh of electricity to just to REFINE one gallon of gas; the car still has not moved. grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #41
No, it takes 21000 BTU of chemical and heat energy FarCenter Feb 2012 #42
I know that US refineries used 48,891,000,000 kWh of electricity in 2005. grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #46
It works out to 0.35 kWHr/gallon of gas. FarCenter Feb 2012 #48
There is a deeper discussion of how they arrived at the 7.5 kWh figure grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #51
shocking factoid...we can MAKE electricity...we can't make oil spanone Feb 2012 #43
K&R for an awesome discussion. The debate here is fascinating and coalition_unwilling Feb 2012 #45
Interesting libtodeath Feb 2012 #47
What's not factored into all of this HarveyDarkey Feb 2012 #57
Yes, but what if I want to go more than 100 miles HarveyDarkey Feb 2012 #54
Well, if you can afford it, buy a Tesla... grahamhgreen Feb 2012 #55
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Shocking Factoid of the D...»Reply #47