Fresh And Easy scores a near miss...

[Yodrak]

Not many fossil-fuel power plants can or will shut down overnight - it takes too long to start them up again. Some might be shut down for the weekend, starting up again late Sunday night to be ready for Monday morning. For a marginal cost power plant it can be a complex operational and financial decision to shut it down, and for how long. In one sense, a power plant that can be shut down for a few hours, or a few days, can be like diesel truck idling while the driver takes a break - it's not generating electricity, but it's burning fuel and consuming electricity to keep it warm and ready to go again. In another sense, running a power plant is like flying an airlplane - the riskiest times are startup (takeoff) and shutdown (landing).

To clarify, I did not mean to imply that power plants are smokin' away at the same rate as in the day. I knew that power plants throttle down at night, but... I will admit that I was unaware that they actually shut down. Wow. Interesting.

You'll get no arguement from me on that point. My interest is in helping people to better understand how electricity is generated - it's not a simple process, which can potentially lead to incorrect conclusions.

For argument's sake, then, let's say that charging EVs at night really will produce more greenhouse gases because those power plants will keep running rather than shutting down. I'm not sure that I see the point when it comes to the topic at hand of comparing emissions between ICEs and EVs. Whether power plants are running or shut down, whether they're charging EVs or running oil refineries, on average in the U.S. a Leaf produces less greenhouse gas emissions than a comparable gasoline vehicle per mile --at least according to the EPA's numbers and formulas.

 

[Randy]

Guys, we're getting several reports that these posts are off-topic...How about creating a new thread to carry on the conversation?

Thanks...

 

[davewill]

Guys, we're getting several reports that these posts are off-topic...How about creating a new thread to carry on the conversation?

Thanks...

WAY off topic. This pie fight just keeps going and going and going...and gets all over everything, seemingly.

 

[JRP3]

Is it possible for the mods to simply move the off topic posts to a new thread? I know it's done on other boards I frequent. It's a relevant discussion topic even if some don't want to participate.