TonyWilliams
Well-known member
RegGuheert said:If that's true, then BEVs really are the only solution. It makes absolutely no sense to build $2M hydrogen refueling stations in each of these parks. BEVs can be charged by consuming electricity from existing transmission lines when other loads are minimized.GRA said:Which would require upgrading electrical infrastructure, and the Park Service is trying to reduce infrastructure inside the parks, and (always) to eliminate non-natural features from view.
As I said above, that $2M plus the vehicle cost savings can be put to purchasing a few more of the smaller shuttles to allow some to be at the depot charging while others are out. Then the massive savings on fuel will be gravy on top of all that. There is not place for H2 FCV in our national parks. That's why the article you posted said they were purchasing BEVs. There was absolutely no justification for you to pollute this thread with FCV nonsense while posting that article about BEV buses.
I really can't believe he said that... the park is trying to reduce infrastructure, so lets build a multi-million dollar hydrogen infrastructure. Just crazy.
If they do have to run high voltage wires in, I hope that they are buried. Yes, it costs more, but still less than running a hydrogen station. With buried wires in the street, I guess we could have an effective inductive charging system. Particularly going up the hills at low speed, the bus could be getting some juice... it seem the technology is up to about 20kW now in ideal circumstances.
As to the battery swapping, it won't really be much of a station if there are just two buses and a total of 4 batteries. Actually seems like there wouldn't need to be any building at all. Some kind of automated trolley could grab the battery out of the bus while the passengers are loading, and another trolley brings the freshly charged battery from it's power outlet (these things could sit in outside, or in a simple small shed) to pop it into the bus. None of this is even startling, and could all be orders of magnitude cheaper than H2.
A combination of all the above (in highway inductive, then when parked, fast conductive, and finally swapping) would be possible to have the smallest, lightest batteries. Unlike an H2 plant, or some huge diesel spewing tanker truck bringing the H2 in, while noisy pumps and refrigeration running, I'll take quiet, cheap, dependable electricity... in DC, just like Edison proved was safe by electrocuting elephants with AC ;-)