ElectricVehicle
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Some members of this forum may be interested in reading and adding comments on http://www.autoblog.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; to this story:
What good is an electric vehicle if there's no electricity?
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/28/what-good-is-an-electric-vehicle-if-theres-no-electricity/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
What good is an electric vehicle if there's no electricity?
http://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/28/what-good-is-an-electric-vehicle-if-theres-no-electricity/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Indeed, research by the University of Minnesota finds that the number of major power outages has doubled during the last decade – and as FERC's chairman suggested, there's little reason to believe that will get better any time soon.
Yet the grid is being asked to take on a new load, the Obama Administration aiming to drive more than a million plug-in hybrids and pure battery-electric vehicles onto U.S. roads by mid-decade. At anywhere from three kilowatts to as much as 75, the chargers used for vehicles like the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt or the upcoming Tesla Model S will dwarf the power consumption of even the most energy-hungry home of today. That battery car is very likely to suck down more power than all your plasma TVs, 1000-watt audio systems, desktop computers and air conditioning systems combined.
Imagine hearing warning sirens and finding your car is stuck in the driveway, the battery on "E."
Officials from both the utility and automotive industries insist that consumers are likely to charge up their vehicles overnight, when demand on the grid is lightest – and rates are lowest – for those using special time-dependent circuits. Initial evidence doesn't necessarily support that. If anything, it appears battery car owners are more likely than not to plug in whenever they have a chance.
"I don't want to wait til morning to have my car charged up," says a close friend – himself in the auto industry, hence his request not to be named – "I want my car ready to go at any moment."