Skip to main content

A Bright Electric Powered Future for the Car

By Eric McErlain

After taking a hard look at the all-electric Tesla Roadster, Demon Speeding is conjuring up a hopeful, and fun, vision for the future of the automobile:
Voltage. Amps. Kilowatts. Zero Emissions. Lithium Ion. I see parking garages and parking lots of work places being equipped with plugs. I see gas stations offering “quick change” battery exchanges similar to the way one could exchange a propane tank today. I see the US taking a new interest in the development and construction of new nuclear power plants. I see electricity rates per kilowatt hour electricity rate falling to all-time lows. I see new racing leagues, in the spirit of Formula 1, Indy, Cart and NASCAR, being launched with all-electric vehicles. I see light at the end of the tunnel for a lifelong “gear-head”.
Sounds great to me. Zoom zoom!
Labels:

Comments

Anonymous said…
If you've got a spare one hundred grand to throw around, I guess this is your car. But until the price drops to something less than a lifetime's earnings for ordinary folks, it will remain a playtoy for actors and corporate CEOs (as listed on the "ownership" section of the entry).
April 11, 2007 at 1:23 PM
Stewart Peterson said…
All cars were once playthings for the rich.

Electric cars would probably benefit more from nuclear power than you might think as a near-100% nuclear grid would allow non-metered electricity. And yes, we can get there--100% of electricity coming from nuclear energy (say 30% LWR, 18% HWR, 50% LMFBR, 2% experimental reactors like MSRs and PBMRs) is no less diverse than 100% coming from chemical energy (say 50% coal, 30% oil, 15% gas, 5% other gases).
April 11, 2007 at 5:43 PM
Anonymous said…
+-Cars Rule!

The final transition to the electric everything will be done once the nuclear fusion reactor starts working. Hope we can see it in our life ;)

[+-]Everything!

Electric Emoticon Announcement
April 11, 2007 at 7:47 PM
Ace said…
The price of this car and similar offerings should be dramatically reduced in the future. As in our blog Demon Speeding.., "But like any other new technology, the relative high cost is completely understandable. And if there is any one thing technological innovations have taught us over the past 2-3 decades, it’s that when technology is in high demand it has a tendency to do two things: improve rapidly and decrease in cost equally so. Anyone who bought a CD player in the mid 80’s, a DVD player in the mid 90’s, a computer in 2000 or a digital camera last month can attest to this."
April 12, 2007 at 8:50 AM
Ace said…
We definitely need to start building new nuclear power stations. The ones that are operating today are 1950's technology, with the advancements in nuclear technology not only will the new power stations be able to generate electricity they will also be able to produce hydrogen giving us another alternative to fuel cars, homes and all sorts of electronic devices.
April 12, 2007 at 8:55 AM
Anonymous said…
Yes, I understand that automobiles were once the exclusive playthings of the wealthy. That's why I said the price of this model will have to come down to something comparable to what we pay now for gasoline-powered vehicles if it is going to gain acceptance in the marketplace. It took a Henry Ford to do that in the early years of the auto industry. Is there someone out there who can do likewise with this technology?

The range issue must also be addressed, or the problem of charging time. I prefer to take my car on vacation. It is too expensive for my family to fly and then rent a car for a couple of weeks. We need our own vehicle. Depending on where we go, it might be anywhere from 600 to 1100 miles to our destination one way. Now I can "recharge" my gasoline burner at the pump in five minutes and be on my way for another 500 miles. Can something like that ever be hoped for from electric technology?
April 13, 2007 at 11:12 AM
Royce Penstinger said…
Do your homework...the folks at Tesla know the lies that are the Nuclear Renaissance, do not buy into your lies that nuclear is the great Green Earthmother of the hydrogen economy.
April 15, 2007 at 12:26 AM
RemyC said…
Back OFF! Tesla Motors is selling their roadster with a residential PV system to charge the car! 330 green celebrities have already bought the car so far, ALL of them ANTI-nuclear... By this time next year, every other car on Rodeo drive will be an electric car.. Your industry is DEAD on arrival. Indian Point is down for the count... give it up already! Find yourselves honest work.
April 15, 2007 at 9:45 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fluor Invests in NuScale

By
You know, it’s kind of sad that no one is willing to invest in nuclear energy anymore. Wait, what? NuScale Power celebrated the news of its company-saving $30 million investment from Fluor Corp. Thursday morning with a press conference in Washington, D.C. Fluor is a design, engineering and construction company involved with some 20 plants in the 70s and 80s, but it has not held interest in a nuclear energy company until now. Fluor, which has deep roots in the nuclear industry, is betting big on small-scale nuclear energy with its NuScale investment. "It's become a serious contender in the last decade or so," John Hopkins, [Fluor’s group president in charge of new ventures], said. And that brings us to NuScale, which had run into some dark days – maybe not as dark as, say, Solyndra, but dire enough : Earlier this year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed an action against NuScale's lead investor, The Michael Kenwood Group. The firm "misap...
1 comment
Read more

Wednesday Update

By
From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Nuclear Utility Moves Up in Credit Ratings, Bank is "Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy"

By
Some positive signs that nuclear utilities can continue to receive positive ratings even while they finance new nuclear plants for the first time in decades: Wells Fargo upgrades SCANA to Outperform from Market Perform Wells analyst says, "YTD, SCG shares have underperformed the Regulated Electrics (total return +2% vs. +9%). Shares trade at 11.3X our 10E EPS, a modest discount to the peer group median of 11.8X. We view the valuation as attractive given a comparatively constructive regulatory environment and potential for above-average long-term EPS growth prospects ... Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy. SCG plans to participate in the development of two regulated nuclear units at a cost of $6.3B, raising legitimate concerns regarding financing and construction. We have carefully considered the risks and are comfortable with SCG’s strategy based on a highly constructive political & regulatory environment, manageable financing needs stretched out over 10 years, strong partners...
Post a Comment
Read more