Most electric vehicle charging is done at home, overnight, on economy tariffs - when the grid can comfortably cope.
I was just trying to remember the last time we had a power cut. I can't!
Posted by Tim W on 27 April, 2021 at 8:10 AM
I don't think that is true Tim.
Economy 7 and Economy 10 are no longer available to new customers, and there are many people who do not have charging points at home (and, logistically, will never be able to have them). A few companies, such as Octopus, now have variable time-of-use tarrifs, but, the grid is currently frequently at meltdown, and cannot cope with current demand, let alone all the potential EVs that will need powering by 2040, even with all the new wind farms in the north, and off-shore, and solar farms in the south.
That is why EVs' batteries are being seen as potential storage for surplus electricity, that can be pulled back into the grid (by vehicles being always plugged in when not-in-use) when needed.
Power cuts are less frequent now as local ageing infrastruture has been largely replaced: most power cuts in the past were caused by component failure, or extreme weather conditions. Plus, the grid is more of a grid and functions much better (responds more rapidly to local demands/shortages) than it used to, due to technological developments in monitoring, switching, and better prediction.
The extension to the existing solar farm quite near to Coven Sud will, if approved, put another quarter of a million huge solar panels over hundreds of acres of prime farmland, currently used to grow cereal and oil crops. This is land that has been turned down for development (largely on unsustainability grounds), and, I suspect, this is increasingly how things will go. There are 6 such proposals in the pipeline in just the one District that I know about. I am sure the companies involved are putting in applications in many other areas too.
If one lives in a country area down south, it's new houses or solar panels that will, in time, spoil the view. That's the stark choice.
And with an ever-increasing population, where is all the food going to come from if the farmland is increasingly covered with man-made structures? Very worrying.
And while The Great British Public and The Great British Media are tying themselves in knots over who paid for Boris's flat renovations, the really big issues are being missed.
Most electric vehicle charging is done at home, overnight, on economy tariffs - when the grid can comfortably cope.
Posted by Tim W on 27 April, 2021 at 8:10 AMI was just trying to remember the last time we had a power cut. I can't!
I don't think that is true Tim.
Economy 7 and Economy 10 are no longer available to new customers, and there are many people who do not have charging points at home (and, logistically, will never be able to have them). A few companies, such as Octopus, now have variable time-of-use tarrifs, but, the grid is currently frequently at meltdown, and cannot cope with current demand, let alone all the potential EVs that will need powering by 2040, even with all the new wind farms in the north, and off-shore, and solar farms in the south.
That is why EVs' batteries are being seen as potential storage for surplus electricity, that can be pulled back into the grid (by vehicles being always plugged in when not-in-use) when needed.
Power cuts are less frequent now as local ageing infrastruture has been largely replaced: most power cuts in the past were caused by component failure, or extreme weather conditions. Plus, the grid is more of a grid and functions much better (responds more rapidly to local demands/shortages) than it used to, due to technological developments in monitoring, switching, and better prediction.
The extension to the existing solar farm quite near to Coven Sud will, if approved, put another quarter of a million huge solar panels over hundreds of acres of prime farmland, currently used to grow cereal and oil crops. This is land that has been turned down for development (largely on unsustainability grounds), and, I suspect, this is increasingly how things will go. There are 6 such proposals in the pipeline in just the one District that I know about. I am sure the companies involved are putting in applications in many other areas too.
If one lives in a country area down south, it's new houses or solar panels that will, in time, spoil the view. That's the stark choice.
And with an ever-increasing population, where is all the food going to come from if the farmland is increasingly covered with man-made structures? Very worrying.
And while The Great British Public and The Great British Media are tying themselves in knots over who paid for Boris's flat renovations, the really big issues are being missed.
Posted by Blue Witch on 27 April, 2021 at 8:32 AM