Electric vehicle sustainability

DIY-PHEV-GadgetReview.webp


Think I found the answer!
 
Keet said:
View attachment 118549

Think I found the answer!
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You could take that a step further and maybe put a larger one under the front and use that to power the car .:rolleyes::rolleyes:
Oh that's right been done already :banghead:
How about a trailer you tow behind you that's got a solar panel array fitted:D
 
andyglym said:
It has been known to bit a tad windy in Scotland, on occasion. If you filled up the unused Shetland and Orkney Islands with Turbines imagine the generation :wideyed:
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Not on my Scottish run it wasn't
Had it specially turned off for that ;):whistle::whistle::whistle:
=))=))
 
Bumpa said:
This is a bit of a hobby-horse of mine. The batteries use rare metals that are extremely environmentally unsound to mine and extract. And some experts think there are insufficient sources of certain metals to keep making the current batteries. Like all rechargeable batteries they deteriorate with use, and the more you use rapid charging the quicker they will go down. Someone I know has bought a recent secondhand Nissan Leaf and the batteries are already below 90% of their new capacity, so as they get older your range will be less and less. Can the batteries be recycled? Does anyone know?

Another friend has just bought a new Golf electric car. I asked about the range and he said he feels unsure about going any further than to Glasgow and back, a round trip of around 70 miles. And if he uses the heater he says the charge level takes a real hit. Hey, we live in Scotland, a cool part of the world.

A few years ago James May made a TV programme called "Cars of the People". In the last episode he looked at alternative fuels and was seen driving his own BMW i3. He said what a good car it was, except that its useful range was only about 80 miles. Then he said, hang on a minute, one hundred years ago the Baker corp in the USA produced an electric car with a useful range of about 80 miles. Progress? He finally drove the Hyundai hydrogen cell car. He was impressed. Excellent driving car, 300 mile range and 6 minute fill up. The only issue is there is virtually nowhere to fill it up. The other issue is, can we make enough hydrogen economically enough?

Is personal transport doomed?
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It's a hobby-horse of mine too. I've done a little research and it seems that there is currently just one company in the world that has developed a process to recover the rare minerals from EV batteries on an industrial scale. The company is based in Finland and their process is patented. Good for them - the EV world will be beating a path to their door.
To me, electric vehicles may not the saviour of the world that many are making out. They are a political expedient. It could well be that in years to come when the true full life-cycle environmental effect of EVs is better understood and made available to the world at large, they will become as vilified as diesel vehicles are now.
 
And in the meantime our lovely government is getting ready to increase VAT on renewable energy stuff. The kind that we could fit on our own houses, may not make much difference really, but it's the thought that counts, surely. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/260903?reveal_response=yes All to bring us into line with the EU. You know, the EU that we're leaving. Or not.:whistle:
 
Keet said:
No one seems to ask about all the extra electricity we will have to generate either. We're already hearing that without further nuclear power stations we could be facing power cuts in the coming years. If we all have electric vehicles, where is all that extra power coming from?
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Absolutely. The UK already imports electricity as it can't generate enough of its own. From France mainly. Where much of the electricity is generated by nuclear power stations......
 
the Nefyn cat said:
And in the meantime our lovely government is getting ready to increase VAT on renewable energy stuff. The kind that we could fit on our own houses, may not make much difference really, but it's the thought that counts, surely. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/260903?reveal_response=yes All to bring us into line with the EU. You know, the EU that we're leaving. Or not.:whistle:
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Of course. As the take up of EVs increases, the tax revenue from petrol and diesel will drop and will have to be sourced from somewhere. Expect the cost of electricity to recharge an EV to increase dramatically.....
 
Stevo7682 said:
You could take that a step further and maybe put a larger one under the front and use that to power the car .:rolleyes::rolleyes:
Oh that's right been done already :banghead:
How about a trailer you tow behind you that's got a solar panel array fitted:D
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I think you might have something there! =))
 
There is no silver bullet to these problems. There will be problems along the way. Problems that have to be solved.

The current technologies are not perfect and without fault. That's the cost of progress. It's clear, we have to reduce CO2 and reduce it dramatically and quickly. Little steps help.

Politicians have the head up their backsides. Focussing on facile arguments and issues that really don't justify the amount of time because they're focussing on self interest. Their ego's are so inflated they can't see anything. They are certainly not providing any framework for society to solve todays transport problems and stave off tomorrow's global nightmare. Leaders they most certainly are not.

It's a big complex world out there. Doing nothing means failure. Real progress will need many different solutions working in tandem. Solutions will have hiccups. That's life.
 
Nissan in Australia offers to replace the battery in a Leaf with a new one for a bit over $10,000. I think the dealer in this case has gone rogue.
 
Jasn said:
Nissan in Australia offers to replace the battery in a Leaf with a new one for a bit over $10,000. I think the dealer in this case has gone rogue.
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Bargain :woot: :bashhead:
 
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