How Scientists, Car Companies, And The Military Are Creating The Smartest Energy Solution

[MindMover]

Back in February, Tesla Motors sent a shock wave through the energy technology world when it announced plans to build the globe’s biggest battery factory.

The sheer scale of the proposed “gigafactory” is enormous. “[Tesla's] goal by 2020 is to be producing 500,000 cars — 500,000 battery packs — out of that gigafactory,” said Steve LeVine, a journalist for Quartz who’s writing a book on batteries and their potential to transform energy as we know it. If Tesla hits that target, it would literally double global production of lithium-ion batteries.

For anyone concerned about climate change, this is big news. Making every vehicle electric would reduce carbon emissions by moving cars off a pure oil diet and onto an electricity mix of coal, natural gas, and some renewables. But we need to move that electricity mix fully onto clean energy as well — and do it fast — to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

That will require dealing with the intermittency of green energy sources like wind and solar. Electricity is relatively unusual in that we don’t make it until we use it — and if we don’t use it right when it’s made, we lose it. So fossil fuels like coal and natural gas have an advantage in that we control when we burn them. But the sun shines and the wind blows where and when they will, limiting renewables to a supplemental energy source at best. To change that, we need to be able to store renewable electricity when it’s made, and then release it when we need it.

And that means batteries. Lots and lots of batteries.

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/05/01/3429627/batteries-smartest-energy-solution/

[Control-Z]

1. Good article.

Clear and easy to follow.

[kysrsoze]

2. Well, we knew it wouldn't be the "energy companies," themselves... not even the utilities.

Good for Tesla and the U.S. Military.

[kristopher]

3. Off to the greatest with pleasure. nt

[Bill USA]

4. Sadly, it will take about 20 yrs to get hybrids & PHEVs up to, perhaps, about 10% - 12% of the fleet

Unfortunately, it will take about 20 - 25 years to get a appreciable number of hybrids and PHEVs on the road to make much of a difference. We might get Hybrids and PHEVs on the road to equal 10% to 12% of the fleet in 20 yrs (and this is a pretty optimistic projection). At a 50% GHG reduction per vehicle that will come to about 5% to 6% aggregate GHG emissions reduction - in about 20 yrs. That's NOT NEARLY ENOUGH - SOON ENOUGH.

Global Warming is accelerating, We do not have that kind of time to achieve more appreciable GHG emissions reductions for the Light Transportation sector. We, of course, should keep pushing them, but by themselves, they will not contribute enough - soon enough - to rein in GW.

We need renewable fuels in increasing volume to provide GHG emissions reductions in time enough to make a difference. This will produce GHG reductions much sooner - so we will be reducing GHG emissions while we are waiting for Hybrids and PHEVs to increase their numbers to eventually help out some with GHG emissions.


Of course, as I said before, we will not do what needs to be done to rein in GW - soon enough. The best we can do is to try to slow it down and hope some technology/ies are developed to take the GHGs out the atmosphere. But I don't see us doing what is needed - at least not soon enough. Were most likely going to see unrestrained GW in our not so distant future.