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Originally Posted by derklug
OK, this is going to be longish, so bear with me.
My problems with EV's lies in the fact that resources are being forced into the development of these vehicles by state and federal governments. EV's still require fossil fuels to operate as their charging comes off the grid powered by coal, oil, or natural gas. Hydro, nuke, solar, and wind make up a minority of the total world output of energy such that they really don't make much of a dent in CO2 emissions. Solar and wind energy have promising growth potential, but still need to be backed up with conventional powerplants to cover cloudy days and still winds.
So, now we buy our EV, and we still have to buy a conventional or hybrid to take any trips outside of the cars range. So we are doubling the environmental footprint of the EV on the supply side, making it even less environmentally friendly. And I won't even get into the disposal side of the batteries.
I am a firm believer that the market will dictate what manufacturers produce, and if left alone would find the best answer to dwindling supplies of fossil fuels. Energy policies set by whomever donates to the winning candidate are not going to get the best end result. Government demanding you build EV's will result in better, more efficient EV's, but could blind industry to a different solution that is better.
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while I don't disagree with you, I will say this.
I have solar generation on my home, I generate 30kw/h per day, I use about 14kw/h per day on most days, a bit closer to 20 on days over 95°. I have a reserve of over 120kw/h right now from power made and not used.
For me an electric car like the tesla, or even the volt is ideal as I commute under 15 miles a day to work and generate my own power, more than enough to charge the vehicle and stay away from power created by gas or coal..
my situation is ideal for an electric vehicle owner, because I would truly be able to charge it using solar and not add to the demand on the supply side.
and it is something I am looking at for a commuter vehicle.
personally I wish someone would make a convertible EV, because I would love to have the best of both worlds, but I guess the lack of aero-dynamics makes that a near impossibility.