Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/963504
A P R I L / M A Y 2 0 1 8 www.resourceworld.com 15 battery packs. Current projections suggest that Tesla motors and batteries will last for 600,000 miles or more – two to three times as long as ICE engines. Electric cars have zero emissions and lower carbon footprints. I know that some authors have suggested that the environmen- tal impact of electric cars depends on how green the source of electricity is; if the local power grid is powered by coal, electric cars are possibly dirtier than fossil fuel powered vehicles. They suggest that this is especially so, when one considers the impact of mining the materials that go into the batteries. Here's a rebuttal to this rather unin- formed view: electric grids are getting greener all the time as cheaper renew- able sources of solar, hydro and wind power are added to the grid, as the cost of solar and wind are also continu- ously declining, and are already cheaper than fossil fuel generation. Read this web article for related information: www.independent.co.uk/environment/ solar-and-wind-power-cheaper-than-fossil- fuels-for-the-first-time-a7509251.html As support for this assertion, I offer the following observations. In the last 10 years the cost of solar has fallen from $600 per megawatt hour to $100 per megawatt hour. Secondly, in British Columbia, the cost of electricity is $0.12 per kilowatt hour (kWh) with the grid being 90% renewable hydro power. In Australia, where the grid is 90% coal powered, the cost of electric- ity is $0.44 per kWh. (Reference BC Hydro February 2018) The cost of fossil fuels is not getting cheaper but the cost of renew- ables, specifically solar and offshore wind, continues to fall. In the city of Adelaide, Australia, the local power company put out a tender for a new power plant and the winner of the contract was Tesla, with a solar powered plant with backup lithium ion battery storage for supplying power at night. See Resource World Feb-Mar 2018, Page 91. This, I think, is the direction that power generation is going. Renewables are cheaper. The fact that they are greener is also important. I am of the view that renewable solar will trump coal despite Donald Trump championing coal. Electric cars kick butt. The Tesla Model S will do 0 to 60 miles per hour in less than 3 seconds. Youtube is full of videos with the Model S beating Porsches and Ferraris in drag races. Electric cars are also safer, quieter, corner better and have more room for passengers and luggage. They corner better because the heavy battery pack is in the floor, lowering the centre of gravity and adding to the rigidity and crash wor- thiness of the vehicle. The electric motor is small enough to be located on the front and rear axles freeing the front engine compartment for additional storage. The Model S is the safest car on the road. It has a five star safety rating, and no, the battery packs don't burn any more, they fixed that. Okay, so Elon Musk is a hero, and Tesla kicks butt, so why aren't electric cars winning right now? THE CASE FOR THE ICE VEHICLE ICE cars currently outsell electrics 100 to 1. Why? Because they are cheaper to buy. A Honda Civic is $20,000 whereas a com- Electric cars are four to five times more efficient than fossil fuel cars because electric motors are 90-95% efficient whereas ICE vehicles, despite 100 years of continuous research, development and investment, are only 17-21% efficient. CAR WARS