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it looks like an impending disaster to me.
The answer right now is that we don’t know what will happen. But if someone discovers way in which an electric car with depleted batteries can be refurbished in 5 or 6 years from now, they could keep rolling.
There were predictions around 1900 that New York City would soon be buried under a 2 foot pile of horse manure with the population growth and transportation issues. At that moment in time nobody saw the expansion of the subway system and invention of motor cars.
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You raise many important issues…
Most Tesla packs seem like they will work fine past 10 years, when they do fail it’s a couple cells in a couple modules and they can be rebuilt, just like the Toyota hybrid packs of the last 2 decades. Tesla does not want you to rebuild them and does not support such efforts. There are ev garages on the mainland who are starting to offer rebuilding services and there will be more no doubt. I also have 20 year old vehicles I intend to keep running, I don’t think EVs will be like this, there won’t be classic EVs 30 years in the future, they are disposable appliances effectively now. I myself like to repair appliances and keep them going, this has resulted in considerable trouble purchasing them today.
Unfortunately from my anecdotal evidence it seems the typical EV buyer now especially the shall I say “California” Tesla types do not care. Most of these folks I was surprised to learn replace their vehicles every 4 years or even every year or two and they just don’t care… of course that is a broad generalization but I was raised with car ownership lasting decades and worrying about them lasting for that time including the maintenance that is hopefully behind us. I cannot afford to follow such a schedule nor do I think it’s sustainable I need a minimum of a decade from the ev vehicles I buy now for it to be justified.
Like I said there are many usable cells in a failed pack and many are being repurposed into other energy storage projects that keep them going for years longer. There is some way to recycle lithium cells but I don’t think it’s been well figured out or a smooth operation now. No doubt this will get better in the future. There are many issues to figure out including the resources that will be necessary for multiple times more batteries in the future, issues like cobalt mining necessary for the packs now is not ok with essentially slave labor being used in the Congo for this now. Steel, iron, aluminum and the other materials used to make cars now are plentiful and easy to recycle. The rare earth elements and more finite resources used in EV production present a real challenge in procurement and recycling. We shall see…
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Thanks...I think. I was hoping for something a little more comforting.
I guess the idea was to come up with something that would help the situation somewhat while making a bunch of money, and worry about the negative side effects later.
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Par for the course. I have faith the technology will catch up and solve a majority of the problems, it always does. For some of us including those in Hawaii where solar is a great option, EV’s can save money and give a bit of independence. I was never going to buy a closed companies products like Tesla’s, but Toyota’s and GMs have service manuals and parts that can be ordered. I figured out how to rebuild the traction batteries in the Toyota Hybrids and I will learn EV repair. The scariest part is the heat pump system. Check out rich rebuilds on YouTube for some interesting videos on a guy repairing Tesla’s, he’s involved in a business called electrified garage that is one of the first to specialize in EV only repair.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCfV0_wbjG8KJADuZT2ct4SA
https://electrifiedgarage.com/
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Hawaii’s refinery will stop Russian oil imports:
Par Pacific, the state’s only refinery, announced Thursday it is suspending all purchases of Russian crude oil.
It’s estimated Russian oil accounts for at least 25% of Hawaii’s supply.
“While we do not anticipate any supply concerns, HSEO reminds residents that energy prices are likely to remain high and perhaps go even higher due to uncertainty in the global energy markets,” he said.
“This market exposure underscores why Hawaii is focused on transitioning as quickly as it can to locally-produced renewable energy.”
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2022/03/04...crude-oil/
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No more oil and natural gas from Russia and all of a sudden the worldwide supply drops. Up goes demand.
Nobody likes an "I-told-you-so" but... it is what it is and I told you so HOTPE.
@HOTPE
"Or:
* Other suppliers increase production
* National reserves are tapped
* Smart drivers in East Hawaii (and elsewhere) drive less, combine trips, buy less fuel, demand for fuel and prices fall."
Yup dream on about your theory. As I said (easy prediction) since I last posted about the expected jack in fuel costs prices continue to rise and break records here in Hawaii because of the Russia/Ukraine war.
Busses might be filling up soon. As mentioned by others, let's hope geothermal or solar power gets tapped into further here in Hawaii. Electric cars charged by burning oil is a non-solution.
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Obviously independent battery pack repair will become the norm and even now we are already seeing shops who specialize in Tesla repair, albeit out of warranty repair.
Given the growing plethora of EV kits for the DIYer, retrofitting almost any vehicle is now an option.
In the not too distant future, any vehicle with a rolling chassis will be surprisingly valuable.
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Every one of their lies.. the election.. masks.. vaccines.. critical race theory..
Lumping these issues together as "equivalent" merely proves the point. Nice work!
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Regular unleaded now $5.04 at Minit Mart.
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At least you can get gas. In 1973 it was priced out of sight and unavailable. I was living on Oahu and working for Western Airlines. My best friend siphoned gas out of a company pickup into an ice bucket from an airplane and put a gallon into my motorcycle gas tank so we could ride home that night.
