Thread: Would Australia have enough Electricity (now) if everyone switched to EV ?

I could jump on the soapbox here , but not a good idea.

Originally Posted by Gav 110

We missed that boat, most of the population has been vaccinated
Best we can hope for on the depopulation front is a good dose of Mother Nature at her worst, floods, earthquakes, volcanoes etc

I’d say the next major event will be WWIII

And unfortunately the way it’s going I think I’ll live to see it happen - may not survive it though.

Originally Posted by Tombie

I’d say the next major event will be WWIII

Every time I hear or read the phrase "the great reset" this is what comes to mind.

Originally Posted by Tins

Every time I hear or read the phrase "the great reset" this is what comes to mind.

Society is so close to the edge when it comes to being civil. Won’t take much.

Originally Posted by AK83

I think the reality will be that you will need a lot more than 45K charging stations.
Think about it for a sec.
An average EV needs say 30 mins with a super charge to allow a 100-200km added range.
45K points across Aus is very thin on the ground.

an average ICE vehicle needs say 5 mins to top up a car and will net approx 600klms ... my D2 would get 800klm by comparison ... but lets just get rough figures here ... and there are roughly 6500 petrol stations of which many will cater for 12 or so vehicles at any one time.
Then you not only need to multiply by the time taken to fill each respective vehicle type by, but then you need to divide by the number of klms the EV can travel before it needs a charge point again a quick and dirty figure would be 3x.

Otherwise you end up with the situation where not only are the EV owners waiting 30mins for their vehicle to get them another 200klms, but they'll be waiting an estimated 1.5hrs before they get their vehicle to the charge point .. ie. total 'fill up' time taken would be 2hrs.

Driving holidays with the family during the peak holiday periods will be a thing that folks used to do in the old days in their ICE vehicles.

Xmas rive with boat dog and kids $360 in fuel++ Not grumbling I had fun in a week off. Local paper suggested a heap of 50kWh charge options will soon make my EV chemo runs very easy. That like all the ICE cars I suspect are being dumped here worries me a little. Much of the shortly to be available tech from Quatumscape and similar ( I do not hold company any more- Sold way above current prices )

I would love a 50 kWh charger in all the planed locations in SW vic. I think 500kWh or more might be a smarter option 3000 plus phone calls today with under 600 able to be answered showed me my online COVID booking system is the only real option. The Tech changes are occurring at a mind numbing rate. Still think hydrogen is my pet development to watch

Originally Posted by Tombie

Lithium isn’t the major component in the batteries.

It’s even rarer elements that are the challenge.

And they use children to mine for cobalt in the Congo. Often at the cost of their lives. I wonder why the "peaceful protestors" remain silent about that.

Originally Posted by Homestar

I get where you’re coming from - my new job would actually be ideal for an EV - I travel around 40KM each way with the odd couple hundred km during the day to see clients, etc. work has 40KW of solar on the roof so could charge it while it’s parked up doing nothing - my previous job saw me doing around 1000km per week with some 800KM days so not practical there - still got a Hilux for my new commute though - supplied by work. I may ask about something different when it’s time to change it out - an EV would be ideal and if I needed to tow anything I could grab one of the spare utes or trucks at work, but not sure what I’d get for around $70K - which is what they’ll let me spend on a new vehicle - don’t want to drive a small **** box is all no matter how it’s powered.

For long distance trips it would be back to ICE though - so there’ll be a need for them for decades to come I think.

Cheapest EV (or was) MG ZS EV - about $45,000 drive away (or less) (about 150kw/360nm?) - "doesn't feel like a cheapo".
Best value for $ (bang for buck) EV is the base-model RWD Tesla 3 - about $60,000 plus ORC - gives you about 290kw & 600nm?, maybe less)
Best future-proofing with V2G etc - Hyundai Iconiq 5 - about $70-75K - about 190kw/500nm? - but the tech is up-to-the-minute.

"Annual Holiday Panic" I don't quite see. Most people will leave home from 'the home petrol-I-mean-Electricity-station' fully charged; most won't be travelling more than a single charge's worth of distance - there will be a demand surge at mid-points and holiday destinations but that will correspond to a demand-drop at departure points.

The 'we-can't-do-it' objections coming from the Federal (not the State!) level of government relate more to their party contributions than they do to problems which are totally addressable. "We have the technology" but we don't have the will. And we've got a decade or so to get this sorted, even if we have to rely on the States, not the Feds, to get it done.

Not denying we have the tech, just the money to do it - governments of any description aren’t going to sink the billions required - they will leave it to private enterprise - and there is no return on investment for all of this so I can’t see how it’s going to get on.