Do the government’s plug-in communities make sense?
Home charging isn't enough?
Can we predict the future?
If the Obama administration has its way, $10 billion will spent to create up to 15 “deployment cities” for the roll out of plug-in vehicles.
However, a diverse group of Congresspeople and automakers are against the idea for a variety of different reasons.
Some in Congress would like to spend less money to create just 5 deployment cities, while others would prefer to provide tax credits for plug-in vehicles and tax penalties for less efficient vehicles. Automakers, in general, believe more flexibility should be the focus and that any serious electrification plan must also include fuel cells and hydrogen, notes the DetroitNews.
Ultimately, many wonder as well, wouldn’t other communities – taxpayers – be funding the spoils of this program at their disadvantage? Is that fair?
Inevitably, it seems to me that plug-in technologies – and automotive technologies in general – are ripe for massive breakthroughs that could simply change everything. Any number of breakthroughs in carbon fiber, safety software, fuel cells, and batteries, just to name a few, might make the need for ‘deployment cities’ unnecessary, for instance.
Consequently, is the government possibly trying too hard to predict the future of the auto industry?
And there is a lot of logic in your opinion, shecky. Nonetheless, I think too much focus has been put on the plug, particularly considering the state of batteries today.
For instance, I think it would be much smarter and efficient to hybridize everything first, which would have a massive impact on reducing the legacy effect of older technologies. Likewise, as lithium technology matures, it would be quite easy to convert these hybrids into plug-in vehicles, offering even a far greater impact on the multi-decade legacy impact. Moreover, it’s possible that a major breakthrough in lithium-air battery technologies could be achieved tomorrow, making a massive charging infrastructure unnecessary within a decade.
Likewise, if America were to achieve 10 percent EV penetration by 2020, that would mean there would be enough battery material to be 100 percent hybrid by 2020. In terms of oil dependency and emission, being 100 percent hybrid by 2020 would have a much greater impact than would be 10 percent EV, and again, the legacy impact would be monumental.
Moreover, on the more radical side, I’ve been following the fuel cell and hydrogen space, for example, for about a decade now. In the last few years, the breakthroughs have been increasingly exponential, and in the last 6 months alone, the breakthroughs have been, literally, mind-binding. If this pace is maintained the hydrogen economy is coming much faster than almost anyone can imagine. And, while there is no doubt that fuel cell hydrogen vehicles are still a good bit behind plug-in EVs today, by 2020, I think they could easily be as cost-effective as plug-ins, if not more so, and much more consumer friendly.
Now, none of that is necessarily an argument against this “deployment city” plan, but I do have issues with too much focus on plug-in vehicles. In some ways it reminds me of the Internet boom, and more worriedly, the Internet bust. Ultimately, rushing to be first into a new space doesn’t necessarily mean you win and often it means you lose.
Uh, just for clarity, EV tech for transport and off-grid for homes.
selah…
The sad fact is that nobody wants to spend any money right now. And if we don’t get some kind of hardcore infrastructure in place by 2020, maybe 2017, we’re gonna see shit hit the fan we ain’t never seen before.
The government is the only source, financially and logistically, to pull this off. Luckily, with the coordination of Coulomb’s and Ecotality’s roll-outs, we may make a significant dent. The EV’s are coming, and we need places to juice them up.
Also, since this is a hard-line election year, all the “learned” politicians want to appear as lean on government spending. Unless it assists their own districts, of course. So, they bitch and moan about all the spending. But when the cheap oil officially dries out and everything from soup to nuts costs 5 times more than it does now, they’ll be complaining again about the White House’s “lack of foresight”.
It’s time to force EV tech and get as many people off-grid as possible. At least, in my humble opinion.
Ciao.