Climate change getting SOLD

[globaleconomicollaps]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD

A used EV might make financial sense. Buying when the bottom drops out of a market is a smart move. How much does it cost to replace a used battery?

This has not been an issue so far. The EV is still a relatively new thing. The only manufacturer that has a battery replacement program that I know of is BMW. I have trouble finding information about the program because nobody uses it. The last info I can find is from a few years ago and they charged 8000 euros for a replacement. Tesla theoretically will replace a battery but the price is in the 29000 dollar range. I don't think they have many takers. Once again I have trouble finding info on the program. I imagine that most people will sell the car rather than replace an 8000 euro component.

[globaleconomicollaps]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD

I find the French second hand car market very unappealing. Am currently looking for a second hand Honda Civic 8th generation hatchback ('the spaceship') with petrol engine and sub 100K total kilometrage. Prices are easily double for the equivalent found in the UK or Germany...
The French don't seem to swap cars much or flash them to show their wealth (and else they wouldn't buy so many shoddy French built cars), so they stick with one for a long time. I guess that speaks in their favour.

I have considered going to Norway to find a car. I don't know how practical that is.

[peakishmael]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD

Hybrid electrics run on pure battery for only a few miles before switching to gasoline. When they're running on gasoline they're hardly any more fuel efficient than a gas-only vehicle. Maybe that's fine for people who drive 5 miles to work but it's no good for me.

My commute is 47 miles each way with no recharge plug available at work. That doesn't count side trips. For me to buy a plug in only vehicle, I want the same range I get between fuel fillups now (almost 400 miles), and I want the recharge to take no longer than filling up with gas. Because if I get home with a battery that's almost drained, what do I do if something urgent comes up and I can't use the car because it's still recharging? I'm trapped at home with a useless car...

If I drive 1000 miles to Texas I do NOT want to have to sit for hours and hours every time the battery needs recharging. And I don't want a battery that bursts into flames on a whim, taking my house down with it.

Off to work now, 47 miles...

Our Prius Prime goes 25-30 miles on a charge, which uses ~8kwh, or about $1 at our utility rate. When gas was ~$2.50/gallon, that meant a gallon of equivalent electricity would carry us about 70 milles.

After the hybrid battery is completely drained, range is ~700 miles and mileage is also about 70 mpg on gas only. This kinda blew my mind because Toyota doesn't claim that good. Granted I drive about 60MPH max, I am easy on the acceleration and avoid using A/C in summer if we can handle it with the windows down. You can drive as far as you need to without a recharge.

Battery recharge time at our house is 2.5 hours.

YMMV (literally) but we love it.

[peakishmael]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD

This has not been an issue so far. The EV is still a relatively new thing. The only manufacturer that has a battery replacement program that I know of is BMW. I have trouble finding information about the program because nobody uses it. The last info I can find is from a few years ago and they charged 8000 euros for a replacement. Tesla theoretically will replace a battery but the price is in the 29000 dollar range. I don't think they have many takers. Once again I have trouble finding info on the program. I imagine that most people will sell the car rather than replace an 8000 euro component.

It is also possible, at least with Prius, to replace a bad cell for a few hundred bucks, rather than an entire hybrid battery.

I know lots of folks with Priuses over 200K miles and not one that I know has had a battery issue, although they certainly do occur i you search online. But rarer than shiny! probably thinks.

Our first Prius went 240K miles before being killed by an electrical problem affecting the brakes. Wasn't worth the $2K repair. Never had a battery problem. I think that is almost a non-issue.

[shiny!]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD

Our Prius Prime goes 25-30 miles on a charge, which uses ~8kwh, or about $1 at our utility rate. When gas was ~$2.50/gallon, that meant a gallon of equivalent electricity would carry us about 70 milles.

After the hybrid battery is completely drained, range is ~700 miles and mileage is also about 70 mpg on gas only. This kinda blew my mind because Toyota doesn't claim that good. Granted I drive about 60MPH max, I am easy on the acceleration and avoid using A/C in summer if we can handle it with the windows down. You can drive as far as you need to without a recharge.

Battery recharge time at our house is 2.5 hours.

YMMV (literally) but we love it.

Really good to know, thanks! and thanks for the battery info, too.

[Techdread]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD

Germany has seen the share of renewables reach 60%, up 12% from a year ago period between March 10 and April 10, and coal generation fell 44%, Wartsila said.

In Britain, renewables now have a 43% share of generation, up 10% on the same period in 2019, with coal power down 35% and gas down 24%, it added.
Spain currently has 49% renewables with coal power down by 41%, while Italy has seen the steepest fall in demand, down 21% so far, it said.
The Finnish company, which sells adjustable power plants as well as energy management and storage systems, has developed what it calls an open-data platform which provides detailed information on electricity generation, demand and pricing for all 27 EU countries and the United Kingdom.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/wartsila-says-share-renewable-energy-153905997.html

Nice

[FrankL]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD

Germany's renewables for a substantial portion consist of biomass, with Siemens AG being one of the main supplier of biomass power stations.

I'd put big questionmarks on the sustainability of burning organic matter containing phosphates and nitrogen vs. using it for agriculture/durable goods. Sounds more like state support for their own industry wrapped in a superficial veneer of green energy.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD

Germany's renewables for a substantial portion consist of biomass, with Siemens AG being one of the main supplier of biomass power stations.

I'd put big questionmarks on the sustainability of burning organic matter containing phosphates and nitrogen vs. using it for agriculture/durable goods. Sounds more like state support for their own industry wrapped in a superficial veneer of green energy.

There's more than one kind of biomass power plant. Some burn plant materials, like cogeneration plants that burn the sawdust from a lumber mill, or the corn cobs from a feed operation. Others use digester gas from the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge, usually right at the sewage treatment plant but sometimes a few miles down the road taking watery sludge delivered by tanker truck. Those independent digester operations usually also take fats oils and grease from restaurants to increase gas production.

Sewage treatment plants send the sludge (politely called "biosolids") for fertilizer on farm fields. But it's hard to find enough fields within trucking distance of the plant. Traces of metals and other undesirables in the sludge build up in the fields and the fields eventually get closed to further biosolids. That business model is kind of interesting. The city sewage plant pays money to a broker to haul away the sludge, and the broker collect a few bucks from the farmers for the biosolids. In the view of the city it's worth the price to avoid hunting down individual farmers and arranging the delivery of sludge. The broker earns his money by finding the fields and hauling the sludge.

More directly to your point, it's pretty hard to get those valuable molecules of phosphorus out of the poop and back into a useable form. It's cheaper to mine phosphate ore and process it into fertilizer at a large industrial scale.

[jk]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD

Coal is the largest source of electricity in Germany. As of 2016, around 40% of the electricity in the country is generated from coal. This was slightly down from 2013, when coal made up about 45% of Germany's electricity production (19% from hard coal and 26% from lignite). Germany is also a major producer of coal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_Germany

2019 data shows soft coal [the dirtiest] producing 19.9% of its electricity, and hard coal 9.5%

don't be fooled by "capacity" comparisons since solar and wind only work intermittently. by eschewing nuclear and "going green" germany has managed to become the locus of both the dirtiest and the most expensive electricity in europe.

[Mega]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD

They SUB miners in Germany to dig Coal.......then ship the Coal to Poland ....who burn it in power stations......which export power to....Germany.

Mike

[peakishmael]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD

Really good to know, thanks! and thanks for the battery info, too.

You're welcome. BTW, your "save the planet" impact question was right on... despite the bad fuel efficiency there's a good argument for driving your Crown Vic into the ground. :-) Then again, if you sell it, someone else will do that.

[Techdread]

Re: Climate change getting SOLD