a bit of EV scepticism??

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by ldjessee00

If I owned apartment buildings, I would be covering any south facing or flat roofs with PV and/or hot water panels.

If I owned the entire building where I live, I'd have already done that. Would also not disconsider adding rainwater collection

Price of PV panels seems to be getting very cheap, until you hear about how the cost of Wind generation has gotten so cheap, it competes with fossil and nuclear power without subsidies.

I've already considered to build a small wind generator to fit into my grandma's house.

It is easier to predict the wind generation that the power usage levels, which is why the ability to use EV battery packs in cars connected to the grid to help offset sudden short peaks in power draw is something many grid utility operators want. It would save them so much money as now they have to have standbye power generation ready for those sudden peaks. If that could be handled by EV battery packs that are connected to the grid.

IIRC Nissan was considering to deploy old batteries from EVs to stationary uses that are less weight-sensitive.

I think quick EV adoption is possible and the grid will be fine. Just my opinion though.

I'd still rather have some ICE at least as a backup power source, even if it's something small like the range-extender from the BMW i3. Would be also nice to have the possibility to use it as a backup power source for the household.

Originally Posted by redpoint5

My prediction is that in 10 years, 50% of vehicles sold will be either EV, or hybrid.

A higher pick rate for vehicles with some hybrid feature (either mild, full or plug-in) sounds more suitable than EV in such a short term.

Originally Posted by redpoint5

If anything, EVs should help balance grid consumption which would reduce production costs.

I still consider internal-combustion engines viable in the foreseeable future, and they can help keeping the carbon cycle balanced if we look into the usage of organic waste as a source of alternate fuels. You know, just shifting from ICE to full-EV won't keep organic matter from decompose itself and release raw methane (or ethanol vapors) into the atmosphere, so why not to take benefit from it?

[seifrob]

Thanks to all who replied. It was illuminating.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

In the end, plug-in hybrids might be more likely to become widespread in a foreseeable future than going EV-only.