Diesel & Petrol Cars Banned

[guru]

Originally Posted by HarryM1BYT

Now that, I completely agree with. The greenies lack any capacity to weigh up the environmental costs of their ideas and ideals. If only they would insist on working out the true cost and environmental impact of all these wind generators and PV panels.

Well I'm certainly not a greenie by any stretch of the imagination however I've seen a few people suggesting that renewables don't make any real difference which is frankly ridiculous. Right now based on real time data 15% of the nations electricity is being provided by wind and solar, and that's at 18:00Hrs so the solar will already be a lot lower then it was earlier in the day! The fact is that they do make a difference and as we move to micro-generation (solar panels on roofs etc) we'll also start to reduce the losses in the transmission network.
Yes there is a cost in producing batteries however Tesla are now claiming that their battery packs will have a usable lifespan in excess of 20 years thanks to the advanced management technologies and 100% of the material can be recycled to make new batteries once they expire. The fact is that a bucket load of carbon will be saved and lets also not forget that oil is a diminishing resource, yes we've found some pretty clever ways to process oil fields that were previously not viable however if we were to continue increasing our consumption eventually the inevitable will happen.............

Lets also not forget it's in our interests to reduce consumption, by doing that it'll save some fuel for us real petrolheads

[guru]

Originally Posted by Lovel

We cannot sustain the current rate of consuming materials from the earth, whether it be a new battery powered car, IPhone or Laptop, 110!" TV screen etc. Imagine if everyone else on this planet owned the sort of expected 1st world technologies.

With the movement toward battery cars use of Lithium in batteries is expected to grow exponentially. Perhaps there are 17-20 years of lithium available if we all changed over tomorrow. However lithium is only a small percentage of a battery construction. The majority of materials in a battery includes Aluminium, Copper, Graphite, Electrolyte, battery casing materials. Where is all that going to come from too?

With expected consumer (<-I hate this word) growth levels I believe individual car ownership is not going to be possible. The move will need to be to more use of public transport, or get on your bike.

The most eco friendly message I can say is make do with what you have, but we will just have to hope the loud lobby of ECO religious warriors don't get their way and persuade future governments to tax us even more for using older technologies such as the ICE.

For a lot of people car ownership will end and mobility will become a service. Last year Ford announced that they are going to aim towards providing this service rather then selling cars outright. I think this makes a lot of sense, rather then having the hassle and expense of having a car sat of your drive idle for 95% of the time you can just summon a vehicle from an app when you need it, it will then drive you autonomously to your destination where you can get out an leave it to go of to its next job without the hassle of having to park. I don't think it's a model that will work for everyone especially those of us out in the middle of nowhere however for people in more urban settings I think it'll be a real boon.

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by guru

Well I'm certainly not a greenie by any stretch of the imagination however I've seen a few people suggesting that renewables don't make any real difference which is frankly ridiculous. Right now based on real time data 15% of the nations electricity is being provided by wind and solar, and that's at 18:00Hrs so the solar will already be a lot lower then it was earlier in the day! The fact is that they do make a difference and as we move to micro-generation (solar panels on roofs etc) we'll also start to reduce the losses in the transmission network.

It is summer, when solar is at its best. The wind generators and solar panels are very expensive to make and have a very limited life and need a lot of maintenance.

When the wind doesn't blow and the sun not shining, we still have to have traditional plant on standby to make up for the shortfall. Having that plant on standby ready to run, is almost as expensive as having it running and generating the power we need.

It is rather like having two cars - one costs a lot of money to buy, takes a lot to maintain, has a limited life, but otherwise is free to run. That car because it cannot be relied upon to work, we have to have a second conventional car following along behind it.

Without the FIT, would you still think it was good?

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by guru

For a lot of people car ownership will end and mobility will become a service. Last year Ford announced that they are going to aim towards providing this service rather then selling cars outright.

I may have misheard, or it was wrongly reported, but a report suggested that 85% of cars on the road are now leased vehicles - that included private car users. Those who lease privately, never own the vehicle and have to hand it back at the end of the lease.

Personally, 'a mobility system' will offer me little. Buses locally work very well for us, I only use my car for longer trips and holidays.

[marinabrian]

Originally Posted by Dallas

Its started already, the future is changing.

France will end sales of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.

The announcement comes a day after Volvo said it would only make fully electric or hybrid cars from 2019 onwards.

France set to ban sale of petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040.

Volvo goes electric across the board by 2019.

If I male it that long, I'll be in my 70's and not care at all, as I won't be living in France, nor buying a new car

Brian

[Mintee]

Originally Posted by HarryM1BYT

I may have misheard, or it was wrongly reported, but a report suggested that 85% of cars on the road are now leased vehicles - that included private car users. Those who lease privately, never own the vehicle and have to hand it back at the end of the lease.

Not '85% on the road' being leased, but I read that as being the percentage of the way new cars are currently being financed.

In 2/3/4 years they will be returned to dealers and have to be sold as used and will still be 'on the road'.

[Lovel]

Originally Posted by HarryM1BYT

It is summer, when solar is at its best. The wind generators and solar panels are very expensive to make and have a very limited life and need a lot of maintenance.

When the wind doesn't blow and the sun not shining, we still have to have traditional plant on standby to make up for the shortfall. Having that plant on standby ready to run, is almost as expensive as having it running and generating the power we need.

It is rather like having two cars - one costs a lot of money to buy, takes a lot to maintain, has a limited life, but otherwise is free to run. That car because it cannot be relied upon to work, we have to have a second conventional car following along behind it.

Without the FIT, would you still think it was good?

This site created by an enthusiast is fascinating to look at and worth bookmarking. I cant recall who posted the link on here originally so cant say thanks to them.

Wind output today 4.0 GW versus yesterday 0.5 GW

King coal = 0 GW . Cant help thinking about those last days of Kellingley colliery especially the guys and their camaraderie/spirit that was shown on this BBC documentary, consigned to the scrapheap or working in Tescos.

http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/index.php

[Lancpudn]

Originally Posted by Lovel

This site created by an enthusiast is fascinating to look at and worth bookmarking. I cant recall who posted the link on here originally so cant say thanks to them.

Wind output today 4.0 GW versus yesterday 0.5 GW

King coal = 0 GW . Cant help thinking about those last days of Kellingley colliery especially the guys and their camaraderie/spirit that was shown on this BBC documentary, consigned to the scrapheap or working in Tescos.

http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/index.php

Do you mean the "Fully Charged" show, I put that that link up as I've followed it from the beginning. It dispells a lot of myths surrounding renewable energy plus it was a good vlog about owning driving EV's. Owning /driving an EV is something I want to experience before I get too decrepit

The phrase in one of those wind turbine videos where he described Scotland as being the Saudi Arabia of Europe for wind generated electricity is very true & they're becoming world leaders in that field.

[Lovel]

Originally Posted by Lancpudn

Do you mean the "Fully Charged" show, I put that that link up as I've followed it from the beginning. It dispells a lot of myths surrounding renewable energy plus it was a good vlog about owning driving EV's. Owning /driving an EV is something I want to experience before I get too decrepit

The phrase in one of those wind turbine videos where he described Scotland as being the Saudi Arabia of Europe for wind generated electricity is very true & they're becoming world leaders in that field.

It was you then, so thanks.

Yes perhaps Scotland can be the Saudi Arabia of Europe especially around the Edinburgh area where there is a lot of wind generated

Seriously though they are decimating our beautiful country in the rush to industrialise it on each mountain top with a crown of thorns to feed the ever growing power hungry market for iPhone, laptops and battery cars. At the same time making the rich landowner even richer with subsidies.

[guru]

Originally Posted by HarryM1BYT

It is summer, when solar is at its best. The wind generators and solar panels are very expensive to make and have a very limited life and need a lot of maintenance.

When the wind doesn't blow and the sun not shining, we still have to have traditional plant on standby to make up for the shortfall. Having that plant on standby ready to run, is almost as expensive as having it running and generating the power we need.

It is rather like having two cars - one costs a lot of money to buy, takes a lot to maintain, has a limited life, but otherwise is free to run. That car because it cannot be relied upon to work, we have to have a second conventional car following along behind it.

Without the FIT, would you still think it was good?

Absolutely, I always thought the FIT was utter nonsense. The key to both issues is batteries. The future for solar panels on roofs (which for the record I think look terrible!) is local storage for use within the same property, it makes no sense to export that power to the grid only to have to re-import it later. Same goes for getting rid of standby power stations, in Australia they have just commissioned the worlds largest grid battery storage and the same will undoubtedly happen here eventually. Excess power generated by renewables will be stored to be used when needed.