How many wind turbines is that?

Someone did it an fairly good back-of-napkin estimate of the infeasibility of fast charging of electric vehicles.

I can’t charge a car next to my house, I have street parking, and the idea of having to schedule a charge as though it were a haircut rules EVs out for me entirely.

But the most important part of the post, however, is the mere mention of the energy density of gasoline, compared to which chemical electricity storage is humongous step back. Electrical engines are most certainly capable of outputting a much larger wattage than gasoline, which makes them really fun. But the barrier to wide adoption is the decrease in convenience — EVs will not become a utilitarian alternative anytime soon; Unless, of course , policy finds a way to increase the cost of gasoline ten-fold or more. I guess we can’t fully discount this.

A poignant comparison is in the wattage required to deliver the charge equivalent of a tank of gas — there are approximately 3x 85kWh charges in each gallon of gas, and the wattage required to charge a mere 200 of those in a few minutes is on the order of that consumed by all of silicon valley. Electrical motors are more efficient, but gasoline is still a truly amazing source and store of energy.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *