Tag Archives: battery

EV cars and utility scale energy storage batteries are not likely to materialize

Posted on September 21, 2020 by

Preface.  Clearly there’s not enough minerals and metals to shift from fossil fuels to electric vehicles and utility scale battery storage, due to peak critical elements, peak platinum group elements, peak precious elements, peak rare earth elements, and peak everything … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Batteries, Battery - Utility Scale, Peak Lithium | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

How safe are utility-scale energy storage batteries?

Posted on November 28, 2019 by

This 2 MW battery, installed by the Arizona Public Service electric company, exploded in April 2019 and sent eight firefighters and a policeman to the hospital (Cooper 2019). At least 23 South Korean lithium-ion facilities caught fire in a series … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Lithium-ion, Safety | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on How safe are utility-scale energy storage batteries?

Utility scale energy storage has a long way to go to make renewables possible

Posted on May 15, 2019 by

What follows comes from my book “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation” , which is also where you’ll find the references backing up what I’ve written below. I often get letters from people about energy breakthroughs … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Batteries, Battery - Utility Scale, Critical Thinking, Electric Grid & Fast Collapse, Electricity Infrastructure, Renewable Integration | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Why aren’t there battery powered airplanes or flying cars?

Posted on March 13, 2019 by

Preface.  Batteries are too heavy for airplanes to get off the ground. Though that hasn’t stopped people from trying: Norway’s new electric plane crashes during demo flight (Robitzski 2019) The two articles below explain why. Alice Friedemann   www.energyskeptic.com  author of … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Energy | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Can Zinc batteries save the electric grid?

Posted on February 17, 2019 by

Preface: Right now, and as long as natural gas lasts, the electric grid will stay up since it is the main storage and way to balance unreliable wind and solar power. Hydropower can also play a major role in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Energy Storage, Lithium-ion | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Peak Cobalt

Posted on April 14, 2018 by

Preface.  Electric vehicles use many other finite platinum group elements, precious elements, and rare earth elements.  And there are many challenges batteries must overcome. In addition, the electric grid can’t stay up without utility scale energy storage of at least … Continue reading →

Posted in Peak Critical Elements | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Peak Cobalt

If we really cared about CO2, we’d reduce car size and weight, not make electric cars

Posted on December 8, 2017 by

Preface. Since my book “When trucks stop running: Energy and the future of transportation makes the case that it’s trucks that need to be electrified to keep civilization going, since biofuels don’t scale up, natural gas and liquefied coal are … Continue reading →

Posted in Automobiles, Electrification | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Given the laws of physics, can the Tesla Semi really go 500 miles, and what will the price be?

Posted on November 21, 2017 by

Preface: Most people think that electric truck makers need to tell us the specs — the battery kWh, price, performance, and so on — before we can possibly know anything about their truck. But that’s simply not true.  We know … Continue reading →

Posted in Efficiency, Electric & Hydrogen trucks impossible, Lithium-ion, Trucks: Electric | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Anyone who whines about airplanes should have to take the Oregon Trail

Posted on June 20, 2017 by

Source: Book cover of “Oregon Or Bust: True Short Stories from the Descendants of Oregon Trail Pioneers, Prospectors, Trappers, and Settlers in the Great Northwest Hardcover” by Gentry Ward Cutsforth (2012), XLibris. Preface. Also listen to the Louis CK rant … Continue reading →

Posted in Airplanes, Lithium-ion, Transportation What To Do | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

How are energy storage batteries coming along? U.S. House hearing 2015

Posted on April 5, 2017 by

[ My favorite quotes from this U.S. House of Representatives session: THOMAS MASSIE, KENTUCKY. I want to say this has been a very enlightening hearing, and it confirms my personal experience, which is batteries are not sexy. Buckets of acid … Continue reading →

Posted in Batteries, Energy Storage, U.S. Congress Energy Policy | Tagged , | Comments Off on How are energy storage batteries coming along? U.S. House hearing 2015