PSA: Fill up your gas tanks-world events

[macphanatic]

mattkime wrote:
[quote=Blankity Blank]
How realistic is a large scale conversion to EVs

Basically impossible ;until people decide they want to change. Then it will happen very quickly.
Not unless people decide to allow the construction of new electrical generating plants. In the US, there hasn't been construction of a new power plant in years. And at least one more nuclear plant is being mothballed.

Solar isn't without issues. Google Walmart roof fire and Tesla.

Then let's talk about the poor condition of the electrical grids in the US. Going all EV might be the last straw that takes some of the grids down - especially the Northeast grid, much of which was obsolete years ago.

[sekker]

macphanatic wrote:
[quote=mattkime]
[quote=Blankity Blank]
How realistic is a large scale conversion to EVs

Basically impossible ;until people decide they want to change. Then it will happen very quickly.
Not unless people decide to allow the construction of new electrical generating plants. In the US, there hasn't been construction of a new power plant in years. And at least one more nuclear plant is being mothballed.

Solar isn't without issues. Google Walmart roof fire and Tesla.

Then let's talk about the poor condition of the electrical grids in the US. Going all EV might be the last straw that takes some of the grids down - especially the Northeast grid, much of which was obsolete years ago.
Lots of solutions to electrical power, including solar tiles on consumer roofs and home battery packs. Keep the energy local saves at least 50% of the distribution energy losses.

We still subsidize oil and gas. That, too, can change to support the EV transition.

Would be great to fix the electrical grid for many, many reasons besides EV conversion.

[RAMd®d]

Basically impossible ;until people decide they want to change.

Get real.

First, it's chicken and egg. People don't want to switch, forumites included, until they get a 400hp, 500mi range EV. Then maybe.

Manufactures are making some headway, but hardly all in on promoting EVs.

Only Tesla is building infrastructure to help relieve 'range anxiety' which is FUD and code for 'EVs are far from everybody's first or only vehicle'.

So chicken and egg.

Second, it won't happen very quickly.

[Sarcany]

RAMd®d wrote:
First, it's chicken and egg. People don't want to switch, forumites included, until they get a 400hp, 500mi range EV. Then maybe.

Interesting note about that recently on Jalopnik.
https://jalopnik.com/why-no-one-is-beati...1837952903

Why No One Is Beating Tesla's Range

...Essentially, traditional manufacturers have customers that are less likely to accept drive unit failures, battery replacements and quality concerns that Tesla early adopters often write off as a small price to pay for a car from the future. And, without the sort of growth-is-everything valuation of a Silicon Valley tech firm, Volkswagen’s shareholders are less likely to tolerate stratospheric warranty costs.

Plus, at 370 miles, we’re definitely reaching a point where overall range becomes significantly less important than charging times and charging infrastructure. In America, we’re still waiting for a reliable and expansive fast-charging network to really take on Tesla’s Superchargers. The Volkswagen Group is getting one built out, but it’ll take some time.

In the meantime, don’t expect anyone to best Tesla’s range. Audi, Porsche and Mercedes are all being cautious with their EV tech. By sacrificing some miles of range to keep the motors and battery pack cool and healthy, the goal is to provide EV levels of emissions reduction without sacrificing the quality or durability of an internal combustion car.

[Grumpyguy]

That the Saudis didn't have anti-drone systems in place at their refineries is pretty darn amazing. Betting they are putting them in place now though....

[Dennis S]

I wonder how many people use a calculator and figure what it costs to hop from a car to a pickup to an electric car to a SUV and on and on to save $800 a year (and likely one year) on gas.

[MrNoBody]

...but it’ll take some time.
Yes it will because every nickle & dime politico in the U.S. has their grubby hands out wanting a piece.
The others are too concerned with plastic bags, bike lanes, and pandering to the flavor of the moment movement.
Can't be bothered with zoning and permits.
/rant

[SteveG]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices surged more than 15% to their highest level in nearly four months at the open on Sunday after an attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities on Saturday that knocked out more than 5% of global oil supply.

Brent crude futures jumped more than 19% to a session high of $71.95 a barrel at the opening, while U.S. crude futures surged more than 15% to a session high of $63.34 a barrel. Both benchmarks rose to the highest since May.

Prices were up about 12% by 6:29 p.m. (2229 GMT), giving up some gains after U.S. President Donald Trump said he authorized the release of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) if needed in a quantity to be determined because of the attack on Saudi’s facilities.

State oil giant Saudi Aramco said the attack cut output by 5.7 million barrels per day, at a time when Aramco is trying to ready itself for what is expected to be the world’s largest share sale.

Aramco gave no timeline for output resumption. A source close to the matter told Reuters the return to full oil capacity could take “weeks, not days.”

Saudi Arabia’s oil exports will continue as normal this week as the kingdom taps into stocks from its large storage facilities, an industry source briefed on the developments told Reuters on Sunday.

“The surge in prices is the natural knee jerk reaction but the path ahead and ability to sustain at elevated levels remains dependent on the duration of the outage, the ability to meet export commitments through domestic drawdowns, demand elasticity at higher prices as well as government and agency policy,” said Michael Tran, managing director of energy strategy at RBC Capital Markets in New York.

[Grateful11]

It may only be 5% of the world production but all they need is an excuse to raise prices and they will.

1/3 of the lost production is supposed to be restored by tomorrow.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabi...1568568391

The market is already reflecting the damage. Geez, gasoline it's up over 11% wholesale.

[lost in space]

Anybody seen price jumps at the pump?