Now it begins. We already have too many electric cars for the electric grid to function properly. Only in California.

The power companies in California asked people to avoid charging their electric vehicles to lessen the strain on the power grid.

California has a giant power problem. It depends on solar power to over 10% and wind power to 10%, but depends on hydro power for over 13% of their needs. The two last nuclear power plants in Diablo Canyon, supplying 9% of Californians electricity are being shut down in 2024 and 2025. Hydro-power is declining because of the drought, so the rest has to be made up by fossil fuels and imports from other states. Therefore California has one of the largest transmissions losses of any state, close to 10%. When the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine they import peak power at a price that has a few times been as high as one dollar per kWh. But they are building fast charging stations for their electric vehicles:

The infrastructure bill will add $7.5B in EV charging stations, which could result in around 1,900 highway and rural stations, 100,000 urban stations, and 215,000 Level 2 stations for workplaces, apartments, and airports. There are already 45,000 private charging stations, and s number of exclusive Tesla charging stations. And then there is no saying how many are installing a fast charger in their garage. If electric cars really takes off we will have to greatly expand our electric grid, which is still powered over half with fossil fuels.

But fear not, when all else fails, here is a diesel powered electric charging station for your electric vehicle:

Should you run out of charge there is always AAA:

I am for electric vehicles as soon as the electric grid is fixed up, the dependency of fossil fuel to stabilize the grid and the grid is built up to accommodate electric vehicles being charged at the same time. As it is now, over half of all electricity is still produced using fossil fuels, and coupled with 10% transmission losses and conversion losses, plus that electric vehicles use electricity to get heated, they are not carbon neutral.

I have a proposal to solve the water problems in the American Southwest and at the same time triple the nation’s hydro-power storage capacity allowing for a greater use of solar panels, and some windmills, they will be a small part of the solution, but the great change will be the use of Small Modular Reactors, preferably Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors. The proposal is here-.