Sunday, November 6, 2011

Is It Time To Restructure EV Subsidies?

Obviously I'm a strong proponent of electric vehicles and I think subsides for their development are necessary and money well spent.  However that doesn't mean we can't improve the way that money is distributed.  Specifically addressing the vehicle purchase rebate I don't think we need to subsidize vehicles such as the Fisker Karma, a $90,000 plug in hybrid vehicle with poor efficiency.  Frankly I'm not even convinced we should continue to offer purchase incentives for vehicles over the $50,000 dollar mark, which would include the Tesla Model S.  It's an awesome vehicle that needs no support other than what it is and it's target purchasers really don't need the financial incentives.  I think it can stand on it's own, and the money can be better spent on building out the charging infrastructure and driving the development of lower priced EV's.  We should reward efficiency by tying incentives to some relationship between vehicle watt hour per mile energy use as well as it's overall cost.  This would push manufacturers to get more mileage out of smaller battery packs by using better aerodynamics and lighter weight materials.  While the LEAF is a good EV it's drag coefficient is too high, as is it's weight, and consequently it's range suffers a bit.  We need to rethink and redesign the automobile to get the most out of our battery packs, the single most expensive component.  Jamming in a huge battery pack is fine for an upscale luxury vehicle such as the Tesla Model S that can absorb the cost but obviously mass market vehicles cannot do the same, nor is that a sustainable and efficient way forward.
With the current political and social climate pushing for reduced government spending and an increasing attack on "green" products it's hard to justify giving tax breaks to people who really don't need them.  If EV's are seen as toys for the rich it's going to be difficult if not impossible to continue to get funding for battery research and charging infrastructure development.

8 comments:

  1. Well actually the Leaf is a very good vehicle. Light weight and good in the aerodynamics arena. It does require a bit if getting used to visually but over all it is quite a good vehicle. The distance the Leaf can go is only due to the fact that the vehicle has a small battery pack. I do get 250 wh per mile which is pretty much in line with most well done electric vehicles. The leaf has plenty of room for a 35kwh pack vs the 24kwh pack. What I am hoping for is a battery pack of the same physical size but with a larger capacity.

    Rebate incentives are good but only for a time.

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  2. The LEAF is good, it could be better. The Solectria Sunrise got much better range than the LEAF with a slightly larger pack of heavier NiMH cells, in 1996.
    http://ephase.blogspot.com/2010/12/more-bang-for-buck.html
    Of course we want batteries with higher energy density but building a more efficient vehicle will always be a benefit.

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  3. The Leaf is far superior to the Sunrise. It is a much more user friendly vehicle. It is also more practical than the Sunrise. The sunrise had crappy interior room. The Leaf has all the modern bells and whistles you'd expect in any modern vehicle and owners do expect to have those items. Besides the Sunrise died and is unobtainium as of today. I'd have chosen the Leaf had I had a choice. Remember the range is not the issue either. I have a safe distance of 70+ miles at freeway speeds with the Leaf and I drive it daily. Even in the cold weather it does quite well.

    Anybody & Nobody

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  4. Missing the point, which is that vehicles can be designed to use existing battery capacity much more efficiently. If you actually need all the interior room of the LEAF and the range works for you great, but most cars have a single occupant most of the time and the full 5 passenger capacity is rarely, if ever, used. In any case with modern lithium cells the Solectria could be designed with more interior room and still have superior range. Range and cost are the two biggest issues with EV's, efficient design addresses both.

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  5. Well I guess we could degrees back down to a vehicle that one would have to put on rather than get into and have it a two seater. I get the point and frankly not many want something uncomfortable and unusable. My Leaf is more than just a commuter but it's primary purpose is just that. The other seats just hold all my junk. But if they can build a 5 seater and put in a 35kwh pack to go 150 easy miles then that would be perfect. Price is not an issue with this vehicle. It IS the most affordable all electric car available today.

    Anybody & Nobody

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  6. The price certainly is an issue for many people. Since the LEAF can average about 80 miles with it's 24kwh pack you won't be doubling that with a 35kwh pack either, and it would cost a lot more than it does now, unless you increased it's efficiency, which is exactly what I'm arguing for.

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  7. I do not think the government will outdo free enterprise though. Regulation is what kept EVs off the road till now as only the BIG BOYS with BIG BUCKS can play. Remember "Who Killed the Electric Car?" Just as soon as Obama gets rid of the wealthy's profit, we won't even have that! Competition in a laissez faire economy will allow the best technology forward and the consumer will judge it, not some bureaucrat.

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  8. I'm not sure what point you think you are making here. Regulation had nothing to do with keeping EV's off the road, in fact it was regulations that forced large manufacturers to build EV's such as the EV1, RAV4EV, and a number of others. Lobbying efforts and locking up NiMH battery technology by oil companies killed the EV, the "free market" at work. Obama has put more funding in place for EV's and battery research than any other president, which is exactly what is needed to compete with established and subsidized petroleum based transportation.

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