We're Going To Have To Cut Down A Lot Of Big Trees To Upgrade The Electric Grid For EVs

[Jirel]

4. Oh, it's more than that.

I wanted to go solar at home. The companies were happy to provide panels and installation. The only problem was, they wanted us to install on a part of a roof where there are lots of old trees that provide shade to the house. So we gave solar a pass. In broiling Texas summers, which tend to last 6 mo this out of the year, what we’d lose in shade cooling could never be made up with more solar electricity to power the overworked AC unit.

Similarly, I’m giving EVs a hard pass. Where is all the power coming from to charge them? Fossil fuels. All we are doing, at present, is moving the fossil fuels out of the engine and into the power plants. Maybe, years from now, we’ll have enough true renewable generation to power a rising number of electric cars. But where I live, there isn’t enough reliable generation to keep even buildings livable in either that 6 months of oppressive heat or the cold snaps that everyone forgets about until they lose power and water. When we hit a critical mass of EVs, the grid will have to expand greatly (it already needs that!). What will we be using? More fossil fuel. Because I know how this state rolls.