UPS currently has a number of electric delivery trucks in their fleet and they are working quite well for them.

A big point you seem to have missed is that battery prices are rapidly falling….

I worked with UPS in Chicago in the early 90’s, researching the conversion of UPS vehicles to Natural Gas as a primary fuel with overnight slow fill stations on UPS compound.
If we are to survive the Energy crisis and become energy independent, we must utilize every effort not to waste our energy resources. Innovation and technology will eventually save the day.
Electric cars are a fiction of energy conservation, (Look at all the costs associated with such technology); it is not a viable option.
We must look into other forms of fuel, and invest heavily into R&D.

YJ Draiman, Director of Utilities & Sustainability

At the moment one cannot drill a new well based on the price of NG to be produced. When we burn through the glut prices will rise high enough to return rigs to the fields.

Additionally we have only 20 -100 years of NG, and the 100 year estimate is highly suspect. And that’s based on 2010 rate of use.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/future_tense/2011/12/is_there_really_100_years_worth_of_natural_gas_beneath_the_united_states_.html

We’re building more gas turbines to gen electricity, we’re switching some vehicles to NG, we’re starting to sell NG to other countries. Since the “20 years” is a reasonable conservative estimate we could run out of NG in not a lot more than ten years from now.

Wind, without subsidies, is now about $0.05/kWh. Cost to the customer should be no more than $0.08/kWh for off-peak EV charging. At that price you can drive an EV for “$1/gallon”. And we can produce that electricity at that price for the next many hundred years.

And not have to build a great big NG retail infrastructure.

Seem to me that YJ Draiman needs to step up his game….

Ask yourselves what is the real cost of “Electric Car”?

Note: Electricity is a secondary form of energy derived by utilizing one form of energy to produce electric current.

Let us look at the facts:

In order to produce electricity, we need some form of energy to generate electricity, whereby you lose a substantial amount of your original source of energy in the generation process.
In the process we are losing the efficiency of the initial energy source, since it is not a direct use of the energy.

Let us take it a step further. To generate electricity we utilize; coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydro electric – water, photovoltaic-solar, wind, geothermal, etc. Many electricity generating plants utilize fossil fuel, which creates pollution.

Do you realize how much of the initial source of energy you lose to get the electricity you need for your electric automobile; you also lose electricity in the transmission lines.

Why are we jumping to a new technology, without analyzing the economic cost, the effective return and efficiency of such technology; while computing and measuring its affect on the environment?

Natural gas vehicles are a direct source of energy, where you get the most for your energy source – in efficiency and monetary value. Cost of natural gas to a comparable gallon of gas ranges around $1, it has higher octane and extends the life of your engine, it is also safer than gas.

In these hard economic times – I would think, you would want to get the most for your dollar – and not waste resources.

Another economic impact would be the loss of road tax on fuel, these funds are used to build and maintain the highway infrastructure.

“It is Cheaper to Save Energy than Make Energy”

YJ Draiman, Director of Utilities & Sustainability

Will High Electricity Rates Drive Innovation?
Escalating costs of OIL will produce innovation!

YJ Draiman’s vision is to make Los Angeles as the World Capital of Renewable energy and conservation.

If we want the message to get out then we have to keep beating the drums on and on and on.

I wonder how many CEOs haven’t yet found out that they could improve their bottom line by simply getting rid of inefficient light bulbs?