It could also benefit the PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle) as they have an even shorter All Battery Range (Or All Electric Range, as it is often called), giving them in some situations – a boost of their battery energy in an easy format.

The Washington and Oregon parts are, I think, finished or at least largely so. When the entire corridor is finished there will be at least a level 1 (slow) charger every 35 miles minimum and a string of level 2 and level 3 fast chargers spaced a bit further apart.

http://www.westcoastgreenhighway.com/

Similar electric corridors are under construction in other parts of the country.

I think we have to acknowledge that a very significant portion of the population will not make significant lifestyle changes in order to avoid the worst of climate change. People live too much in the present and do little to prepare for the future. We can scare them, but that is about as likely to change their behavior as is telling people that they need to loose weight, stop smoking, cut back on their drinking, etc. Many won’t and many others will only after they harm themselves.

The difference between climate change and smoking/over eating/etc. is that the some are taking the rest of us along with them. We need to find painless ways to change people’s carbon footprint.

We can do that with renewable electricity generation. People see no difference between the electricity which comes from coal plants or solar panels as long as it’s available when they want it.

I think we have to do the same with vehicles. We have to give people cars that are as cheap or cheaper to own and drive and are as convenient or more convenient to operate. Wireless charging, while somewhat inefficient may help some decide to switch to an electric. Standing in the driving rain or blazing Sun while pumping gas is going to get some to question whether their next car should dodge the pumps.

Bob: Thanks for the reply. Please take a look at the 2-minute presentation from the link above. I like your take and agree. My comment represents the extreme (I think its important for someone to state “the extreme” to allow the consensus to back off to “the practical”). I am appalled, just moved to Southern California (where air quality has improved since 1970s, hooray) at the lack of solar arrays and the gargantuan transmission towers. I’m for grid revolution and clean transportation! All the best to you.

But I don’t think we need charging every time we stop. We need EVs with a minimum range of roughly 180 miles and 90%, <20 minute charging. That would let people drive all day long (500 miles) with two moderate length stops. That would cover the long trips.

A 200 mile range would be far more than most need on a daily basis. They could charge overnight. They wouldn't need to charge every night, if the winds were light the grid could give them a pass for a couple of nights until more electricity was available.

We don't need a lot of reworking of the infrastructure. The grid is almost everywhere and at least 40% of all drivers already have a place to plug in at night. We just need to add outlets for the rest and more rapid charging points.

Of course that’s “phony math” because it’s a 20 year calculation that assumes no generation post the 20 year pay off period. Older wind turbines have lasted 30 years, new ones should be good for 40. Our oldest solar panels are now 40 years old and still producing at about 80% of original output. So what we’re really looking at is a future in which the price of electricity is considerably less than it is today. Take those 20 year pennies and divide by at least two.

We just need to figure out the best storage solution….

Wind is starting to approach it’s theoretical efficiency in a physical science that has been fairly well studied (from electric generators and aerospace industries). So while we have some costs we can drop in manufacturing, materials and maintenance, I think we can only cut the cost about in half from current costs.

But solar on the other hand is only 10-30% efficient unless you go into space grade panels – which are prohibitively expensive. So not only can we triple to quadruple their efficiencies based on the theoretical maximum of 76%, but we can also severely drop costs as manufacturing methods improve. There’s reason to believe that we can cut costs 70% or more. Combine these and you have some mighty cheap power! Also, in such a “young” industry that we are still truly learning the science, there’s a fair probability that the theoretical maximum of 76% is actually an underestimate – and I believe it is.

I’d suspect that we’ll see solar reach price parity with wind sometime around 2030 or 2035…

And I would also, at the risk of being called a loon, venture to say that battery technology will smooth the cost out across the day more than we think. As more and more EV/HEVs get retired and we turn their “old” batteries into grid storage for another decade of use before we recycle them, we will have very, very cheap storage. Not to mention the improvements we will see in batteries over the years! – that’s the main reason I think efficiency will matter.

But overall, I agree. 10% losses are more than worth it if it causes more people to switch to electric transportation. You’re already doubling the efficiency of the transportation…

Second cheapest, sunny days.

Most expensive, mornings before the Sun kicks in and late afternoon/evening when demand is still high and the night time winds haven’t picked up. And cloudy mid-days.

Of course adding offshore wind to the mix will change all that, as will stuff like wave and hot rock geothermal if it proves out.

But, since we won’t be burning fossil fuels to make that power and the extra money spent will cause more capacity to be installed I’m not sure we should worry about it. If it takes a few more turbines to cover the <10% loss they will be paid for by the people creating the loss.

Even though the process of plugging in is minimal I suspect some will find it off-putting. They’ll gladly pay the extra penny or two a day (plus the cost of the charging unit) for the convenience. And since the extra power they buy will help install more wind turbines, which will bring more wind capacity to daytime hours, that would seem to be a good thing.

And as much as I would like to see EVs everywhere, there are much more efficient and economical ways to accomplish that goal than by putting wireless charging stations everywhere… But if implemented correctly, can’t say I’m completely against this.

Given that most charging is likely to be done late at night when there is lots of spare capacity (and generally lots of wind) that small loss shouldn’t be problematic. If it gets people to switch off of fossil fuels faster then it’s very tolerable.

Just think about these little puppies installed along the side of streets and equipped with the ability to identify the vehicle, its need for a charge, and the owners billing account. Park and charge. If it’s a limited parking zone, get a message on your phone that you need to move your car in x minutes.