Let’s discuss some of the obvious flaws in Biden’s latest mandates that will require EVs to account for 60% of new urban delivery trucks and 25% of long-haul tractor sales by 2032.
Inquiring minds may wish to investigate the US Department of Energy’s Alternative Fueling Station Locator
There are a grand total of 35 public plus private fast charging locations suitable for class 8 trucks in the US, with another 7 in Canada.
If we count all heavy-duty truck suitable charging stations in the US, all types, existing or planned, the number jumps to 151.
Biiden-Harris Grants
On January 11, 2024, the US Department of Transportation provided this fun fact: Biden-Harris Administration Announces $623 Million in Grants to Continue Building Out Electric Vehicle Charging Network
The Biden-Harris Administration today announced $623 million in grants to help build out an electric vehicle (EV) charging network across the U.S., which will create American jobs and ensure more drivers can charge their electric vehicles where they live, work, and shop. This is a critical part of the Biden Administration’s goal of building out a convenient, affordable, reliable and made-in-America national network of EV chargers, including at least 500,000 publicly available chargers by 2030 ensuring that EVs are made in America with American workers.
How Far Will $623 Million Go?
Excuse me for asking, but how far will $623 million go?
There are currently 9,808 fast charging locations in the US with 41,000 ports. The goal is 500,000 by 2030.
What About the Inflation Reduction Act?
I am pleased to report the Inflation Reduction Act allocated $7.5 billion for electric vehicle chargers.
On December 5, 2023, Politico reported Congress Provided $7.5B for Electric Vehicle Chargers. Built So Far: Zero.
Congress at the urging of the Biden administration agreed in 2021 to spend $7.5 billion to build tens of thousands of electric vehicle chargers across the country, aiming to appease anxious drivers while tackling climate change.
Two years later, the program has yet to install a single charger.
States and the charger industry blame the delays mostly on the labyrinth of new contracting and performance requirements they have to navigate to receive federal funds. While federal officials have authorized more than $2 billion of the funds to be sent to states, fewer than half of states have even started to take bids from contractors to build the chargers — let alone begin construction.
In a June study, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory projected the U.S. will need 1.2 million public chargers by 2030 to meet charging demand, including 182,000 fast chargers.
Biden Plans on 500,000 chargers, of which there are currently 180,000 (41,000 fast charging) with zero added by the Biden administration in two years despite authorization to spend $7.5 billion.
I’m sure glad the Biden-Harris Administration allocated another $623 million. That will surely jump start the nation.
Tesla (TSLA) Semi Rollout
Elon Muck said he would be producing 50,000 EV semis a year. That was in 2017.
As of December 21, 2023, the Tesla Semi Fleet Has Almost 100 Trucks
Tesla delivered the first Semi trucks in December 2022, but little has been said about the Class-8 truck or its dedicated production line at Giga Nevada in the past year.
Now, Tesla’s VP of Engineering Lars Moravy reveals that Tesla has tripled its Semi fleet, with volume production planned for 2024.
It took Tesla 5 years to produce a single truck. And we are now up to a grand total of 100, almost.
Things are really rolling. Importantly, volume production is planned for this year!
Let’s check in on the progress.
Tesla Finally Moves Forward With Gigafactory
On January 19, 2024, Electrek reported Tesla Finally Moves Forward with Gigafactory Nevada Expansion for Tesla Semi and 4680 Cells.
When originally announcing the plan for the factory, Tesla was talking about the plant producing 105 GWh of battery cells per year and 150 GWh of battery packs per year once completed.
It was supposed to become the largest building in the world.
However, the factory is currently about 30% complete, and Tesla hasn’t expanded the facility for years as both the automaker and Panasonic have focused on optimizing the current production capacity. [Mish Comment: It’s so optimized that Tesla has delivered nearly 100 semi trucks].
Today, we learn that Tesla is finally starting to get some construction, or at least earth-moving, work done for the Gigafactory Nevada expansion.
However, it doesn’t look like Tesla is working on the previously announced expansion with new sections of the existing building.
The new work is being done outside of the originally planned area. It’s possible that Tesla is working on the land for a new parking lot as it will need to move the existing one if it goes through with these plans.
As Electrek points out “at least some work is being done.” But it might be a parking lot.
Rah Rah Progress
Those interested in genuine rah rah reporting can find it in this January 31, 2024 Bloomberg article More Than 1,000 New EV Stations Have Come Online in the US Since Summer
US drivers welcomed almost 1,100 new public, fast-charging stations in the second half of 2023, a 16% increase, according to a Bloomberg Green analysis of federal data.
The rash of new chargers isn’t limited to hotbeds of EV adoption. Idaho, for example, switched on 12 new fast-charging stations (also known as “DC fast chargers”) between July and December. [Mish Comment: Congratulations to Idaho for providing ~60 of the 182,000 fast chargers we need, assuming 5 ports per station]
Collectively, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee welcomed 56 new fast-charging stations in the second half of 2023. [Mish Comment: At 5 vehicles per station, that’s another 280 of the 182,000 fast chargers we need.]
“It’s been kind of a worn-out talking point from some of the opponents of EVs, that the infrastructure’s just not ready,” said Albert Gore, executive director of the Zero Emission Transportation Association. “But that overlooks the fact that there’s phenomenal growth taking place.”
[Absolutely! At this “phenomenal ” pace it will only take decades to build the number of chargers we need. And need I remind you, Kamala Harris is on the case. Factor in prodding by Al Gore. John Kerry is bound to be on the scene somewhere. And Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is due to show up any second. What can go wrong?]
Hooray! Tesla Has 2,000 Semi Orders
NextBigFuture reports Tesla Semi Has Over 2000 Orders
An independent media site reports that Tesla has 2000 orders for the Tesla Semi truck. Tesla has targeted building and delivering 50,000 Tesla Semi trucks in 2024.
Hmm. A quick check shows that article was written January 23, 2023. Of the 2,000 orders, Tesla delivered about 100.
We’ve already discussed the nonsensical 50,000 in 2024 target. I now wonder how many of those 2,000 orders have been cancelled.
Biden’s Order: Let There Be Electric Trucks
The Wall Street Journal comments on Biden’s EPA order Let There Be Electric Trucks.
The Environmental Protection Agency chose Good Friday to roll out its burdensome electric truck mandate, no doubt so fewer people notice. Biden officials well know the damage they are doing, but the damage in the name of climate change is the point.
EVs make up less than 1% of U.S. heavy-duty truck sales, and nearly all are in California, which heavily subsidizes and mandates their purchase. EPA’s rule will require electric models to account for 60% of new urban delivery trucks and 25% of long-haul tractor sales by 2032. The harm is predictable in return for no climate benefit.
Power generation and transmission will have to massively expand to support millions of new “zero-emission” trucks. An electric semi consumes about seven times as much electricity on a single charge as a typical home does in a day. Truck charging depots can draw as much power from the grid as small cities.
By 2030 electric trucks are projected to consume about 11% of California’s electricity. The additional power to fuel electric trucks won’t come from renewables, which can’t be built fast enough to meet demand. Most trucks will recharge at night when solar isn’t available since drivers don’t want to waste prime daylight driving hours.
Some 1.4 million chargers will have to be installed by 2032 to achieve the EPA’s mandate, about 15,000 a month. This will require major grid upgrades when there are shortages of critical components such as transformers. It could take three to eight years to develop transmission and substations in many places to support truck chargers.
New Charger Math
We need to add 15,000 chargers a month.
Al Gore and Bloomberg brag about adding 1,100 fast-charging stations in the second half. It’s unclear if they mean locations or ports. Giving them the benefit of the doubt at 5 ports per location, that’s 5,500 in 6 months when we need 15,000 a month.
Somewhere between 95,000 and 284,000 new semitrucks are sold in America each year. As of late 2022 sales were on track to be on the high end of that, said J.D. Power analyst Chris Visser.
If EPA rules mean 60 percent of new trucks need to be EVs, how many truck chargers will we need?
Returning to my lead image, the total number of fast-charging class 8 ports is now 77.
Tesla says it will produce 50,000 semi EVs a year. Charged how?
This is why it makes sense to believe Tesla is expanding a parking lot rather than the much ballyhooed but many years late, giga factory. Oh well, 30 percent isn’t zero.
In the chicken and egg scenario, no one will lay out $250,000 for a truck when there is no place to charge it. If Tesla really was interested in promoting semi EVs, it would be installing class 8 chargers.
Then again, perhaps Tesla is interested, but the trucking industry wants no part of it.
Given the state of our electric grid, it would be good if zero EV semis are sold in the next few years. But I suspect we can handle 2,000 if those orders are still on the books.
Biden Will Take Away Your Truck
In case you missed it, please see In the Name of Progress, Biden Will Take Away Your Truck
Will This Help the Environment?
For all this effort one might be wondering what we will get out of it.
For the unfortunate answer, please see The Norwegian Illusion: EVs Are Not More Energy Efficient
Dear Jeff Green
Musk has been promising fully autonomous self-driving cats in two years, every year since 2017.
Tesla technology seriously lags Waymo, and likely everybody’s at this point,
He has promised 50,000 semis “next year” for about 4 years. He has delivered a grand total of 100.
His giga factory is 30% complete at most. It is unclear if it is even being worked on.
There are only Only 35 Class 8 Truck EV Fast Charging Stations for the entire nation.
You are totally clueless how unprepared the grid is on top of charging stations.
And you are totally clueless about what EVs will do for the environment, at best, nothing.
I, myself, have always preferred self-driving cats.
Cats that just lay around and do nothing but consume food are worthless.
And schedules are nothing to worry about.
Iran has been two years away from a nuclear weapon since around 2003.
Mike,
You may…or may not know how the trucking / Logistics / Integrated Supply business works…but EV Semi’s are absolutely going to be used for TWO Major Reasons…Explained Below. I ran a massive Integrated Supply Business Unit for a F-500 Company and know exactly how valuable EV Semi’s are to Corporations…like it or not. It’s happening and already ahead in China and Europe…not surprising…less actual bribery there…oh I mean SuperPACs thanks to Citizens United…aka the Congress Get Wealthy Act.
1. Semi’s MOST common Trips are either DRAYAGE, in and around Ports, Intermodal (Truck to Train, etc.) or Port / Intermodal to Distribution Center.
Almost ALL of those Drayage and similar are 100 miles or LESS and are VERY Stop and Go…often at the Port, in City Traffic or around the Ports, Rail Yards, Distribution Centers that are in or very near cities. (Port of Los Angeles, San Diego, etc.)
2. OR they are SHORT Haul Trips that are from Manufacturing Facilities / Bottlers / Factories / Refineries to their Regional Distribution Centers…OR Directly to their Customers. Short Haul are 250 Miles or Less. A Colossal number of the actual trips fall under DRAYAGE or SHORT HAUL…which by Far will be the first Diesel / ICE Semi’s replaced with EV Semi’s.
Also, as EV’s continue to increase in usage and number, the number of Semi’s needed for Fuel Trucks will be reduced massively…both cleaning the air…and reducing the amount of Fuel needed for Vehicles of all sorts, as those are both HEAVY and have to navigate city streets and suburban streets frequently to fill up Gasoline Stations. Causing a Double Whammy on ICE Semi-Trucks.
This is already speeding up Globally…the US will need to catch up…as with most things related to EVs…but they will because the cost savings are massive and the Trips for most of these Trucks is very similar on a daily basis.
Cheers!
takers damaging EV charging stations
with copper recycle prices high, EV stations have become target of choice
even though they have little copper
but cost to rebuild damaged unit is expensive
Nah, Mostly NOT people trying to get copper…the ones who are caught because of vandalism by camera are mostly just who you might expect. EV haters that drive ICE Trucks.
The actual number of public fast charging stations for heavy trucks is zero.
Tesla built a few high power chargers on private property for SEMI buyers. None of the public stuff is close to powerful enough for large trucks. It is all just car chargers.
“Elon Muck said …”
that was funny and
i am stealing it.
Meh, if you went back in time a decade the idea that Tesla would have sold 6 million EVs now and that there would be charging stations all over the place would seem like a fantasy.
Honestly it seems like big trucks make more sense as EVs than personal cars to me since you can concentrate the charging infrastructure along the key routes rather than having to have chargers scattered all over every little ‘burg.
But I guess we’ll see. I sure like not paying for gas, that’s all I know.
evwythin’ gonna be jus fine as long as black slaves in the Congo and other colonized places keep on diggin cobalt and other battery ingredients for a 1 dollar a day … Enjoy while you can, EVs weigh about half a ton more than combustion engine cars , destroying roads and polluting the environment with tyres particles, without paying road taxes …..PURE HYPOCRISY thats what EV s represent…and their drivers feeling morally superior ….for the time being , till the truth will finally catch up with the damn self deceiving lies..
About 25 cents per 12 hour day I think. Slavery CAN be profitable. Ask any large company.
Quit lying, that Fossil Fuels FUD has been outdated for quite a while…
First, LFP Batteries have ZERO Cobalt in them…and they’re used quite extensively now and Cobalt continues to be removed from EVs.
But keep lying about stuff when we KNOW that ICE vehicles POISON people every time you start them up. It’s NOT just CO2…it’s the Poisonous Fumes, the Volatile Organic Compounds and Particulate from the ENGINES and TAILPIPES. And yes, the Pickups and monster SUVs also throw off “Tyres Particles” because they weight as much or more as the average EV. The Model Y Standard Range weighs about 4,000 lbs. The F-150 weighs between about 4,400 lbs to 5,800 lbs. F-150 Most popular vehicle in the US. So cut the nonsense.
Most BIG ICE Pickup Trucks and ICE SUVs in the US are that BIG because they had to avoid CAFE Fleet Standards by making them weigh more than normal vehicles. Now, they didn’t ACTUALLY have to do so…but they did to avoid regulations…instead of making the engines much more efficient.
So as OEMs no longer have to make GIANT ICE Pickups and SUVs to avoid the regulations, they’ll be able to make WAY more midsize Pickups…which used to be considered Full sized pickups back in the day before they tried to dodge the CAFE standards.
With fast charging in this case, 3.5 minutes and you are ready to roll again, allows for a smaller battery bank and is on a very predictable route. Batteries have their place of what they can do well. What batteries can do well will expand as time goes on.
gwr
/news/great-western-railways-battery-train-sets-new-distance-record#
Great Western Railway’s battery train sets new distance recordGreat Western Railway’s innovative fast-charge battery trial has achieved another significant step – just days after laying claim to a battery train UK distance record without recharging.
The train demonstrated its capability on Wednesday by travelling a UK record of 86 miles (138km) on battery power alone and without recharging.
Today the Class 230 battery train completed a 70-mile move from Long Marston to Reading Train Care Depot – using just 45 per cent of its battery capacity. GWR’s team of specialist engineers on board the train claim it could have travelled more than 120 miles on a single charge.
GWR’s fast-charge technology has been designed to solve the problem of delivering reliable, battery-only trains capable of fulfilling timetable services on branch lines, eliminating the use of diesel traction and helping to meet the Government and wider rail industry’s target to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
The use of batteries for extended operation has typically been constrained by their range and meant widespread implementation has, until now, not been possible. It also negates the need for overhead electric lines which are expensive, time consuming to install and impact the landscape.
At West Ealing, where the technology will be trialled in a real-world environment for the first time this spring, the train will charge for just 3 ½ minutes before restarting its journey on the Greenford branch line.
“With fast charging in this case, 3.5 minutes and you are ready to roll again…”
Who cares if you can charge your Hot Wheels toy car in under 4 minutes.
Obviously I’m not here to make friends. Tough delivery. And thank you for that. I talk to lots of people about battery transportation. This helps me to grow a thick skin as I talk to others about this. I’ve had lots of people approach me not holding back.
Yeah Foolish Person…this is clearly about a TRAIN.
An easy hit to make is that any industry in its infancy is too small and how is it ever going to make it. This was said of Tesla cars and superchargers from the beginning. That dog doesn’t hunt anymore for Tesla EVs. Just about every car manufacturer in the world is designing at least a few EVs.
Amazon now has over 10,000 EV vans for delivery. So do you think Amazon is afraid to go ahead with class 8 semis?. They probably are in the planning works now.
Tesla cars started out small by all means and have now grown across the world. My area has dozens of location with hundreds of fast charging points. I have never had to wait for a supercharger in my area.
The interesting part in this is that most trucking routes are identical travel daily. This is a very reliable way to know if you are going to have availability to charge your class 8 truck. For the long distance Tesla Class 8 truck a 1000 mile circuit would at a minimum only need 3 secure charge points. Beginning middle and end. I’m quite sure the designers of this route can easily arrange with utiliities to assure them the powr when they need it.
From wiki
The first Superchargers in the world opened in 2012 in the United States. Six stations were deployed along Interstate 5 in California, enabling trips from Los Angelos and San Frisco, and two stations deployed along Interstate 5, enabling trips between Boston and Washington DC. By mid-July 2013, 15 stations were open across the United States. The stations were developed and mass constructed in cooperation with Balck and Veatch.
somebody please buy mr Green a radio controlled car so he sees how much driving to charging time you REALLY get in the real world
Musk has been promising fully autonomous self-driving cats in two years, every year since 2017.
Tesla technology seriously lags Waymo, and likely everybody’s at this point,
He has promised 50,000 semis “next year” for about 4 years. He has delivered a grand total of 100.
His giga factory is 30% complete at most. It is unclear if it is even being worked on.
There are only Only 35 Class 8 Truck EV Fast Charging Stations for the entire nation.
You are totally clueless how unprepared the grid is on top of charging stations.
And you are totally clueless about what EVs will do for the environment, at best, nothing.
Tesla has announced a new Super Duper Truck that requires no charging at all.
But it only goes downhill.
A lot of this is assuming technology stands still which it won’t. As the EV’s get better and better people will want to switch. The private sector will make it happen when it makes financial sense. Trying to force this thru the government is a waste of taxpayer money. It has surprised me though that hybrids have not been adopted heavily as they make so much sense. My three Prius’s average 45 mpg, they need almost zero repairs, and this with their mileages ranging between 100-200k.
“A lot of this is assuming technology stands still which it won’t”
It won’t stand still. But the rate of improvement slows down. The low hanging fruit have all been picked. We’re quite some ways out on the diminishing returns curve by now. As far as battery density, the low hanging fruit was largely picked BEFORE the first hype-era BEV was ever sold. Since battery tech was, and still is, mostly driven by mobile devices. Where such tech is indeed very useful. Useful enough that octogenarians falling down stairs aren’t needed, in order for end users to “recognize” this.
The reason today’s still-mostly-just-proof-of-concept BEVs are even as usable as they currently are, is specifically due to the battery advancements made to enable fitting an all-day-on-one-charge supercomputer; stuffed full of sensors and radios; in the average pocket. By the time the first BEV came around, the steeply climbing part of the battery tech curve was mostly over.
But yes: Tech is moving forward. BEV tech, ICE tech, H2 tech as well as flying car tech. None of them at all that fast of a clip anymore, though (maybe H2 tech is, but they’ve also got much further to go. And mostly isn’t “owned” by halfwits playing golf with the current US Junta and Junta-enabled illiterate “elite”; hence don’t receive nearly the same blind hype).
Someday these (D)-goons will no longer walk the earth.
unfortunately, the damage remains as their legacy.
I have a relative that is one of the largest Class-8 dealers in the country. He says that unless there is a giant leap forward in technology, EV semis will only be viable for local use, where the trucks end up in the same warehouse parking lot each night for recharging the batteries. A replacement battery pack for these trucks is upwards of $70k. Over-the-road truckers only make money when they are moving. Spending hours to recharge the batteries will not be palatable to truck drivers who are already under tight restrictions limiting the consecutive hours they can drive.
Batteries on the Tesla will go a million miles. 60% of the trucking market is an out and back to the same location. Huge market to jump into. Truck stops can add to their market by putting in high power chargers along the main truck routes. I’m sure they are looking into it now.
I live along a major route. several, in fact. I sit at the ends of two of what are called “the loneliest roads in the country”, we have miles and miles of nothing. we have people driving ice who get driven here, buy a gas can, and catch another ride back to their car all the time. can’t wait to see how the middle of nowhere ev gets restarted
we have truck stops at the south end of town while all our power comes thru town from the north. 2 stations put in a total of 8 ports and for that they had to run a new line in to them.
On any given night 10-30 semis are parked here with drivers either out of hours or waiting for bad weather to break
Should be interesting
The busy truck routes will get it first. 16 years from now in 2040, there will be lots more EV trucks on the road. Like you said, it will be interesting to see how things change.
Tesla soon announce a solution to that contingency – a portable tin can full of electricity good for about 50 miles. It’s held up by helium balloons.
Yeah, you know what “The loneliest Road in the Country” DOESN’T have??? A lot of traffic.
So almost nobody cares about the “Edgiest of Edge Cases”. MOST Semi’s Are either Drayage with LESS than 100 Miles of Travel per day…OR SHORT Haul, with LESS than 250 Miles of Travel. That’s where MOST of the Trips in the US are driven for Semi’s / Tractors. There’s Millions of Semi’s to replace that work just fine for EVs. The “Loneliest Semi’s” will get an exemption for the “Loneliest Road”.
Hope you’re not so Lonely in the future.
Cheers!
spoken like a true “believer”
Never cast aspersions upon another man’s religion.
Tesla soon to announce a 500 mile retractable extension cord mounted on the rear of the trucks.
Finally a comment that makes sense, for most of the class 8 trucks full electric just won’t work unless we are willing to pay double or triple rates and maybe that or more in higher electric rates. Short haul routes that return to the same location will work but even that in large scale is decades away that dealer is right.
NOPE. Like MOST Auto / Truck Dealers…they’re tied to their ICE vehicles for the same Service $$ Reasons as ICE Cars & SUVs Dealers are tied to their $$$ Service Profits.
China has already led the way, with Buses, Heavy Trucks and Med. Trucks all rapidly increasing.
The US is dwarfed by the Chinese auto market and will follow suit with the Chinese and Europeans because once 3/4 of the Developed World Auto / Truck Markets are EVs…the US’s smaller market won’t be able to have suppliers at scale. Many of the suppliers are Global and will all continue switching to EVs, so that they can have Economies of Scale.
Yeah, You don’t know much about how many Semi-Trucks are used on a daily basis do you?
The VAST majority of Trips in Semi’s are in Drayage (At the Port, Port to Intermodal, Intermodal to Port and / or Port or Intermodal to Distribution Centers.) That means that most trips from Tractors / Semis are LESS than 250 Miles…MOST of those being less than 150 Miles with several stops. The average Drayage Trip is about 95 Miles.
What that means, is that MOST of the Semi’s in the US are used IN PORTS / Container Areas, In Local Trips or between The Port and the Trains or between Ports and Distribution.
OR They are SHORT HAUL Trips between Factories / Manufacturing / Processing Facilities and their customers regional Distribution Facilities. LESS than 250 Miles.
AKA…most Semi Trips won’t have any problem with needing to charge while on the road, since they are SHORT HAUL trips anyway. There’s already plenty of Large Trucks on the road overseas…No surprise but Chinese and other European Manufacturers are delivering Heavy Duty and Medium Duty Trucks, etc. in China because the ICE vehicles are No Longer Competitive.
The BIG OIL Special Interests / BIG Truck manufacturers have complained endlessly…and yet…they’re still making them.
Pretending that the US knows what it’s doing compared to the rest of the world when it comes to EVs (outside of Tesla) is a laughing stock of an industry.
No matter how ignorant parts of the US pretends it is to what is ACTUALLY happening globally…EVs are not only coming…they are HERE. And any company (Ford, GM, etc.) that does not keep up…will eventually go BK (again for GM) or need a Major Bailout. Either way, the changes area already happening and will accelerate as more and more countries hit the tipping point or the ICE breaking point.
Cheers!
Here are several statements I believe are correct:
newsflash> Electric cars aren’t NEW technology
Newsflash! An EV was the TOP Selling Vehicle in the WORLD in 2023. Newsflash! About 15 MILLION Plug-In Vehicles were sold last year Globally…basically the same size as the US Auto Market. EV’s are here to stay…and ICE vehicles sales are collapsing in the largest auto market in the world.
Rockets aren’t NEW Technology EITHER…
but SpaceX Dominates the Launch Business by having REUSABLE rockets, specifically Rapidly Reusable Rockets that outperform the older versions.
Same goes for EVs.
Pretending that EVs aren’t already replacing ICE in by FAR the LARGEST Auto Market in the World at a pace that means ICE vehicles will die completely in the near future there is sticking one’s head in the sand…or up their tailpipe. Which is why GM’s losing about 30% of its workforce in China (GM / SAIC) and it’s their ICE vehicles workforce that’s going away. GM Global Sales will likely shrink by almost half within the next 3 or 4 years. Get ready for a Bailout or a BK!
When you think about the permitting delays for charging stations, think also about the permitting delays for the substations, generating plants and additional transmission lines needed to move all that electricity to those charging stations. Never mind the reality that those EV truck charging stations are probably going to need to have significantly larger footprints than current truck stop configurations to accommodate all the trucks that will be spending the night charging up. Which will require more permitting. Given all the permitting delays all along the way it is increasingly doubtful that any actually relevant infrastructure will come on line in the near to mid term. I do see the possibility of there being lots of EV trucks sold that just sit around because they can’t be charged a la EV buses.
NOPE. Megapacks and other Battery Storage can handle the load…it doesn’t take all live transmission to charge Trucks…Battery Storage is key to having the juice available when needed. We already know roughly the amount of time to 80% charge for most of these Trucks. Many Semi-Trucks are used for LOCAL Short Haul Loads of between 100 miles or less (Drayage) or LESS than 250 Miles. Together, It’s the largest number of daily Trips by Far. I ran a HUGE Logistics / Integrated Supply Business Unit for a F500 company…most of our Trucks went less than 100 Miles per day. Lots of Cross-Docking and Trips to and from Distribution Centers. ALL of those trips can be done with EV Semi’s
I was a semi driver for about a year, operating almost entirely in the Northeast (PA and north Jersey to Virginia, mostly, though sometimes to Ohio and North Carolina). There were several places along my routes through tunnels that don’t allow hazmat loads. You know, explosives or flammable cargo and the like. The I-95 tunnel under Baltimore harbor and the tunnels along the PA turnpike come to mind. Are they going to allow electric semis through those? If so, then I’ll never drive through one of those again. Electric cars and buses have been known to spontaneously erupt in flames (just go to YouTube and search for “electric bus catches fire” to watch the gruesome videos). Electric vehicles using current battery technology *are* hazmat and have no place in tunnels like that.
Add the lack of charging capability and you have a recipe for failure. Then again, if you want failure, just add government.
Yes.
[tunnels that don’t allow hazmat loads. You know, explosives or flammable cargo and the like] + [Are they going to allow electric semis through those?] = Pipe Bomb, supersized.
Go watch ANY Fuel Truck and see what happens when THEY wreck…Fireball Times Megasized. Melting Bridges and Overpasses, etc. Easy to Google or YouTube. “Fuel Tanker Catches Fire” PLENTY of examples, every year.
Of EVs, they are 11 to 20 times less likely to catch fire than a petrol car. Plus some EVs can now back up your house when the power is down.
What are you comparing ? Relatively new EVs to 20-30 year old petrol cars?
These are present day stats.
Yeah joker from KY…This has got to be one of the most ridiculous comments out there. It’s laughable whenever it comes up…WHY???
Because 200,000 ICE vehicles catch FIRE Every. Single. Year. in the US Alone. SOOO MANY ICE Vehicles CATCH FIRE that it rarely makes the news anymore.
ALTHOUGH…when they DO go up in a Fireball in SPECTACULAR Fashion…these ICE Fires make the news.
Want to watch something?? Go to YouTube and watch “Tanker Fire Causes I-95 Bridge to Collapse”
OR “Tanker Truck Loses Control…Goes Over Bridge…And BURSTS Into FLAMES!”
OR “Deadly Fuel Tanker Fire Shuts Down Gold Start Bridge in Groton!” PLENTY of those types of videos where ICE Vehicles Catch Fire…WAY more than EVs…and that’s not surprising at all. COMBUSTION is literally their Middle Name.
Fuel Tankers for Gasoline alone have about 31 MILLION Trips per year…almost ALL of which will go away as Vehicles switch from Gasoline to EV. WAY Less Fireballs…way less bridges burnt that fall down…you get the point.
Time for us to get OFF the BIG OIL Addiction.
Cheers!
They have something similar to electric trucks in Europe, but they call them trains.
All the benefits of BEV long haulers, with virtually none of the drawbacks.
Because the US wanted Highways…and BIG OIL and BIG Auto and BIG Airlines fight against Trains every time they come up.
Ever watch/read 3 Body Problem? The world makes sense if you assume the sophons are here now making our science and society incomprehensible.
Semi-trucks only get 5+ miles per gallon. Cars get 15+. Simple math. 3 times the battery to get the same distance. 3 times as much electricity needed at charge up.
The electric grid isn’t capable to replace the energy currently provided by the gasoline infrastructure. By what factor it is short is of great importance. Its neither cheap nor green to create and maintain an electrical infrastructure. Is the savings of an electric Semi Fleet offset and then dwarfed by the public infrastructure cost?
I go about 150 miles on about 37.5 kw-hr. The EV is about 4 times more efficient than its ice counterpart.
“Semi-trucks only get 5+ miles per gallon. Cars get 15+”
Two very different measures. Cars get 15% on average. But they get there by getting 30mph coasting downhill, 8 mpg going uphill and 1mpg sitting in bumper to bumper. All while hauling little more than their own weight. Some of the usages cars experience, say bumper to bumper, can be done quite a lot more efficiently by a BEV. While others (fast highway fully loaded) can not.
Whereas for long haul; They’re scheduled to mostly run at highway speeds, and loaded, continuously. It’s 5mpg always. They operate extremely efficiently at the specific engine load required for that narrow operation. Efficiently enough, that there aren’t really any meaningful gains to be had from BEVication.
The more intermittent the power requirement, the more sense BEV makes vs ICE. For small city-traffic cars, BEVs make sense. But for the opposite extreme; long haul in the land of freeways-everywhere-and-no-trains; BEVs will “never” be competitive.
This is partially False and you probably KNOW that. While you do mention Long Haul…Semi’s MOST common Trips are either DRAYAGE, in and around Ports, Intermodal (Truck to Train, etc.) or Port / Intermodal to Distribution Center.
Almost ALL of those Drayage and similar are 100 miles or LESS and are VERY Stop and Go…often at the Port, in City Traffic or around the Ports, Rail Yards, Distribution Centers that are in or very near cities. (Port of Los Angeles, San Diego, etc.)
OR they are SHORT Haul Trips that are from Manufacturing Facilities / Bottlers / Factories / Refineries to their Regional Distribution Centers…OR Directly to their Customers. Short Haul are 250 Miles or Less. A Colossal number of the actual trips fall under DRAYAGE or SHORT HAUL…which by Far will be the first Diesel / ICE Semi’s replaced with EV Semi’s.
Also, as EV’s continue to increase in usage and number, the number of Semi’s needed for Fuel Trucks will be reduced massively…both cleaning the air…and reducing the amount of Fuel needed for Vehicles of all sorts, as those are both HEAVY and have to navigate city streets and suburban streets frequently to fill up Gasoline Stations. Causing a Double Whammy on ICE Semi-Trucks.
This is already speeding up Globally…the US will need to catch up…as with most things related to EVs…but they will because the cost savings are massive and the Trips for most of these Trucks is very similar on a daily basis.
Cheers!
This is FALSE Fossil Fuels FUD. Semi’s Burn Fuel sitting in traffic. EV Semi’s do NOT. EV’s have regenerative braking that recharges the battery…Diesel Semis do NOT.
EV Torque is almost INSTANT…ICE Semis are NOT they waste a TON of fuel getting up to speed or in Stop and Go Traffic.
Most Trips by Semi’s are in Drayage (Ports, Intermodal, to Local Distribution Centers) LESS than 100 Miles OR they are SHORT Haul…Less than 250 Miles often in Traffic…BAD for Diesel / ICE Semis…fine for EV Semi’s.
The EV Semi’s is a massive game changer for the trucking industry. Solar Power on Distribution Centers and Warehouses (HUGE Flat Roofs) with Battery Storage means that Semi’s can charge using less of the grid…or batteries can get energy when Grid usage is low.
The EV mandate has presented several cart before the horse situations that I believe failure / corruption was the ultimate goal.
Yes…corruption.
There is all kinds of FUD out now. Can you tell the difference between true and not true.
“The EV mandate has presented several cart before the horse situations that I believe failure / corruption was the ultimate goal.”
The “goal” is the same as all else in the financialized era: To transfer wealth to the incompetents closest to The Fed and junta.
Those incompetents have long since mismanaged the once-great industrial companies The Fed originally transferred to them; such that those are now completely unable to compete against Asian competitors. By now, almost no amount of continuous bailouts can keep transferring more competent peoples value-add to the idiot leeching classes by way of debasement driven “asset appreciation” of once-were useful “assets” anymore. It’s all gone now.
Hence, something more drastic was needed: Something that reliably well indoctrinated dupes could be suckered into falling for; but which no actually-competent-at-anything organization out there, would would ever be stupid enough to take seriously. That way: The Fed and junta could hype the idiocy up, such that the connected retard classes they depend on, could “invest” their Fed loot in it.
That the nonsense can never eve possibly work is a positive, since that just means noone competent will ever bother competing with the special-needs-ghetto hype factories who are the only ones involved in it. That way, everyone is happy: -The halfwits behind they silly hype gets to collect massive Fed loot while preening around pretending to be “visionaries” and other such drivel. -Leeching class members get to “make money” by “investing” in the mindless hype. -The indoctrinati gets to ooh-and-aaah over the latest middlebrow anointed “brilliant visionary” by The Fed and junta, as well as getting to feel good because massa tells them something “is going up, and ‘Muricu’s the bestest!”; never mind they’re the ones ultimately robbed to fund the looting since after all catching that would require the ability to count and, like, advanced, like, stuff. -The Fed and junta gets to sit safe; having yet again managed to transfer all wealth; which in the hands of competent people would be used to reign them in; from such threatening competents; to the same old gaggle of illiterate “ownership society” dregs who owes every penny; and every privilege; they ever will have, to exactly nothing whatsoever other than ever more of exactly this sort of crass theft from the dwindling number of competents who are still out there.
Seems to me that your “incompetents” are enjoying great success.
That’s the definition of an Idiotopia.
Say hello to the bright shining future Comrade! Errr … wait, why did the lights just go out?
Feature, not bug, courtesy of the Climate Change Grift Death Cult.
From the Meme poster, If this bird was covered with oil it would be posted everywhere. Picture of a bird chopped by a wind turbine.