10 Fast Responses to Widespread Electrical Automotive & Renewable Vitality Myths

Assist CleanTechnica’s work via a Substack subscription or on Stripe.

Opposite to in style perception and media hype, there are a variety of myths concerning cleantech that aren’t true or lack context, but are pushed yr after yr after yr after yr. Listed here are some fast responses to 10 of them:

1. Gasoline-powered automobiles are literally more likely to catch fireplace than electrical automobiles. (Fable: Electrical automobiles are a significant fireplace threat.)

2. EV batteries ought to final for 15+ years, or not less than 10+ years. (Fable: EV batteries are like standard 12V automotive batteries and want changed each few years at a value of 1000’s of {dollars}.)

3. There are actually many inexpensive electrical automotive choices in the marketplace. That features nice long-range electrical automobiles almost $20,000 under the typical promoting worth of a brand new automotive in the US (~$30,000 fairly than $48,699). (Fable: Electrical automobiles are all tremendous costly.)

4. For many house owners, electrical automobiles are literally way more handy than gas-powered automobiles. You simply plug in at residence each few days or so after which unplug if you depart — no have to go to the fuel station to gas up, and no have to go for oil modifications, emissions checks, and so forth. (Fable: Electrical automobiles are much less handy than gas-powered automobiles as a result of as soon as in a blue moon, if you go on a protracted street journey, it takes barely longer to cost throughout rest room stops, meals stops, and occasional stops than in a fuel automotive.)

5. Solar energy and wind energy are actually the most affordable choices for brand spanking new electrical energy in the marketplace. For that reason, photo voltaic and wind truly dominate new energy plant capability around the globe. (Fable: Photo voltaic and wind energy are costly.)

6. Photo voltaic panels, wind generators, and electrical automobiles result in a lot much less air pollution than their fossil-fueled alternate options. (Fable: As a result of these cleaner applied sciences aren’t made out of unicorn farts and do take some vitality and pure sources to supply, they’re simply as soiled as coal energy crops, pure fuel energy crops, and traditional gas-powered automobiles.)

7. Solar energy and wind energy companion nice with conventional farmland, serving to some crops do develop higher and serving to farmers financially by way of supplemental revenue. (Fable: Photo voltaic and wind energy are a risk to farmland.)

8. We will simply combine much more wind and solar energy into the grid whereas enhancing grid reliability and grid safety. We simply mix renewables with more and more low-cost battery storage and extra transmission infrastructure. (Fable: We will’t add way more photo voltaic and wind energy to the grid as a result of the solar doesn’t all the time shine and the wind doesn’t all the time blow.)

9. Photo voltaic and wind energy are a lot faster and less expensive to put in than new nuclear energy. (Fable: We should always construct new nuclear energy crops fairly than extra photo voltaic and wind energy.)

10. We do want solar energy, wind energy, and electrical automobiles to guard our economic system. With out them, we face more and more extreme local weather disasters and destruction. (Fable: Clear applied sciences usually are not useful for our economic system, and even drag it down.)

Word: That is an replace to an earlier try at debunking these myths that was far too verbose.