Comments on: Can British Columbia Be a Canadian Hub for the Electric Car?

By: Bernice Paul

Bernice Paul — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:44:05 +0000

Hi ksbchu,
Good point about differential demand. A friend of mine who works at BC Hydro in the clean tech area recently looked at “worst case” scenarios; ie, if everyone plugged during the day when demand is high (unrealistic) but the outcome was something like 20% increase on daytime demand. Optimism that the right infrastructure is on the way… Concord Pacific just unveiled plans for its latest downtown project: http://bit.ly/h4lrf

By: Bernice Paul

Bernice Paul — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:34:31 +0000

Hi Eduardo,
Everywhere we look these days the electric vehicle is on display as part of the solution to urban transport carbon emissions. I believe auto manufacturers now feel the ‘heat’ (bail-out packages, ahem) and see the writing on the wall. Oil prices might be hovering in the $60/barrel range now, but it’s promised that the $150 days will be back on the horizon. Consumers are going to feel the pinch and this time round, will start demanding alternatives to gasoline. It starts with us!

By: ksbchu

ksbchu — Fri, 08 May 2009 23:28:24 +0000

I believe electrical cars are very friendly to our power grid.
Mostly they operate during day time, and are recharged overnight when the load demand is low and our hydro supply is plenty or imports are cheap. The best thing could happen in the future is that when smart meters and intelligent circuits are more popular, parked vehicles would have the option of supplying power back to the grid when both load demand and price are high.

By: Eduardo

Eduardo — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:51:43 +0000

Very interesting, but I wonder if the car manufacturers are fully committed to electric cars, and if they went into mass production, could the electric grid accomodate the extra power required?