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wenestvedt t1_ja7vp2q wrote

Reply to comment by ANewMachine615 in New England grid operator says small-scale solar is driving down electricity demand on some days by TurretLauncher

> heavier on average due to battery weight

I find it hard to believe that the small population of electric cars, compared to the enormous population of (enormous) pickup trucks & SUVs -- which are the most commonly sold cars these days, by a large margin -- are disproportionally affecting the roads.

And especially not in NH.

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ANewMachine615 t1_ja827xj wrote

Not now, no, but they will eventually. And one of the most successful electric vehicles out there in terms of selling out its production for years to come is the F-150 Lightning, which is both electric and a larger chassis. But an average Tesla sedan is about the same weight as a standard F-150.

But as another comment here pointed out, most of the wear and tear still comes from heavy loads, 18 wheelers, etc.

Edit: my overall point was that you can't expand these things endlessly with our current funding model for upkeep of the networks they rely on (power or roads). For me, the fix is changing how we fund those networks rather than simply blaming the new tech abstractly. Heck I'd be down for a large gas tax increase + a registration fee for EVs that offset each other, so gas still pays for more of the maintenance as a method of discouraging further use of ICE cars.

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wenestvedt t1_ja88u79 wrote

> gas still pays for more of the maintenance as a method of discouraging further use of ICE cars.

Well, as long as something works to reduce gas use, I am in.

I wish that we had better public transit, but a lot of America is just too spread out for that. I have spent time living in the UK and Europe, and it's so awesome to be able to walk places or hop on a regional train...but that's not practical in northern NH or Minnesota's Iron Range!

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