J. Winston Porter opines that as the number of electric vehicles on U.S. highways increases, and it will not be confined to cars but also trucks and buses, we are obliged to make the best possible use of low-cost electricity sources to recharge the EVs. This can be done through an expansion of solar and wind energy and the introduction of small nuclear reactors that will result in greater economic and environmental gains than if the power were to come only from fossil fuels.
The nuclear industry, for example, is developing small reactors from designs that can serve the needs of the automobile industry both in the U.S. and abroad without polluting the air and without requiring massive subsidies. This combination of advantages is drawing growing interest because of the role it could play in curbing carbon emissions.
Meanwhile, record numbers of EVs are rolling off the assembly lines. Significant progress has been made to bring the cost of EVs down. Today EVs are nearly competitive in cost with gasoline and diesel cars.
All of the models have a range of at least 100 miles without a charge. But by the end of this year, several models will have double the range. Auto analysts forecast widespread use of all-electric vehicles within a decade. By 2040, EVs will cost less than $22,000 (in current dollars) and could capture 50% of the global new-car market, according to Bloomberg.
Projections show that the switch to EVs will increase U.S. demand for electricity by 10 %. Where will the country get the electricity to satisfy the need? And do it at a price that would be positive for the economy? Recently, NuScale, an Oregon-based nuclear company, applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for approval of its design for the first small modular reactor (SMR). The reactor, one-quarter the size of reactors that power nuclear submarines, would generate 50 megawatts or more of electricity. Factory-built, each SMR would be shipped by truck or train or blimp.
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Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-