#ElectricalPower #PowerGenerators #PowerSupplies #widlfires #CleanEnergy
If you are wondering what a transition in business looks like, check out electric power suppliers.
Transition, in this case, does not mean they will go out of business soon. Instead, the power suppliers are at a crossroads. They know that clean power – wind, solar etc. – is trending. The nation, and the world, wants to wean itself from electric power driven by fossil fuels.
On the other hand, power suppliers have an immediate need to generate more power, particularly in growing areas.
Therefore, since fossil fuels are here and available, they may have to bring more such plants online to accommodate near-term growth. Coincidentally, U.S. oil production is at record levels.
Electric vehicle use is increasing as well.
They require electric power, which has to be generated by power suppliers, to run.
Also, there is increasing need for data centers and other big power users.
Complicating matters further is climate change. Hot, dry areas are having more wildfires that can be sparked by power lines. And, there are areas in which big storms are more frequent, knocking out power more often.
And, of course, many communities are addressing housing shortages. Solutions here require more power to those residences.
This all begs the question: what are those whose business is generating electrical power to do to accommodate immediate and long-term needs while also trying to be good corporate citizens?
As residents, we usually only think about our power companies and utilities when bills rise, or the power goes out.
When things are running smoothly, which is every power generator’s goal, users merely plug in and don’t think about it.
Many of these power generators are overseen by agencies looking to make sure their profits are not excessive and customer bills are as reasonable as they can be etc.
As the power generators and overseers think about the future, they have to find that elusive sweet spot among not being overly dependent on fossil fuels, looking to the clean energy future, protecting a fragile environment from accidental sparks and providing safe, abundant power at a reasonable price.
While it may be tough for citizens to have sympathy for power companies, those companies are indeed in a tough spot.
Some have resorted to adding nuclear power. But that has its own potential dangers, not to mention the problem of disposing the radioactive waste.
Nuclear power is indeed clean, until a reactor melts down.
What should a consumer do? First, if a person is thinking about purchasing an electric car, he or she should first determine how he or she will use it. Rapid charging stations are not readily available everywhere, so you may need a hybrid or gasoline-fueled vehicle for longer trips.
If you live in an area susceptible to drought and wildfires, know where your power lines are and try to live away from them.
Also, the next time you read about the rock and hard place some power generators are in today, know that very likely, they are agonizing over this. You don’t necessarily have to have sympathy for them – power executives get paid generously for their agony.
But, know that they are facing very complicated circumstances. Innovators are working hard trying to find the sweet spot(s) in power generation.
Still, feel free to plug in and hope everything works out.
Peter
Tag Archives: electric vehicles
ELECTRIC TRUCK SHOWN TO BE BETTER THAN GAS-POWERED ONE
#electricvehicles #electrictrucks #gaspoweredvehicles #gaspoweredtrucks
Imagine a Ford F-series pickup towing a million pounds of cargo.
Now, imagine that the truck that tows a million pounds is an electric vehicle.
Rachel Maddow showed this demonstration on her MSNBC news show May 18, 2021.
The Ford F-series pickups are the best-selling vehicles on the planet.
Sales of those trucks generate more revenue for Ford than all revenue of a lot of major companies, Maddow pointed out.
Ford has created an all-electric model of its best-selling vehicle, and quietly demonstrated how it can pull rail cars, AND rail cars full of F-series pickups.
If they mass-produce those electric trucks, would they sell as well as their gas-powered ones?
If so, it could change the automotive game, big time.
With the recent gasoline shortage caused by the hack of the Colonial Pipeline computers, people began to look at electric vehicles.
Perhaps people thought electric vehicles could never be better, or have more power, than those powered by gasoline.
But the electric Ford F-series pickup IS better and more powerful, the demonstration showed. It also, at least initially, will be more expensive.
It was noticeable that Ford didn’t try to tow a million pounds with a regular pickup.
There are issues with electric vehicles – not the least of which is the lack of charging stations that can juice up a vehicle quickly during a long trip.
But the Ford demonstration showed the power and potential of electric pickups.
A big question will be: will those fans of pickups – and obviously there are many – like the electric ones as well as the gas-powered ones?
Will they be as useful, as fun to drive, etc.? The Ford demo shows they can be better than the regular trucks.
Perhaps those pickup fans will have to think outside the box a bit for the electric pickups to catch on. But, as Maddow’s piece demonstrated, the electric pickup is here and could be at your local dealership relatively soon.
A purpose in the Ford demonstration is to show the advantages of the electric vehicle. But it also shows what happens when a company thinks ahead and doesn’t rest on its very successful laurels.
People should do the same. If you are successful at what you are doing now, or not, you may want to think outside the box about how you earn money, since the way you earn it now could suddenly disappear.
There are many programs out there that can, with a few part-time hours a week, allow you to earn an income that could potentially dwarf what you are earning now. But, you have to be willing to think outside the box – outside of what you are now comfortable with.
To learn about one of the best such programs, message me.
The electric pickup demonstration had a WOW factor to it. OF course, most people may never have need to tow a million pounds of cargo. But, it illustrates an example of how new things can indeed be better than the old.
It may not seem as much fun to ride off into the sunset in your electric truck. But, if you use your imagination, it really could be fun.
Peter