{"id":611,"date":"2025-01-26T01:55:59","date_gmt":"2025-01-26T01:55:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cleantechnica.com\/?p=308212"},"modified":"2025-01-26T01:55:59","modified_gmt":"2025-01-26T01:55:59","slug":"why-electrifying-everything-is-not-just-for-elites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo4.dedicatedhost247.com\/green\/green-news\/why-electrifying-everything-is-not-just-for-elites\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Electrifying Everything Is Not Just For Elites"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I just returned from my hairdressing salon, and I admit that I\u2019m a bit fired up. I was made to feel as if I was one of the few \u2014 the elites \u2014 who can afford to electrify everything. Woke I may be, but elite? I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n

We had a series of wide-ranging, mostly one-sided conversations she originated: how to best clean an outdoor grill [I\u2019m a vegetarian], how her friend is a \u201cbleeding heart\u201d who can\u2019t pay her rental property taxes because her tenant doesn\u2019t pay his $500 month [\u201cWhy doesn\u2019t she insist on a lease?\u201d I muttered], why pizza is actually good for you [yum, but really?].<\/p>\n

Then my hairdresser landed on the topic of public utilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t get me started,\u201d she started, expressing how mad she is at our local utilities authority for the high costs they\u2019re charging. I responded that it\u2019s such a shame they almost exclusively rely on natural gas as a fuel source.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat else is there?\u201d she asked, equal parts incredulous and curious.<\/p>\n

Solar<\/strong>, I told her. It\u2019s the power source hiding in plain sight. Florida Power & Light is the largest generator of solar energy<\/a> in Florida with 33 solar energy centers in operation and numerous other solar installations, totaling more than 9 million solar panels. FPL delivered approximately 26% of its energy from zero emission nuclear and zero emission solar during 2022. Nearly all of the remainder of FPL\u2019s energy needs in 2022 came from low emission natural gas<\/a>. By 2032, the last year of a mandatory 10 year reporting period, the percentage of the total energy delivered to all customers for FPL\u2019s system from zero emission sources is projected to be approximately 54%. Approximately 19,966 MW of additional, cost-effective PV generation is on track to be added in the 2023 through 2032 time period in FPL\u2019s resource plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut don\u2019t you have a gas stove here in Florida?\u201d she asked with her eyes wide.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t,\u201d I explained. \u201cI have an all-electric home.<\/strong>\u201d I feel very fortunate. I live in a condo that has an electric dishwasher\/washer\/dryer, and HVAC system (the building is too old to incorporate heat pumps, though, according to our local AC guy). Many communities are offering incentives<\/a> to move their citizens similarly so electrifying everything becomes the norm. It\u2019s not that rare anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cI even drive an electric car,<\/strong>\u201d I nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cTesla?\u201d She blurted out without a pause. \u201cYup,\u201d I admitted, feeling a little sheepish about my answer. I could feel the actual question hanging in the air \u2014 \u201cOh, so you\u2019re one of those people who can afford an expensive electric vehicle, right? You and the other elites want to push these vehicles on us, and we can\u2019t afford them<\/em>.\u201d I answered it out loud, anyway, recognizing that people who aren\u2019t familiar with EVs<\/a> need and deserve a bit of a primer.<\/p>\n

\u201cEVs aren\u2019t as pricey anymore. A Chevy Blazer costs $36,000<\/a> new. A Tesla Model Y can cost the same these days.\u201d A new version<\/a> of the Model Y has a single rear-mounted motor, lists for $43,990, and has a stated range of 260 miles. Tesla says the standard range RWD model qualifies for the full federal EV tax credit of $7,500, making the effective price of the RWD version just $36,490.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut where do you charge<\/strong>? At your home?\u201d she asked quizzically. Yes, EVs are powered by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery<\/a> and is capable of being charged from an external source. Research by the Department of Energy indicates that 80% of EV owners<\/a> charge at home, which is convenient to do overnight. I explained that we have a carport where I can plug in.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you had to pay for that, right?\u201d she queried.<\/p>\n

I allowed that my husband and I did hire an electrician to install a 240V plug.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike a dryer!\u201d she exclaimed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes! Good for you!\u201d I said, trying to be positively reinforcing. \u201cBut I save so much over the life of the vehicle<\/a> that it\u2019s worth it.\u201d According to MarketWatch<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> EVs are typically going to end up being less expensive after years of being driven versus<\/a> an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle. Yesterday I replenished the charge in my own Model Y week from 24% to 80% at a cost of about $5. The days of the $30+ gas fill-ups are behind me. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything I\u2019ve heard lately is about electric boats,<\/strong>\u201d she offered, slightly changing the subject to be polite. \u201cAn electric boat would need a battery that is as big as the boat itself! That just wouldn\u2019t work.\u201d While she spoke, I was reminded of the recent Candela story \u2014 how its CEO wanted to prove that the C-8 could handle long-distance cruising.<\/a> He set up a 20 nautical mile loop and, during one 24-hour period, the C-8 test boat covered 777 km (483 miles). That\u2019s now the official one-day distance record for electric boats. During the 24 hours, the C-8 charged for a total of 313 minutes and received a total of 615 kWh of electricity at a cost of about \u20ac120 \u2014 okay if you have lots of charging ports ready along your route but not quite adequate for a longer run.<\/p>\n

I laughed and agreed that the electric boats have a way to go, trying to diffuse the bit of tension that still hung in the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s going to be a long time before I\u2019m ready to buy a boat, anyway,\u201d she laughed along with me.<\/p>\n

I added that the size of batteries for electric vehicles<\/strong> of all kinds will continue to fall, and and their power capacity will increase. Places like the US Department of Energy have been pumping millions of R&D dollars<\/a> into new technologies that are making EV batteries charge faster and last longer while also improving safety. (Our CleanTechnica<\/em> colleague Maarten Vinkhuyzen explains<\/a> why and how density doubles every 12 years and the price reduction for EV batteries is 50% every 5 years if you want the lowdown.)<\/p>\n

My Takeaway<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m lucky, in that I have had a stable career as an educator and now I have a part-time gig with CleanTechnica<\/em>. I can also remember quite vividly a time in which my family was easily 2 mortgage payments away from losing it all, when paying for health insurance out-of-pocket between jobs meant no fun leisure activities \u2014 and when the thought of having a new EV that cost around $40,000 would have seemed abstract, for someone else, not for me. I remember feeling a bit lost, disjointed from the economic flow that seemed to swirl above and beyond me.<\/p>\n

As CleanTechnica\u2019s<\/em> Joe Wachunas wrote<\/a> a few years back, \u201cElectrification must benefit everyone, not just those who can afford new heat pump water heaters and electric cars.\u201d That quest for equitable electrification means that US power brokers need to focus policy decisions and investment opportunities<\/a> on creating meaningful entry points for people from all walks of life. It will take opening up more good paying jobs in clean energy<\/a> so people feel invested in switching to renewables.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s become increasingly evident that climate-based systemic change can\u2019t work until we focus on solving the needs of the consumer, and those consumers must learn about concrete measures to be part of the clean energy transitions. We want people across classes \u2014 like my hairdresser \u2014 to feel part of a movement, \u201ca green energy strategy, a collective thought process,\u201d as Joe wrote<\/a> when his family went all electric.<\/p>\n

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EV Obsession Daily!<\/h3>\n