Electric Vehicles are going to Ruin the World!

By TLS

I like electric vehicles. Maybe not every one, but, for the most part, I like them. Currently, I’m thinking for my next vehicle in a few years the Rivian R1S. I really like that one. But, we’ll see. In the next two to three years, who knows what kind of changes there’ll be.

However, there are those out there who most decidedly do not like electric vehicles. For whatever reason, they just don’t like them.

One argument I’ve heard repeated often is electric vehicles are going to crash the electrical grid. Groaaaannnn!

This is such a dead-end argument. I’m guessing it’s a party line on some extremist site. The foundation of this argument assumes all vehicles on the road instantly, and magically, transform from liquid fuel to electric. IF that could somehow happen, then yes, that would probably be bad for the grid.

However! We live in a world called reality (usually) and that kind of magical stuff doesn’t happen. What does, and will happen, is a slow transition from liquid fuel to electric over the next decade or maybe even two.

Will this put a strain on the grid? Yes it will. But, here is another splash of holy water on the above argument. Electrical companies intentionally build their grids to the minimum of standards. There are no financial incentives to build strong, robust grids. This is one reason why they always harp on conserving, they get the most profit from the least amount of investment.

Aaaand, here is why the above argument is crap. As demand increases (over a time span of years) electrical companies will HAVE to increase supply and grid capacity, or they will go out of business, or be bought out, or sued, etc, etc, etc.

Basically, there will be a transition from mostly liquid fuels to mostly electric vehicles on the road. Will some other ‘fuel’ be the answer? Who knows?! That’s a problem to be answered down the road.

Ultimately, electric haters don’t want electric simply because they just don’t want electric. So they glom onto one of several arguments that sound good, until one actually puts about three seconds worth of thought in to the equation.

Electric vehicles may cause an infrastructure to collapse, but I don’t think it will be the electrical grid. It may just be the liquid fuels delivery ‘grid’ that collapses in the end.

If you’ve been told EVs will ruin the grid, I hope this gave you another way to see it. The future isn’t collapse, it’s transition. If this perspective challenged you, share it. If it made you nod along, subscribe so you don’t miss the next essay.

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<a href="https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/hybrid-car-concept-illustration_20824315.htm#fromView=image_search_similar&page=1&position=0&uuid=f780fa12-2fd9-4760-88da-53a4b28d14b8">Image by storyset on Freepik</a>