You are making it a lot more complicated than it needs to be. An EV and solar generation are a system to harvest energy from the sun and propel you down the road. Cars are as much a personal decision as a financial one. In the past have been changing cars every 3 years because I like the features including safety upgrades. I may lengthen that change because one of my EVs is constantly getting over the air updates so it feels like a new car on the mornings that I get the update message.
VW missed their 2018 EV goal by a lot so I wouldn't worry too much about the Taycan being actually in dealers for some time. The Taycan may be another mystery brought to you by the conspirators of dieselgate.
You are correct. If a car saves you x$ per mile you probably need to drive it enough miles to offset the extra cost. But that is more about whether you should buy a new car or just limp along with an old clunker.It is not unique to the decision to purchase an EV.
No worries that is an important issue related to the topic of this thread, The capacity issue is another argument used by the anti EV contingent. Take a look at the duck curve and you will realize that there is plenty of capacity late at night and in the middle part of the day because of the large growth in solar buildout in California.
More data is available at the CAISO site. My view is primarily from the perspective of California because that is where you and I live and because it has the fastest growth in EV sales and solar installations in the USA. If any problems are going to surface, we will probably see them in California first. Better minds than I (including CAISO) have spent a lot of time on that issue and it is really not an issue. My philosophy, like Bruce, is to be net zero so I am hedging my bets in case the policy makers in California get it wrong and the grid is really stressed. In that case you can bet that prices would rise which would make more solar capacity even more attractive. I have already looked at my roof and figured out where I could put another 3 kW of panels.
I appreciate the new car bug, and the Porsche Taycan is gnawing at my brain daily, so maybe the question ought to be something like where does one put the cost of the brain gnaw ?
Not saying it's good/bad, but my guess is a potential PV owner would need to drive a lot of miles/yr. to justify EV cost for the fuel and maint. savings alone over an ICE vehicle, and so, maybe not justifiable for a lot of folks from a cost effectiveness standpoint. However, I certainly appreciate the emotional need that can easily negate sanity with respect to vehicle ownership. I'm sure the makers of EV's feel the same way.
One other thought (and note Ampster - a bit off topic): Suppose EV';s REALLY take off (politics cause gas prices to double/some international B.S. crisis/whatever) with the result being the grid gets pushed past capacity at nite from all the charging taking place. What may/possibly may happen to T.O.U. rates and peak rate times ? Just wonderin'.
More data is available at the CAISO site. My view is primarily from the perspective of California because that is where you and I live and because it has the fastest growth in EV sales and solar installations in the USA. If any problems are going to surface, we will probably see them in California first. Better minds than I (including CAISO) have spent a lot of time on that issue and it is really not an issue. My philosophy, like Bruce, is to be net zero so I am hedging my bets in case the policy makers in California get it wrong and the grid is really stressed. In that case you can bet that prices would rise which would make more solar capacity even more attractive. I have already looked at my roof and figured out where I could put another 3 kW of panels.
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