By Andrew Chapados<\/p>\n\n\n\n A truck driver in a viral video explained that poor infrastructure and inefficient, heavy electric batteries make it nearly impossible to switch semi-trucks and other large vehicles to fully electric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chace Barber, trucker and founder of Edison Motors<\/a>, appeared in a widely circulated video during an event showcasing his company’s hybrid truck model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barber has advocated for a push toward hybrid semi-trucks, as opposed to fully electric, which he said are a bad idea, the Independent Journal Review<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Do you ever see yourself going 100% EV?” an interviewer asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Use<\/a>, and agree to receive content that may sometimes include advertisements. You may opt out at any time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “No,” Barber replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI mean, maybe, if battery technology gets better, grid infrastructure gets better,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “This truck,” Barber said. “A logging truck uses about two and a half megawatts of power per day. With extra capacity in the battery means you need a three-megawatt battery pack. The biggest one is like a Tesla semi, which is like a one-megawatt. So you need three megawatts to run an electric truck,\u201d he went on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat would mean you would need to pack 50,000 pounds \u2014 40,000, 50,000 pounds of batteries just to do a full day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only would the weight of such batteries reportedly cause many issues, but the braking system would need to be immediately and drastically improved in order to increase the stopping power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barber then described how electrical infrastructure has not been updated in North America in some time and revealed that the grid is nowhere near the level that would be required to power all the essential vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Let\u2019s say we can even get those batteries down to the same weight where it\u2019s reasonable, the grid infrastructure \u2014 we haven\u2019t invested in our electrical grid since the 1950s, 1960s, ’70s, like you can give me an example, the logging truck in B.C. [British Columbia], that\u2019s a niche industry. there\u2019s 5,000 logging trucks that haul logs,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt two and a half megawatts of consumption per day, that\u2019s twelve and a half gigawatts of power,\u201d he said. \u201cSite C dam has been under construction for the last, oh, I don\u2019t know, 15 years at a cost of $20 billion, and that has a 1.1 gigawatt. So a $20 billion dam that takes 15 years to build has a 1.1 gigawatt capacity, and logging trucks \u2014 just logging trucks alone \u2014 are using 12 and a half gigawatts. You would have to flood an area of land the size of Wales to produce that hydropower.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Edison trucks are doing the work. Yes, it’s hybrid & not without limitations, BUT he makes very valid points that few in the EV crowd won’t address. \\nGreat job @EdisonMotorsLtd !<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 (@) <\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jasonsblog.ddns.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image-1024x576.png\")
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