The article in the first url below argues that, for all the talk about the shift to electrification, and the focus on producing electrical versions of goods already in existence (e.g., EVs; see Strategic CSR – EVs), we are not nearly as prepared as we think to transition:
"It makes sense: Electrification is often the fastest and cheapest way to decarbonize our energy consumption. The technologies to decarbonize electricity already exist and are, for the most part, readily deployable at a large scale by the private sector. But here's a sobering fact about all the talk of the 'electrification of everything': It isn't likely to happen. At least, not soon. We can't go all the way down the electrification road for a host of reasons—nor should we want to. For one thing, it would place unnecessary limitations on other viable solutions to rising greenhouse-gas emissions. It also ignores existing technical, regulatory and strategic constraints on electrification."
More specifically, the author presents what she argues are the five major barriers to the electrification of everything:
1. Some things can't be electrified
2. Cheaper alternatives may be coming for the most difficult-to-electrify areas
3. Access to land, a surfeit of complaints
4. Difficulty getting the necessary permits
5. Electricity grids are highly interruptible
I am not sure these are the only five, or even the most important five (I read a while ago that, if all the cars currently in California became EVs overnight, the electrical system would need to produce 50 percent more electricity than its current capacity – and this is a utility that already has trouble keeping the lights on), but they do convey the complexity of electrification. Perhaps most important, they highlight the extent to which these challenges are not part of the current conversation (and policy making) around electrification, which is proceeding based on false or misleading assumptions. Developing an EV does not mean that every car can be an EV – in short, there are very few easy answers out there.
For a related argument (favoring hybrid cars over EVs), see the article in the second url below.
Take care
David
David Chandler
© Sage Publications, 2023
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The Five Things Keeping Us From Going All-Electric
By Amy Myers Jaffe
July 24, 2023
The Wall Street Journal
Late Edition – Final
R1, R4-5
We May Not Be Ready for an All-E.V. World
By Peter Coy
July 17, 2023
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
A19
