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> The California Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s power grid, sent a Flex Alert asking all residents to voluntarily reduce their electrici

> The California Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s power grid, sent a Flex Alert asking all residents to voluntarily reduce their electricity use between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and warned that more alerts were possible through the Labor Day weekend. > A spokeswoman for the governor, Erin Mellon, said that the request to avoid charging electrical vehicles has been misrepresented by critics of California’s efforts to curb emissions. > “We’re not saying don’t charge them,” she said. “We’re just saying don’t charge them between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.” https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/us/california-heat-wave-flex-alert-ac-ev-charging.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/us/california-heat-wave-f...

bryanlarsen 4y ago
Air conditioners were the problem, not EV's.
- shapefrog 4y ago
  The solution for air conditioners ... more solar power.
  - epistasis 4y ago
    Except for those hours 4-9... the solution to that is more storage, a solution which is ready today, shipping, and in demand in excess of current supply, even though supply is ramping up at tremendous speeds.
    - smileysteve 4y ago
      What if, instead of localized salt reactors, we have hyper local chemical flow batteries.
    - Schroedingersat 4y ago
      You can significantly reduce storage requirements by moving the solar peak to 4pm. Just install the solar panels upright rather than flat. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/a-d-possibilities-for-installations-of-bifacial-modules-and-e-comparison-of-power_fig1_350743188 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/a-d-possibilities-for-in... It also impedes other land use even less and can go in places like highway sound barriers. CSP with thermal storage is also cheaper than storage now in high resource/low cloud areas.
epistasis 4y ago
> We’re not saying don’t charge them,” she said. “We’re just saying don’t charge them between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.” Exactly. During the worst, off the charts weather event ever experienced, with statewide heat never seen before, there were a few hours where people were asked to not use much energy, but they still had plenty of energy to charge cars.
acdha 4y ago
That’s peak air conditioning load, and it nicely disproves the claim you’re defending: most cars charge aren’t plugged in at peak commuting time but they’ll charge just fine in the middle of the day when solar production is maximized or at night when the grid has plenty of excess capacity after AC demand has dropped significantly.
whartung 4y ago
To be blunt, they weren't saying "Don't charges EVs". They were pretty much saying "Don't do ANYTHING that requires a lot of power.". Don't wash you clothes. Don't dry your clothes. Don't run your oven, hair dryer, blender. Let the arc furnace lie idle. Practice your metal turning hobby later in the day. Oh, and if you could, shut down the A/C kthx. That's what they were saying.

bryanlarsen 4y ago

Air conditioners were the problem, not EV's.

shapefrog 4y ago
The solution for air conditioners ... more solar power.
- epistasis 4y ago
  Except for those hours 4-9... the solution to that is more storage, a solution which is ready today, shipping, and in demand in excess of current supply, even though supply is ramping up at tremendous speeds.
  - smileysteve 4y ago
    What if, instead of localized salt reactors, we have hyper local chemical flow batteries.
  - Schroedingersat 4y ago
    You can significantly reduce storage requirements by moving the solar peak to 4pm. Just install the solar panels upright rather than flat. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/a-d-possibilities-for-installations-of-bifacial-modules-and-e-comparison-of-power_fig1_350743188 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/a-d-possibilities-for-in... It also impedes other land use even less and can go in places like highway sound barriers. CSP with thermal storage is also cheaper than storage now in high resource/low cloud areas.

epistasis 4y ago

> We’re not saying don’t charge them,” she said. “We’re just saying don’t charge them between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m.” Exactly. During the worst, off the charts weather event ever experienced, with statewide heat never seen before, there were a few hours where people were asked to not use much energy, but they still had plenty of energy to charge cars.

acdha 4y ago

That’s peak air conditioning load, and it nicely disproves the claim you’re defending: most cars charge aren’t plugged in at peak commuting time but they’ll charge just fine in the middle of the day when solar production is maximized or at night when the grid has plenty of excess capacity after AC demand has dropped significantly.

whartung 4y ago

To be blunt, they weren't saying "Don't charges EVs". They were pretty much saying "Don't do ANYTHING that requires a lot of power.". Don't wash you clothes. Don't dry your clothes. Don't run your oven, hair dryer, blender. Let the arc furnace lie idle. Practice your metal turning hobby later in the day. Oh, and if you could, shut down the A/C kthx. That's what they were saying.