electric infrastructure

Jane Hamsher writes about a drop-in battery upgrade for the Toyota Prius:

You can buy a Prius right now that is retrofitted with an A123 lithium ion-battery that pretty much delivers what the Volt will. I spoke with Les Goldman at the auto show, an energy lobbyist who represents A123Systems. He said he'd been driving the Prius with the A123 battery for over a year, and claims it regularly gets over 100 miles per gallon and under maximum conditions will get 180. It can be charged using a standard three pronged outlet and can be 90-95% electric at 30-35 mpg. Les says he fills up his tank about every 8 weeks.

I first remember reading about this "nano-battery" about a year ago on slashdot. Remember: amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics. How is a gas station in the middle of BFE going to power a handful of such cars simultaneously without serious upgrades to our electric grid, both in transmission and generation?

And can that generation be achieved in a carbon neutral way without nuclear power, despite similar breakthroughs in photovoltaics? (hint: no.)

The real solution: massive federal infrastructure investment for the grid, massive subsidies for municipal and individual photovoltaics, and massive funding into research for waste-free nuclear power generation.