Reply To: Electric Cars are they in your future?

The big problem with electric cars is their high purchase price which can be offset by government subsidies and lower costs for fuel and maintenance. The drawbacks are there is a limit to the amount of funds that can be used for subsidies and a limit in the amount of electricity available.
Solar energy has been recommended as a solution. The problem is that electricity cannot be stored unless you have batteries, so electricity not used is lost. Most electricity generated by solar is not stored in batteries. For example, while nationally solar energy accounts for 2% of electricity generated. In California it accounts for over 13%. This means when the sun goes down there is 26% less electricity generated. The problem is what happens if there is a heat wave and there is a great demand, rolling blackouts.
Another problem with solar energy is the government forces the electric company to buy back excess electricity at their sale price resulting in a loss for the electric company. The electric company with the approval of the state then increases the purchase price for the electricity for rate payers who are usually earn a lower income. In this case the poor are subsidizing the rich.
A better solution if you want to use renewable energy is either wind farms or hydroelectricity to generate more electricity needed to fuel electric cars.