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Electric racing cars are in vogue right now. The first Formula E championship just concluded in London (sadly the Ars-sponsored car did not win), and this side of the pond saw an electric vehicle win the prestigious Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado, setting a new record in the process. Rhys Millen took his Drive eO PP03 to the top of the mountain in 9:07.022, beating rival Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima by more than 20 seconds. The consequences of getting a corner wrong and going over the side don't bear thinking about.
The annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado is the second-oldest race in the US. It first took place in 1916, and it's a unique challenge for man and machine. Starting at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, cars race one at a time up the side of Pikes Peak, completing 156 turns in 12.4 miles (20km). It may be familiar to you from Gran Turismo 2, featuring prominently in that game, and indeed Polyphony Digital sponsored this year's race, making us wonder if the iconic event will reappear in GT7, whenever that happens to arrive.
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Electric vehicles (EVs) in particular have done well since the resurfacing. From the starting line at 9,390 feet (2,862m) above sea level, the cars climb another 4,720 feet (1,440m) to the summit, causing even forced induction engines to lose power as oxygen molecules become fewer and farther between. But electric motors don't have the same altitude problem, making just as much power and torque in a vacuum as they do at sea level. Consequently, it's become a place for people to test out new EV technology.
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday July 03 2015, @01:52PM
Cars charging overnight will be better for the grid because it will smooth out the demand curve. Currently demand at night is low and not where the utilities make their money, thus spot rates are lowest then. (Base load is handled by coal plants, which have to run all the time.) Having new overnight demand for surplus power is something the power companies would probably welcome.
On the consumer side, early adopters who opt for variable rates will see a lot of gain because they'll be recharging at the lowest possible rates. Throw in the home batteries that Tesla is going to shortly build at its gigafactory and the win for the EV driver and electricity consumer will be even higher.
On the grid side, EVs will make them happier for a while. Where they will really get punched in the nuts is when all those EV drivers have the light bulb go on, "Hey, why don't I put solar panels and a home battery in and drive for free?!"
Washington DC delenda est.