Electric Vehicles Can Support Intermittent Renewable Energy Sources
The rolling blackouts that occurred during our historic heat wave have brought attention to one of the unfortunate limitations of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, their inherent variability. These critical energy technologies help slow the destructive buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but they do not provide the steady supply of electricity that we have come to expect from generators that burn fossil fuels. The intermittency of solar power is especially problematic because public demand for electricity peaks just as the sun is going down.
Naysayers exaggerate these drawbacks to make a case for abandoning renewables and doing nothing about climate change. Fortunately, proactive scientists are working diligently to solve the problem of intermittency so that we can continue to expand our use of renewable energy. The goal is to capture clean energy when it is abundant and store it somehow so that it can be used when demand peaks. The electric vehicles of the future may have an important role to play delivering stored electricity back to the grid. Vehicle-to-grid technology looks promising, and it is no surprise that the groundbreaking Nissan Leaf is one of the first vehicles with V2G capability.
Nissan is using the Leaf to showcase the feasibility of V2G in Germany, where 45% of electricity is now being produced with renewables. The project began in 2018 and is helping store excess wind power generated in northern Germany to help meet peak demand in the south. The Leaf is also at the heart of the first V2G system to operate in Latin America. In 2019, Chile’s Energy Sustainability Agency and Nissan announced the successful implementation of the project at the agency’s office complex in Santiago. While these are small demonstration projects, they prove that a properly equipped electric vehicle can serve in this capacity. Scaling up these prototypes would require substantial cooperation between industry and government.
Alternative energy storage solutions might make V2G unnecessary. Ironically, one of the most promising technologies involves the use of hydrogen fuel cells, which are used in vehicles that compete with EVS for the loyalty of green motorists. Hydrogen can be extracted from water, but it requires substantial energy to split water molecules. Many scientists believe that industrial electrolysis is the most practical way to store intermittent renewable energy. Hydrogen has excellent energy density and is fairly easy to transport. Manufactured hydrogen fuel could be stockpiled and used to generate electricity to meet peak demand.
Our recent record-breaking heat and the tragedy of massive wildfires across California underscore the urgent need to address the worsening climate crisis.the electrification of the transportation sector will only provide meager benefits unless we continue increasing the percentage of electricity that is generated cleanly.we should all be thankful for caring scientists in the global community who are busy crafting workable solutions. The widespread deployment of V2G may never come to pass, but the automotive engineers at Nissan are a valuable part of a noble effort.
DETROIT >> The coronavirus is shaking up America’s liquor laws.
At least 33 states and the District of Columbia are temporarily allowing cocktails to go during the pandemic. Only two — Florida and Mississippi — allowed them on a limited basis before the coronavirus struck, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
Struggling restaurants say it’s a lifeline, letting them rehire bartenders, pay rent and reestablish relationships with customers. But others want states to slow down, saying the decades-old laws help ensure public safety.
Julia Momose closed Kumiko, her Japanese-style cocktail bar in Chicago, on March 16. The next day, Illinois allowed bars and restaurants to start selling unopened bottles of beer, wine and liquor,
but mixed drinks were excluded.
Momose spent the next three months collecting petition signatures and pressing lawmakers to allow carryout cocktails. It worked. On June 17, she poured her first to-go drink: a Seaflower, made with gin, vermouth, Japanese citrus fruit and fermented chili paste. A carryout bottle, which serves two, costs $32.
Momose has been able to hire back four of her furloughed employees. A group she co-founded, Cocktails for Hope, is now helping restaurants buy glass bottles in bulk for carryout.
“Part of getting cocktails to go approved was embracing the fact that this isn’t going to fix everything, but it is going to fix something,” Momose said. “All these little things that we do will keep us open and keep our staff employed.”
U.S. liquor laws — many of which date to the end of Prohibition in 1933 —are a confusing jumble that vary by state, city and county.
Carryout cocktail regulations — which were passed starting in March — only deepen that confusion. Lawmakers approved carryout cocktails in some states; governors approved them in others. Nevada passed no statewide measure, but individual cities like Las Vegas and Reno allow them. In Pennsylvania, only restaurants and bars that lost 25% of average monthly total sales can sell cocktails to go.
Most carryout cocktail regulations require customers to buy food with their mixed drinks. Lids or seals are generally required, but some states say drinks also need to be transported in the trunk. Marbet Lewis, a founding partner at Spiritus Law in Miami who specializes in the alcohol industry, says IDS should be checked — online or in person — by restaurants and bars as well as by delivery drivers.
Some states, like Arizona, allow third-party delivery companies like Doordash to deliver cocktails; Kansas only allows delivery within a 50-foot radius.
The laws also have different sunset dates. Alabama is only allowing carryout cocktails through Sept. 15, while Colorado and Massachusetts have extended them into next year. Michigan is allowing them through 2025.
Last month, Iowa became the first state to permanently allow carryout and delivery of cocktails. Lawmakers in Ohio and Oklahoma are considering a similar measure, and the governors of Texas and Florida have expressed support for the change.
There is overwhelming public support for making cocktails to go permanent, says Mike Whatley, vice president of state and local affairs for the National Restaurant Association. Between 75% and 80% of respondents have said they support carryout cocktails in numerous state polls, Whatley said.
But some are urging states not to be too hasty. Mothers Against Drunk Driving worries that permanent carryout cocktails will lead to an increase in drunken driving unless laws make clear that the drinks can’t be consumed until the buyer is in a safe location.