5 local things to speed the EV transition

Suppose you are concerned about the state of the EV market (source), and lets say it so happens you are not the prime minister, but a policy maker on a more local level, say Major, City counsellor etc. What can we do? Turns out lots, lets dole out some free advice to our city/town policyContinue reading “5 local things to speed the EV transition”

Charging on the new Ivy Kempower chargers

Ontario started the Ivy charging network back in 2020 (source). Ivy operates on most Onroute rest-stops common along Ontario’s highways (source), as well as other locations. In my experience, reliability has been better than average, perhaps 90% or so first charge success, hence I would check plugshare and the Ivy-app ahead of time. I foundContinue reading “Charging on the new Ivy Kempower chargers”

The case for a home battery expansion

My home battery provider has optional DC expansion packs available. Briefly, this would add another 13.5 kWh to the existing 13.5 kWh netting a total capacity of 27 kWh. This would allow me to add DC capacity to my home battery system which would provide some benefits, particularly with Toronto Hydro eh, not forbidding brownContinue reading “The case for a home battery expansion”

What is up with the Chevy Bolt?

Long considdered a stalwarth in the “affordable” EV market, the Bolt EV is a very unique EV. At this price point, 43k CAD (source), it offers loads of range, a roomy interior and decent charging performance. It was never particularly inspiring, but it got the job done at a very sensible price point. It launchedContinue reading “What is up with the Chevy Bolt?”

Dougies Nuclear Folly

Lately nuclear has been getting a lot of press here in Ontario. To be clear, we have nothing against Nuclear, provided it can deliver on the original promisse of abundand, clean and most notably cheap electricity. As we go through the math, looking at recent funding announcements and the expected generation from these nuclear facilities,Continue reading “Dougies Nuclear Folly”

Does Toronto need another Transmission line?

Recently the Ontario government and the City of Toronto agreed to study an expansion to the Cities aging transmission infrastructure (source). Planning is underway, to possibly add a third major transmission line to feed the growing city. Toronto’s electricity consumption is estimated to roughly double by 2050. Further, there is the Portlants gas plant, aContinue reading “Does Toronto need another Transmission line?”

The day-night solar problem

Recently we looked at the seasonal solar problem, namely that solar production is at its highest in the summer, but my energy usage peaks in the Winter. As we saw, for now, there is no problem, as I am somewhat of an outlier, and my excess electrons deliver lots of value for Ontario’s summer peakingContinue reading “The day-night solar problem”

The mythical Asian oil buyer

Historically, Texas based refineries switched from Venezuelan oil to Canada’s finest as Venezuelan politics became less and less stable (source). Naturally, the thinking goes, with Venezuela “back-in-the-game” Texas refineries might turn their backs on Canada’s finest. Thus, according to Mr. Polievre, we ought to build a second pipeline to the pacific pronto. There are twoContinue reading “The mythical Asian oil buyer”