Roger wrote:
: As I've said before. We don't have the infrastructure to handled much
: more load even when using real time load management which is decades
: off.

Pray forgive a non-aviation related aside.
I've been working in the electrical distribution industry for a long time.
My company makes real-time load flow profiling equipment (see your
transformer loads LIVE on the internet!), and real-time load management
hardware, software, and systems (amoung other hardware & software).
We have several programs on-line TODAY with real-time load management.
There is a fundamental problem with real-time load management.
No one will pay for it.
The consumer says, "you want to be able to shut off MY airconditioner
when it's hot out, and you want ME to pay for that privilege? Drop dead."
The utility says, "My income comes from spinning meters. You want ME to
reduce my income, and you want ME to pay for that privilege? Get lost."

Attitudes are slowly changing. It costs $billions to build new generation
plants, and takes at least 10 years - probably 25 is more like it. If the
utility can defer generation construction it has a high value. (I know that
utilities no longer own generation directly but the concept holds.)

PS, in this widely spread out country purely electric cars are not useful
until they have the same performance as gasoline cars, particularly in
their recharge time. My gasoline car recharges in 10 minutes and goes
450 miles per charge. Each charge costs $55. It's really pretty cheap,
all things considered.

: This is a good example of being unable to use a non polluting,
: alternative energy source even when it is in place.

With electrical generation primarilly coal-powered in this country,
changing to electric powered anything moves the polution center to
the power plant, and centralizes the place where pollution control needs
to be applied. This is good in many ways, because it's easier to keep
one big engine tuned than millions of smaller ones.
--
Aaron C.