More Brewster MacCracken: Solar Power and Electric Vehicles

More from my interview with Brewster MacCracken of Austin’s Pecan Street Project.

19 thoughts on “More Brewster MacCracken: Solar Power and Electric Vehicles”


  1. Night time charging is convenient, but day time charging is also possible. Economics can decide on this one.

    If solar powered parking lots would charge you less than night time charging then more people would charge during the day.


      1. =In 2013, the leading developers in the solar carport market were the familiar names of SunPower, SolarCity, and SunEdison.=

        I watched SunPower take an 8% hit the market the other day on ‘weak guidance’. When that happened I pulled the trigger and went in. So far I’ve gotten a 9% return on my money as the stock rebounded a few days later. My First Solar is still sitting at about of 25% gain. I’m starting to build a pretty good renewable portfolio….


        1. Wow – nice! I read that the i3 is the most fuel efficient car on the US market at something like 125 or 127 mpg equivalent. $40,000 is outside my price range (I was thinking of going for a used Volt here in a couple years). But it’s not too terribly expensive.

          All that robotic stuff looks like something out of science fiction.


  2. Unless tech changes, every battery in a developing country is a battery that can’t be use in an electric car. There isn’t enough Lithium to go around – all batteries will have to be recycled.

    Electric roads would fix all that.


  3. McCracken apparently thinks all EVs are Tesla model S’s with the large (85 kWh) battery pack.  He doesn’t seem to realize that the Leaf has 24-25 kWh, which is far more typical of today’s fleet.  PHEVs have even less; the Volt has a 16 kWh battery, the Fusion Energi is 7.6 kWh if memory serves, and the CMAX Energi and Prius plug-in even smaller batteries.


        1. A little less DIY friendly then.

          Maybe hook a heavy-duty trailer to the Voltswagon (for the purpose of getting it home to run your PV system), and drive 3mph, avoiding stop signs and stop lights. You’ll probably also need a forklift and a concrete pad to build a little hutch around, off the garage.

          I think i might go search YT for forklift battery videos: might be some good stories there…

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