That's pretty neat. How much of BI's power comes from the wind farm? Would be cool if the island was fully renewable powered.

It’s nice the bus is electric, but over 90% of RI’s electricity comes from natural gas. Wind makes up just .5% percent. Electrifying vehicles only makes sense if you decarbonize the grid. Wind just doesn’t make enough energy.

The main problem I see is that you won't be able to hear the bus five minutes before it arrives.

You aren’t wrong. They should add fake engine noise.

> Electrifying vehicles only makes sense if you decarbonize the grid.

Well yeah, I don't think there is anyone saying we should all drive EVs and also that we should also continue to rely exclusively on fossil fuels.

> over 90% of RI’s electricity comes from natural gas

That figure is for generation within RI borders, but since we're on the northeast interconnect and energy is fungible (I think that's the right word), we should look at that mix whee natural gas is only 46% of generation and wind is 3%: https://www.iso-ne.com/about/key-stats/resource-mix

But even then, clearly we have room for improvement.

.5%… Wind is currently an extremely weak source of power. Nuclear is honestly the best “green” option.

Honestly, SMR (Nuclear) is the fastest path to a green grid. Wind creates a big carbon footprint and does produce enough power to sub-plant gas/coal.

I agree about the importance of having that nuclear backbone, but do think that the grid should/needs to evolve to be more storage-focused than purely one-way generation.

I am not sure where you're getting your info on carbon footprint for wind though, it seems to be pretty darn low: https://www.energy.gov/eere/wind/articles/how-wind-energy-can-help-us-breathe-easier

It's a shame we are all brainwashed to be afraid if it because if a couple massive fuck ups decades ago. The US Navy runs a ton of reactors and hasn't had a meltdown yet.

Its like putting dirt back on clean potatoes

Not if it makes them safer.

This could be a shocking development for some people - -

This is true

From a short term perspective, it would seem rational to import more Hydroelectric

100% of the power in BI comes from the wind farm. The excess goes back to the grid.

best way to goto block island< aside from living there, drive your house over the ocean n park in the harbor IN YA BOAT :P

Even without decarbonizing the grid, electric still makes sense. It's far easier to manage emissions at a power plant vs on millions of vehicles. There are plenty of other reasons but that alone is huge

For now, but battery production includes some very dirty mining and there’s not enough raw materials in the world to supply the amount of electrified cars, trucks, and buses we need. ESG experts are aware of this. More than likely, hydrogen will be the answer. However, hydrogen production is also carbon intensive.

Except when the system is down for maintenance.

How will kids know it’s time to start running to the bus stop if they can’t hear it from a mile away?

It could still have one of those loudspeakers: "BUS IS TURNING"