Excess Electric Car Batteries and a Shortage of Electricity

   
We have another gross error by the Obama Administration in the form of electric automobile batteries.
    
For some unspecified reason, the Obama Administration has been promoting electric automobiles. This has been demonstrated through various actions. The first of these was a government bailout of General Motors, which put the Obama Administration In the position of specifying products which General Motors would offer. We now see regular TV advertisements by General Motors for the Chevrolet Volt, which is an electric car.
    
With promotion of an electric car, the Obama group did foresee that it would be necessary to have electric batteries to power the vehicles. They then established a system of loan guarantees and grants for production of electric vehicle batteries. C&E News covers this in its February 6 issue in an article entitled, "Battery Boom". The article indicates that the Department of Energy made major grants to battery producers using taxpayer funds allocated by the Congress, in the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. A few of the companies which jumped into production were indicated as A123 Systems, Dow Kokam, and Eneri. Eneri recently filed for bankruptcy. The other two have been producing batteries at a rate grossly exceeding market needs. The article does not indicate the rate of inventory accumulation, but the implication is that it is substantial.
    
The basic problem is that typical of most government operations, government does things in access. In contrast, private investment companies are regularly more astute in determining market needs. A foreign example of this is the time of the Soviet Union, which routinely did things in excess, leading to tremendous wastes in some areas and shortages of materials in other areas.
    
The market has clearly indicated a lack of interest in electric automobiles. We can guess that the primary motivation for continued use of gasoline and diesel powered vehicles is the feeling of power that the driver gets with his vehicle. The low power of electric vehicles does not satisfy that emotional need. The low power or high thrust capability of electric vehicles could theoretically change, but there is no such technology change on the horizon. The average driver does not care whether his vehicle has carbon dioxide emission. He wants power and will pay to get it.
    
California has been an example of the similar desires of the Obama Administration on promotion of electric vehicles. It has mandated a certain percentage on the road in future years. However, I personally believe that the feelings of the average drivers are so strong that these California regulations and any subsequent similar federal regulations will lead to strong driver objection in some form of revolt.
    
It is also interesting to note that electric vehicles require a source of electricity to charge the batteries. Approximately 50% of electricity production is from coal burning power plants. The EPA has for several years had a program to inhibit electricity production by coal burning power plants. They've done this by restrictions on emissions. The largest one, which they have been pressing, is controlling carbon dioxide. Fortunately, this has not yet come to pass, but there is always a possibility that it could be pushed through. In that case, what would be the consistency of promoting electric cars which use electricity and simultaneously reducing electricity generation?