I think the question of how efficient electric motors are is largely irrelevant to the purposes of the book. The whole point is to explore what our current requirements actually are, and whether renewable energy can meet them. Until and unless the majority of British drivers are in electric cars, it doesn’t seem to have a bearing on that question.
The ‘without the hot air’ angle is to eliminate this problem that environmental proposals often have where totally changing one aspect of society is totally feasible given that another aspect totally changes at the same time. You will also notice that his numbers for solar power aren’t based on theoretical, or even estimated future, conversion efficiency; they are based on the efficiency available in the market at the time he was writing (he uses 10% efficiency for the kind of panel you could feasibly install everywhere, and put 20% for the top-of-the-line models, in 2008).
That being said, you have effectively skipped to the conclusion of the book: the answer is no, at current consumption levels sustainable energy isn’t feasible; the solution we have to pursue is reducing our energy consumption. He addresses the benefits of more efficient forms of getting around (including electric cars and trains and such) in the Transport chapter.
I think the question of how efficient electric motors are is largely irrelevant to the purposes of the book. The whole point is to explore what our current requirements actually are, and whether renewable energy can meet them. Until and unless the majority of British drivers are in electric cars, it doesn’t seem to have a bearing on that question.
The ‘without the hot air’ angle is to eliminate this problem that environmental proposals often have where totally changing one aspect of society is totally feasible given that another aspect totally changes at the same time. You will also notice that his numbers for solar power aren’t based on theoretical, or even estimated future, conversion efficiency; they are based on the efficiency available in the market at the time he was writing (he uses 10% efficiency for the kind of panel you could feasibly install everywhere, and put 20% for the top-of-the-line models, in 2008).
That being said, you have effectively skipped to the conclusion of the book: the answer is no, at current consumption levels sustainable energy isn’t feasible; the solution we have to pursue is reducing our energy consumption. He addresses the benefits of more efficient forms of getting around (including electric cars and trains and such) in the Transport chapter.