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In recent editorials, various thought leaders and think tanks have made the case that electric vehicles and their owners are not as green as one would think. While the data points they lay out are thought provoking, perhaps this onion needs to be peeled back a few more layers?
By Gianni Kovacevic
In recent editorials, various thought leaders and think tanks have made the case that electric vehicles (EVs) and their owners are, in fact, not as green as one would think. While the data points they lay out are thought provoking, perhaps this onion needs to be peeled back a few more layers?
Their principal analysis has been to decipher approximately how much total CO2 is released when comparing an EV and a comparable gasoline or diesel model. Logically, this comparison not only needs to assume the manufacturing of each vehicle, but must also factor in operation over extensive amounts of mileage. We say there are statistics, and then there are statistics — let’s take a closer look.
The first thing to consider is that humanity does not live in StaticVille. Green and cleaner energy across the board is technology, and that means it is a progressive and dynamic process. Recall that for a time the microchip was doubling in power and efficiency every 18 months. While EVs may not be advancing quite that quickly, what is true is that there is an army of people working toward many aspects of enhancing EVs to make them lighter, stronger, cheaper and more efficient. It is quite correct that more CO2 emissions are released simply to create an EV — a well-respected blog recently cited 25,000 pounds (EV) compared to 16,000 pounds (gasoline). However, the majority of emissions for all motive transportation come from fueling them.
Coal-fired electricity is typically used by anti-EV folks as the scoundrel that charges these so-called “zero-emission” vehicles. Using the US as a foundation to better understand this myth, only 30 percent of electrical capacity in the US is sourced from coal. More importantly, the usage of coal for electricity in the US has fallen in the past decade and will likely continue to fall, mostly in coal-to-gas retrofits and the expansion of renewable energy. Furthermore, what happens if one lives in Florida or California, where electricity is mostly sourced from natural gas and renewables? There may still be CO2 emissions, but nowhere near the headline-grabbing comparisons that would-be skeptics delight in showcasing. Another important detail is the total CO2 emissions footprint in drilling for oil and transporting it for refinement and further distribution. Is that included in their calculations for total CO2 emissions? Assuming that 100 percent of EV owners use coal power 100 percent of the time is preposterous.
Let us be curious and go one step further to the other side of the spectrum into ProgressVille. With the arrival of home batteries, like Tesla Motors’ (NASDAQ:TSLA) Powerwall, EVs can now be fully charged with solar power using collected and stored energy, and in theory never use grid power. While we’ll concede this application is very early days, it will become more mainstream in the years to come. We would ask EV skeptics, “what are the total CO2 emissions for this EV example?”
Another important point suggests that there will be far less future air pollution in 2020; at that time, a 10-percent increase in US gasoline cars will have taken place compared to a 10-percent increase in US EVs. Of course, this point assumes that humanity is living in StaticVille, and that the US electricity mix will remain the same in 2020 as it is today. Really, that’s only one side of the coin. The more truthful question to ask is, “how and where would those hypothetical 10 percent of new EVs actually be sourcing their car charging from?” They assume the same old sources.
Not even close. Personally, I feel EVs are technology, so it can be suggested that the way we buy, operate and charge these tech items will change profoundly in the coming years. EV owners will increasingly begin to live “behind their power meter” — in other words, totally off grid. Furthermore, Tesla Motors, which already has “superchargers” across the US, plans to slowly but methodically transition many of its interstate charging stations from localized grid power to solar power.
Above all else, EV transportation is simply far superior. Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote a fantastic note during the COP21 meeting in Paris last year stating, “I too don’t give a **** if we all agree on these themes.” I agree with him. Who wants to breathe the diesel fumes from a bus, or own a product that forever needs repairs for its hundreds of moving parts when there are superior choices? As the owner of an EV, I will never again repair a thermostat, radiator, muffler, valve or have to go for an oil change … and I could go on for a full page. Are the CO2 emissions calculations factoring in all these repairs required for the hundreds of moving parts in an internal combustion engine?
Society is not stuck in StaticVille. To demonstrate that the future is indeed now, I am driving a Tesla Model S across America. See me on the tour from Toronto to Tesla headquarters by following me on Twitter @RealisticEnviro.
Gianni has enlightened audiences around the world with his unique insights into wide-ranging topics such as modern energy, the rise of the new spending class and how the environment and investment often go hand in hand. An avid proponent of realistic environmentalism, he is frequently interviewed by the media on his unique way of applying an algebraic way of thinking to solving global problems. His new book, “My Electrician Drives a Porsche?,” was released in the US and Canada in February 2016 by Greenleaf Book Group.
Fluent in English, German, Italian and Croatian, Gianni makes his home in Vancouver, Canada.
