Posted by Daniel Hall on October 29, 2007
It’s clear that partially or completely electrifying our automobile fleet would be a great way to reduce our output of carbon emissions. An electric car is cleaner than a gas-powered one, even if the electricity is produced by a coal-fired power plant.
Really? Would an electric car run completely on coal-fired electricity actually involve fewer carbon emissions than a conventional internal-combustion engine car?
My web search found this site, summarizing a lifecycle analysis paper I cannot find, which seems to indicate that, yes, it would, although it is a close thing.
Note that an electric car involves quite a few more emissions during manufacture, but less during use, even if all the electricity is from coal.
My questions: Does the paper include emissions from disposal? (My guess is that batteries are not just energy-intensive to manufacture, but also to recycle.) What is the assumed time to replacement? Do the compared cars offer (nearly) identical “services” (power, range, passenger space, etc.)? What is the sensitivity of results to the size of the car? If the per-mile cost of operating an electric car is lower than a gasoline car, how much extra driving will people do?
Clearly electric cars look much better from the standpoint of carbon emissions if other forms of generation are used or if we can successfully use carbon capture and storage. Electric cars would also presumably be better for local air pollutants like ozone, NOx, particulate matter, etc., since we can locate generation facilities outside of major urban centers.
Finally, do read the rest of Ryan’s post, there are several cogent thoughts.