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(Created page with "If electric vehicles are powered with electricity that was generated by fossil fuels, is it worse for the environment than just driving a gas car? {{dp |<nowiki>electric_car.efficiency</nowiki> |<nowiki>100 miles per 34.6 kWh</nowiki> |<nowiki>The "gas mileage" equivalent for an average electric car.</nowiki> |<nowiki>Average Electric Car kWh Per Mile [Results From 231 EVs]</nowiki><br /><nowiki> ecocostsavings.com › average-electric-car-kwh-per-mile </nowiki>...") |
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If [[electric vehicles]] | If you charge an [[electric vehicles|electric car]] with electricity that was generated by [[fossil fuels]], is it '''as bad''' for the environment as driving a gas car? | ||
==Short answer== | |||
<big>'''Yes.'''</big> | |||
The carbon emissions, compared to a gasoline car, are approximately: | |||
* 135% for coal power plants | |||
* 89% for ''older'' natural gas power plants {{light|(more common)}} | |||
* 56% for ''newer'' natural gas power plants {{light|(less common)}} | |||
==Long answer== | |||
The following calculations compare the average gasoline-powered vehicle with the average [[lithium-ion battery]]-based electric vehicle. Greenhouse gas emissions are in tonnes CO<sub>2</sub> equivalent (CO2eq): | |||
<!-- TODO: add a popup box for assumptions: | |||
* no jevons paradox | |||
* battery is the main difference in production emissions (EV as compared to gas car) (amortized over lifespan) | |||
--> | |||
'''Usage emissions''' <!-- not technically a heading. we don't want mediawiki to generate a table of contents. --> | |||
{{dp | {{dp | ||
|<nowiki>electric_car. | |<nowiki>electric_car.fuel_economy_equivalent</nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>100 miles per 34.6 kWh</nowiki> | |<nowiki>100 miles per 34.6 kWh</nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>The "gas mileage" equivalent for an average electric car.</nowiki> | |<nowiki>The "gas mileage" equivalent for an average electric car.</nowiki> | ||
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|<nowiki>coal_power_plant.efficiency</nowiki> | |<nowiki>coal_power_plant.efficiency</nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>33%</nowiki> | |<nowiki>33%</nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>How much of the coal's heat energy becomes electricity</nowiki> | |<nowiki>How much of the coal's combustion heat energy becomes electricity</nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>Transformative Power Systems | Department of Energy</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |<nowiki>Transformative Power Systems | Department of Energy</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | ||
https://www.energy.gov/fecm/transformative-power-systems</nowiki> | https://www.energy.gov/fecm/transformative-power-systems</nowiki> | ||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|natural_gas_power_plant.efficiency | |||
|33% | |||
|How much of the gas combustion heat becomes electricity | |||
|This stat is for simple (older tech) natural gas power plants. The efficiency is the same as for coal and nuclear power. The process is the same: Heat boils water, creates steam to drive a turbine. | |||
}} | }} | ||
{{dp | {{dp | ||
Line 34: | Line 59: | ||
|<nowiki>25.4 miles per gallon gasoline</nowiki> | |<nowiki>25.4 miles per gallon gasoline</nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>Gas mileage of an average American new car</nowiki> | |<nowiki>Gas mileage of an average American new car</nowiki> | ||
|<nowiki>This datapoint is conformable with [electric_car. | |<nowiki>This datapoint is conformable with [electric_car.fuel_economy_equivalent], because the calculator understands 'gallon gasoline' as an energy unit.</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | ||
</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | </nowiki><br /><nowiki> | ||
Citation:</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | Citation:</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | ||
Line 40: | Line 65: | ||
- Fuel economy in automobiles - Wikipedia</nowiki> | - Fuel economy in automobiles - Wikipedia</nowiki> | ||
}} | }} | ||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>coal.ghg_by_energy</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>95.35 kg / million btu</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>CO2 emissions of burning coal</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>https://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/co2_vol_mass.php</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>gasoline.ghg_by_energy</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>71.30 kg / million btu</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>CO2 emissions of burning gasoline</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>https://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/co2_vol_mass.php</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>usa.natural_gas.fugitive_ghg</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>176.1 million tonnes / year</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Greenhouse gas CO2eq of fugitive methane leaks from all natural gas infrastructure in the USA</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2014</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2014</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
2016 Complete Report (PDF)</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
Using data from 2014</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>usa.natural_gas.energy</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>27.9 quadrillion btu / year</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>U.S. energy consumption from natural gas combustion only</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2014</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/inventory-us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-sinks-1990-2014</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
2016 Complete Report (PDF)</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
Datapoint was found on page 115, from pie chart and line graph, using data from 2014</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>natural_gas.fugitive_ghg_by_energy</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>usa.natural_gas.fugitive_ghg / usa.natural_gas.energy</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Fugitive emissions (CO2eq) of natural gas, per unit energy</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Average based on US datapoints.</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>natural_gas.ghg_by_energy</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>53.07 kg / million btu</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>CO2 emissions of burning natural gas</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Does not include the fugitive methane emissions from unburned fuel. Those vary by how the gas is burned.</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
https://www.eia.gov/environment/emissions/co2_vol_mass.php</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>ev.lifespan</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>8 years</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Expected lifespan of an electric vehicle</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Batteries usually are the component that wears out first.</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>average_us_vehicle.mileage_by_time</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>32 miles/day</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Distance driven by the average American vehicle</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Top Numbers Driving America's Gasoline Demand</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
https://www.api.org/news-policy-and-issues/blog/2022/05/26/top-numbers-driving-americas-gasoline-demand</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>natural_gas_combined_cycle_power_plant.efficiency</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>60%</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>How much of the natural gas's heat energy becomes electricity, in an advanced "combined cycle" power plant</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>This is considered a "maximum" value - the best natural gas power plants achieve this.</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
Simpler/older natural gas plants (no combined cycle) have only an efficiency of 33%, same as [coal_power_plant.efficiency].</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
Read more: https://energyeducation.ca/encyclopedia/Natural_gas_power_plant</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
''For a gasoline car'' {{light|(typical usage)}}: | |||
{{calc | |||
|average_us_vehicle.mileage_by_time / car.fuel_economy * gasoline.ghg_by_energy | |||
|tonnes/year | |||
|usage_emissions_if_gasoline_car | |||
}} | |||
''For an EV charged by '''coal''' power plants'' {{light|(same amount of driving as above)}}: | |||
{{calc | {{calc | ||
|electric_car. | |average_us_vehicle.mileage_by_time / electric_car.fuel_economy_equivalent * coal.ghg_by_energy / coal_power_plant.efficiency / (100% - power_grid.losses) / li_ion.charge_discharge_efficiency | ||
| | |tonnes/year | ||
|usage_emissions_if_EV_coal | |||
}} | }} | ||
''For an EV charged by '''natural gas''' power plants'' {{light|(same amount of driving)}}: | |||
{{calc | |||
|average_us_vehicle.mileage_by_time / electric_car.fuel_economy_equivalent * (natural_gas.ghg_by_energy + natural_gas.fugitive_ghg_by_energy) / natural_gas_power_plant.efficiency / (100% - power_grid.losses) / li_ion.charge_discharge_efficiency | |||
|tonnes/year | |||
|usage_emissions_if_EV_natural_gas | |||
}} | |||
''For an EV charged by advanced {{light|(combined-cycle type)}} natural gas power plants'' {{light|(same amount of driving)}}: | |||
{{calc | |||
|average_us_vehicle.mileage_by_time / electric_car.fuel_economy_equivalent * (natural_gas.ghg_by_energy + natural_gas.fugitive_ghg_by_energy) / natural_gas_combined_cycle_power_plant.efficiency / (100% - power_grid.losses) / li_ion.charge_discharge_efficiency | |||
|tonnes/year | |||
|usage_emissions_if_EV_advanced_natural_gas | |||
}} | |||
'''Battery production emissions''' <!-- not technically a heading. we don't want mediawiki to generate a table of contents. --> | |||
So far, we still haven't counted the environmental impact of ''making'' an electric car, which is significantly more than for a gasoline-powered car. | |||
For simplicity sake, let's assume that ''batteries'' account for the entire difference between electric cars and gasoline cars, in terms of GHG emissions of ''production'' divided by vehicle ''lifespan''. {{x|A gasoline vehicle is a bit more complex than a batteryless EV, but the former also has a longer lifespan.}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>ev.battery</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>65.2 kWh</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Energy capacity of the average electric vehicle battery</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Useable battery capacity of full electric vehicles</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
https://ev-database.org/cheatsheet/useable-battery-capacity-electric-car</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
</nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
{{dp | |||
|<nowiki>li_ion.ghg_by_energy</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>73 kg / kWh</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2eq) of producing a lithium-ion battery</nowiki> | |||
|<nowiki>"by energy" here means "by the size of the battery, defined by how much energy can be stored".</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
What is the environmental impact of lithium batteries? - Changeit ...</nowiki><br /><nowiki> | |||
changeit.app › blog › 2021-03-26-environmental-impact-of-lithium-batteries </nowiki> | |||
}} | |||
''For battery production:'' | |||
{{calc | |||
|ev.battery * li_ion.ghg_by_energy / ev.lifespan | |||
|tonnes/year | |||
|battery_emissions | |||
}} | |||
'''''Now, for the final comparison:''''' | |||
{{calc | |||
|usage_emissions_if_EV_coal + battery_emissions | |||
|% usage_emissions_if_gasoline_car | |||
}} | |||
{{calc | |||
|usage_emissions_if_EV_natural_gas + battery_emissions | |||
|% usage_emissions_if_gasoline_car | |||
}} | |||
{{calc | |||
|usage_emissions_if_EV_advanced_natural_gas + battery_emissions | |||
|% usage_emissions_if_gasoline_car | |||
}} | |||
Thus, with coal power, emissions are ''worse'' than driving a gasoline-powered car. But for ''advanced'' natural gas power plants, emissions are about ''half''. In either case, this doesn't count the other environmental impacts {{light|(non-CO<sub>2</sub>)}} of mining lithium & cobalt. | |||
Maybe there would be a good case for fossil-fuel-electricity-powered vehicles if [[carbon capture and storage]] could be fully & safely applied to the power plants. | |||
<!-- | |||
TALK: add scenario where fuel-cell vehicles are powered by hydrogen gas made from fossil fuels? | |||
or should that go elsewhere? | |||
--> | |||
==See also== | |||
* [[Calc:If all vehicles were electric]] | |||
* [[Public transit]] | |||
* [[Walkability]] |