5 ms·

Ha, yes, because, you know, burning coal for energy is better for the environment than burning gasoline.

erikpukinskis 10y ago
No, it's approximately the same. If you get your electricity from 100% coal your emissions will be about the same as a gas burning car. Most places don't use strictly coal for electricity generation though.
- cnvogel 10y ago
  Yes, maybe you even burn more fossil fuel because of transmission loss. But one might still gain on better filtering of dust/particulates in the exhaust which is a major problem in German inner cities. (I'm not advocating the use of coal energy to power electric cars, just mentioning that there are more aspects.)
  - witty_username 10y ago
    Coal plants can run more efficiently though.
- Gibbon1 10y ago
  My take, correct me if I'm wrong but switching to electric transport means electric power consumption goes up by 25%. Nothing says we need to build more coal fired plants to provide it.
- Reason077 10y ago
  According to Marc Tarpenning (Tesla founder), EVs produce less carbon than combustion vehicles, even if 100% of the power is generated by coal: https://youtu.be/hf15nMnayXk?list=FL68WumAcUAWIBaxczXoR-1Q&t=278 https://youtu.be/hf15nMnayXk?list=FL68WumAcUAWIBaxczXoR-1Q&t... The reason is that combustion engines - even modern ones - are very inefficient and lose most of the energy they produce to heat. Large coal plants are efficient by comparison, and EVs themselves are extremely energy-efficient even when considering grid losses etc.
Jean-Philipe 10y ago
Actually Germany produces 30% of its electricity demand via renewable energy sources[1]. The share of sources that vary in intensity during the day (wind, solar) would even be higher for electric cars, as they can be charged overnight, when the demand is lower than the supply. Anyways, even for the part that comes from coal, there's still an advantage for big cities. The fossil fuel isn't burnt where people live and breathe, but outside of the city, increasing health considerably. [1] https://www.bmwi.de/DE/Themen/Energie/Erneuerbare-Energien/erneuerbare-energien-auf-einen-blick.html https://www.bmwi.de/DE/Themen/Energie/Erneuerbare-Energien/e...
grecy 10y ago
A big coal plant is more efficient than the lightweight ICE that moves around with a car. Also note that many countries in the world don't exclusively get power from coal, and that amount is certain to go down in the coming years, dramatically so in the coming decades.

No, it's approximately the same. If you get your electricity from 100% coal your emissions will be about the same as a gas burning car. Most places don't use strictly coal for electricity generation though.

cnvogel 10y ago
Yes, maybe you even burn more fossil fuel because of transmission loss. But one might still gain on better filtering of dust/particulates in the exhaust which is a major problem in German inner cities. (I'm not advocating the use of coal energy to power electric cars, just mentioning that there are more aspects.)
- witty_username 10y ago
  Coal plants can run more efficiently though.
Gibbon1 10y ago
My take, correct me if I'm wrong but switching to electric transport means electric power consumption goes up by 25%. Nothing says we need to build more coal fired plants to provide it.
Reason077 10y ago
According to Marc Tarpenning (Tesla founder), EVs produce less carbon than combustion vehicles, even if 100% of the power is generated by coal: https://youtu.be/hf15nMnayXk?list=FL68WumAcUAWIBaxczXoR-1Q&t=278 https://youtu.be/hf15nMnayXk?list=FL68WumAcUAWIBaxczXoR-1Q&t... The reason is that combustion engines - even modern ones - are very inefficient and lose most of the energy they produce to heat. Large coal plants are efficient by comparison, and EVs themselves are extremely energy-efficient even when considering grid losses etc.

Jean-Philipe 10y ago

Actually Germany produces 30% of its electricity demand via renewable energy sources[1]. The share of sources that vary in intensity during the day (wind, solar) would even be higher for electric cars, as they can be charged overnight, when the demand is lower than the supply. Anyways, even for the part that comes from coal, there's still an advantage for big cities. The fossil fuel isn't burnt where people live and breathe, but outside of the city, increasing health considerably. [1] https://www.bmwi.de/DE/Themen/Energie/Erneuerbare-Energien/erneuerbare-energien-auf-einen-blick.html https://www.bmwi.de/DE/Themen/Energie/Erneuerbare-Energien/e...

grecy 10y ago

A big coal plant is more efficient than the lightweight ICE that moves around with a car. Also note that many countries in the world don't exclusively get power from coal, and that amount is certain to go down in the coming years, dramatically so in the coming decades.