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> A transport being electric does not automatically make it better That is true. Most people don't spare a thought for the long chain of extraction, refinement
by gandreani 9y ago
> A transport being electric does not automatically make it better
That is true. Most people don't spare a thought for the long chain of extraction, refinement/production, transportation of our resources/fuels/energy. They see less petrol/gasoline being used in the last step of the chain and assume they have a positive impact.
However, I would argue that electric cars are still "cleaner" than gas engines, precisely because of their reliance on the power grid. Powering an electric vehicle from clean renewable energy (solar, wind, geothermal) requires a big financial investment. This is a tough ask for most individuals (who can spare $10-15k for solar panels?) but a lesser ask for a power utility company.
Essentially, that's the environmental benefit of having everyone use electric vehicles. It shifts the ability to choose where we extract our energy from the individual to the municipalities. Right now we are very dependent on coal/natural gas/petrol for our energy needs. The first two can be replaced with renewable energy sources by our municipalities. If we keep driving petrol powered vehicles, we will still rely on petrol. If we switch to electric vehicles, we have a path away from the big three.
Of course, this little theory doesn't take into account the environmental effects of the lithium battery packs. I have no idea what the effects are there
- shuntress 9y agoI completely agree. With our current infrastructure/technology it clearly makes sense to focus on electric motors for transportation. I just feel it's important to stay grounded in reality. Energy has to come from somewhere. We are clearly much closer to clean generation of electricity than to clean synthesis of gasoline.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- toomuchtodo 9y agoI will come back with a link when I'm not mobile, but solar just hit a new low cost at 65 cents/watt in India. EDIT: https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Solar-Costs-Are-Hitting-Jaw-Dropping-Lows-In-Every-Region-of-the-World https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Solar-Costs-Are... Energy has to come from somewhere, but we are awash in clean enegy.
- pmoriarty 9y ago65 cents/watt is cheap? I'm paying about 216 times less than that for electricity from my electric company.
- toomuchtodo 9y agoInstall cost, not ongoing per kwh. Cost per kwh generated comes out to be between 1-2 cents.
- pmoriarty 9y agoI stand corrected. I was in fact thinking of the watt/hour price, not the install price. At a price of 1 to 2 cents per kwh, that comes out to about 177 to 354 times cheaper than what I'm paying for electricity from my electric company.
- detaro 9y agoAre you maybe think about prices per Watt hour you are paying? 65 cents/watt is a measure how much the module costs to buy per rated output power, not for an unit of energy (obviously, from the units).
- danjoc 9y ago>Of course, this little theory doesn't take into account the environmental effects of the lithium battery packs. I have no idea what the effects are there Sweden has done a study on the impact of LI ion battery production on CO2 emissions. There is a discussion about it here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14608959 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14608959