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EVs use regional power, including hydro, solar, and wind. A significant improvement over gasoline. EVs charge mostly at night, so the balance out daytime A/C u

EVs use regional power, including hydro, solar, and wind. A significant improvement over gasoline. EVs charge mostly at night, so the balance out daytime A/C use to produce a more stable power draw.

syshum 8y ago
Something on the order to 10% of my power comes from "renewable" sources in my region. over 50% is still coal here. There is a push to change that, but it comes at the expense if raising electrical rates (which we have some of the lowest as well) and that harms poor people. It is hyperbolic but it is worth considering how many people you are willing to sacrifice today for lowering emissions? Every time you increase energy costs that is increasing costs on the people that least can afford it, they then have to choose between food (which also increases), and heat, or hot water, or Air Conditioning... >>>EVs charge mostly at night That is the use case today, when they make up a low part of the overall fleet... I doubt that will maintain as their percentages increase and people that do not have Salary 9-5 jobs start using EV's
- floatrock 8y ago
  A "coal-powered car" in the most coal-heavy electrical grids gets the equivalent of 39 MPG in terms of emissions, and that's the worst-case grids around Wisconsin and Illinois/Missouri. Places with high renewable penetration can get >100mpg. https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/new-data-show-electric-vehicles-continue-to-get-cleaner https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/new-data-show-electri... So the worst case EV's are better than the smallest, most efficient ICE subcompacts. And you can flip the map on that post between 2009 and 2016 numbers. You can see things are getting cleaner. They're getting cleaner because renewables are out-competing dirty coal. Yes, most of it is gas displacing coal (gas is marginally cleaner), but there are cases of renewables/storage outcompeting gas in terms of price. It's not a hidden agenda -- it's pure competitive economics.

EVs use regional power, including hydro, solar, and wind. A significant improvement over gasoline. EVs charge mostly at night, so the balance out daytime A/C use to produce a more stable power draw.

syshum 8y ago

Something on the order to 10% of my power comes from "renewable" sources in my region. over 50% is still coal here. There is a push to change that, but it comes at the expense if raising electrical rates (which we have some of the lowest as well) and that harms poor people. It is hyperbolic but it is worth considering how many people you are willing to sacrifice today for lowering emissions? Every time you increase energy costs that is increasing costs on the people that least can afford it, they then have to choose between food (which also increases), and heat, or hot water, or Air Conditioning... >>>EVs charge mostly at night That is the use case today, when they make up a low part of the overall fleet... I doubt that will maintain as their percentages increase and people that do not have Salary 9-5 jobs start using EV's

floatrock 8y ago
A "coal-powered car" in the most coal-heavy electrical grids gets the equivalent of 39 MPG in terms of emissions, and that's the worst-case grids around Wisconsin and Illinois/Missouri. Places with high renewable penetration can get >100mpg. https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/new-data-show-electric-vehicles-continue-to-get-cleaner https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/new-data-show-electri... So the worst case EV's are better than the smallest, most efficient ICE subcompacts. And you can flip the map on that post between 2009 and 2016 numbers. You can see things are getting cleaner. They're getting cleaner because renewables are out-competing dirty coal. Yes, most of it is gas displacing coal (gas is marginally cleaner), but there are cases of renewables/storage outcompeting gas in terms of price. It's not a hidden agenda -- it's pure competitive economics.