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Is this really more environmentally friendly if the electricity comes from a coal plant driving a turbine? With a gas aircraft, it's still fossil fuels driving
by starpilot 7y ago
Is this really more environmentally friendly if the electricity comes from a coal plant driving a turbine? With a gas aircraft, it's still fossil fuels driving a turbine. Sometimes they're very similar turbines: https://www.ge.com/power/gas https://www.ge.com/power/gas.
- electricviolet 7y agoNo, of course not, but it allows the opportunity for that same plane to be powered by no-carbon sources in the future. With a gas-engine-powered plane, there's no chance of that.
- gumby 7y agoThe Carnot efficiency (and joules/“unit pollution”) go up dramatically at scale (one of the reasons the 737 MAX was designed for such huge engines). So yes, a vehicle powered by a coal plant could pollute a lot less than a vehicle burning melted dinosaurs at the point of use. In addition some of the other pollution (NOx, particulate etc) could be more manageable when coming out of a large smokestack in a desert vs in the cramped spaces of a city (car) or upper atmosphere (plane). I’m definitely not defending coal! Just saying the calculus is complex and multi factor.