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One of the nice things about this tech is that we can adapt over time. Today we might burn some coal or natural gas to generate the additional power we need, wh
by codazoda 4y ago
One of the nice things about this tech is that we can adapt over time. Today we might burn some coal or natural gas to generate the additional power we need, which doesn’t help the environment, but tomorrow we can expand the amount of solar, wind, and water energy we produce.
- ezfe 4y agoIt's still more efficient to power an EV off natural gas/goal than a combustion vehicle, due to the improved efficiency at the larger power plant vs the small vehicle.
- natch 4y agoAgree. And improved efficiency in the car itself as well.
- natch 4y agoIt actually is better for the environment to run an EV off of even something as dirty as coal power, than to run a gasoline car because the EV drivetrain is so much more efficient. That being said, I agree of course that transitioning the mix toward a lower proportion of dirty sources will be good.
- tzs 4y agoAnother plus for the dirty powered EV is that when you burn fossil fuels in a car then (1) any add-on equipment you want to use to capture or reduce pollution has severe size and weight and cost restrictions due to being part of the car, and (2) you are releasing your pollution in population centers. With the EV powered by electricity from a dirty power plant (1) you can afford bigger, heavier, more expensive pollution control, and (2) you can build power plants away from population centers so whatever pollution does escape ends up being a small increase for people over a wide area instead of major increase for just one city.
- ehnto 4y agoThere are a number of cities around the world that do get the majority of their power from renewable sources as well, so it depends on where you live as to what the impact is. Where I live an EV would be solar or wind powered if you charged it during the day. At night, a blend of wind and gas.