Are Electric Cars Expensive Fossil Fuel Burning Polluters?!

Consumers who think plug-in electric cars are the greenest of the green and the most cost- efficient available might want to take a second look at this latest incarnation of vehicle technology. Unlike earlier generations of hybrids, which generate electricity for their internal batteries primarily from the vehicle’s own internal mechanical systems (during “down” and braking periods), aside from minor power that might be created from solar cells that occasionally are built into the roof of the car, all-electric and plug-in hybrid cars get power that comes at least in part from a charging station. And charging stations get their power from whatever source the venue derives power, and that is mostly from the local utility. And hence you can’t assess an electric car as fuel efficient without looking at the cost of the electricity, and you can’t evaluate such a vehicle’s impact on the environment without looking at the source of the electricity. Enter two studies, one from Purdue University and another from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Where you drive matters. The January 14^th Los Angeles Times, summarized the Purdue report on underlying costs, by noting that Californians pay some of the highest utility rates in the nation, particularly given the “tiered” system, where residential users pay escalating rates as their consumption rises (to encourage efficiency): “The study was unveiled as the first of the electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles are reaching consumers. Two vehicles, the all-electric Nissan Leaf and the plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Volt, started being delivered to their first customers last month… Electric-car makers and utilities said most owners will probably charge their vehicles at night when the rates are lower. But because of the tiered rate system, their electricity bills will still probably be high. California hou seholds pay steeper rates for their electricity compared with other states — about 35% more than the national average, according to the study…

“‘The tiered system was put in because California wanted to be green and discourage electricity consumption,’ said Wally Tyner, an energy economist and lead researcher on the study. ‘The unintended consequence is that it also discourages electric vehicles.’… A plug-in hybrid Volt would increase the average household's electrical usage 60%, the study said. Although the study didn't explicitly examine all-electric vehicles such as the Leaf, ‘the same principle would apply,’ Tyner said.”

Folks in Indiana pay about 8 cents per kilowatt hour, while the average rate in California is 14.4 cents. And while California is the car capital of the United States, will the Purdue study (a) discourage the purchase of plug-in vehicles in California or (b) cause California to reset residential rates for those with electric cars? Obviously, this is a question to be asked of any state in which electricity costs are above average. And for commercial or public facilities determining whether to be “nice” and allow customers, residents and employees to “charge up on the house,” these cost considerations are like to put a stop to that practice very quickly. But there is even a bigger question: are plug-in electrics really non-polluters because the vehicle itself emits nothing… or do we have to dig deeper to trace the sourc e of the power itself?

The MIT study, explored in the January 13^th FastCompany.com, clearly takes the position that at least when compared to non-plug-in hybrids, the new “charging station based” vehicles are definitely less green (and where the utility gets its power really matters). MIT’s report – issued on April 8, 2010 – is entitled, “The Electrification of the Transportation System: Issues and Opportunities.” “According to MIT, plug-in hybrids fueled by coal-fired power plants have lower emissions than gas-powered cars, but higher CO2 emissions than conventional hybrids. Plug-ins that are juiced up by carbon-free electricity (i.e. nuclear, biomass, solar), cut CO2 emissions by 66% compared to gas-powered vehicles, while traditional hybrids containing both an internal combustion engine and an electric motor only cut emissions by 33%.” FastCompany.com. Bottom line: until we truly wean ourselves from fossil fuels are the major source of our electrical power generating capacity, just because a car itself doesn’t pollute doesn’t mean it is a pollution-free experience.

I’m Peter Dekom, and it pays to look behind the seemingly obvious on occasion and see the “real.”