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Page added on April 17, 2012
Electric cars cheaper to run, less polluting
Electric vehicles in the United States save money on fuel and are less polluting than most gasoline-powered vehicles, even in places where electricity is made by burning coal, the Union of Concerned Scientists said in a report released on Monday.
“Drivers should feel confident that owning an electric vehicle is a good choice for reducing global warming pollution, cutting fuel costs, and slashing oil consumption,” said Don Anair, a senior engineer on UCS’s clean vehicles program.
UCS said the study is the first to analyze emissions from vehicles charged on a power grid of electricity made from fuels such as coal and natural gas.
According to the report, written by Anair, owners of electric vehicles can save $750 to $1,200 a year based on 11,000 miles of driving, compared to drivers of a gasoline-powered vehicle that gets 27 miles per gallon at $3.50 per gallon.
For every 50 cent rise in the price of a gallon of gasoline, an EV driver can save an extra $200 annually, the report said.
The full report is here
12 Comments on "Electric cars cheaper to run, less polluting"
SolarDave on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 1:56 am
Plus, for every Watt of “green power” added to the grid, electric cars get even greener, while gas cars continue to pollute.
We are well past the tipping point where electric cars are the better choice. Buy electric!
DC on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 2:16 am
This little blurb is both true and false at the same time. Yes, EVs are less polluting and they are cheaper to run.
But so what?
Replaceing a bllion gas-burners with 1 billion EVs would accomplish nothing, except accelerate industrial collapse due to the immense amount of resources that would have to be directed towards the effort. The EV for all its virtues, does not address ANY of the other problems cars create. Sprawl, traffic deaths, congestion, nor do they encourage the growth of bike and transit friendly cities. In fact, they do the exactly opposite.
The biggest problem with cars, are the cars themselves. Typically amerikan, they see ‘problems’ as being purely a matter of ‘cost’, a bottom-line issue. An EV is ‘cheaper’ to run, in this case a paltry 1000 dollars a year is given, so it must be a good thing right? Will that 1000 dollar saveings have to be clawed back in user-fees and taxes to maintain car-dependencey, or higher electricty costs due to increased demand? Sure it will. Spending less on gas does not gurantee electricty will remain cheap at all. Like amerikans still cant wrap there heads around the idea that ‘cheap’ food is makeing them all obsese, stupid and chronically ill. Private EVs will keep amerikans in grid-lock, stressed and broke maintaining the cars-only infastructure. Sometimes ‘cheap’ is not the best solution.
James on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 2:19 am
The problem is the range per charge. How many miles can you go before you have to stop, assuming there is a place to stop, and have to wait for a full charge. I have read that it will take anywhere from 4 – 8 hours to charge up. The batteries lose the capacity to hold a full charge over time. The weight of the battery packs reduce the range that these cars can travel. Finally, the life of a battery in these electric cars is estimated for 5 years or 100,000 miles. The replacement battery will put you out of $10,000.
MrEnergyCzar on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 3:29 am
I’ve spent $70 in gas the first 6,800 miles in my Volt… zero electric costs as well, solar..
MrEnergyCzar
BillT on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 3:50 am
If the pollution caused by the process of building and operating an electric vehicle were totaled up, it would be little different than gas cars. It takes oil to mine all of those components in either car and it takes oil to make the electric possible to power the electric. If you don’t believe that, think about where those solar panel materials come from. Where the steel and other metals in the cars come from. Where the plastics come from. Where the fabrics in the seat covers come from. Even where the grid that transports the energy comes from. Mines and oil wells…
Electric is a fools game that only the uneducated believe are ‘green’.
Arthur on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 8:45 am
Electricity is green and it grows on electricity trees. You just have to pick it. Seriously, electric cars are a zero sum game. All of the electricity is generated by fossil fuels. 40 years after the warnings of the Club of Rome, the world generates merely 0.8% of its energy from renewables. That’s not going to increase dramatically any time soon.
In related news, car sales in the EU has droppen 7% on average and 50% in countries like Greece and Portugal.
Charlie Bucket on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 12:44 pm
Aren’t there a bunch of rare earth metals in EV’s and Hybrids? They are called “rare” for a reason. This would seem to be a huge problem with EV’s and all electronics in general.
Kenz300 on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 4:48 pm
It is time to end the oil monopoly on transportation fuels. We need a choice of transportation fuels. Bring on the electric, flex-fuel, hybrid, CNG, LNG and hydrogen fueled vehicles. As battery technology continues to improve the range will improve and the charging time will decrease making electrics even more popular.
Plantagenet on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 5:08 pm
The Obama administration spent 2.4 billion taxpayer dollars on the VOLT and other electric cars, electric batteries, etc. Number of VOLTS sold in March?
ZERO.
GM has had to shut down the VOLT plant twice this year because VOLT sales are so disappointing.
DC on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 5:55 pm
Well, since the GM Vo….Gas, isnt even an EV, I guess it not big deal right? Anyhow, 2.4b sounds like a lot, and it is, but its a pittance compared to the 100s of billions the United States of OIL has handed over to GM and other automakers. And what were THOSE 100s’s of billions for? Gas-burners! Not waste of time fool-cell cars or heavy, poorly built pseudo-EVs like the vo…Gas. Dont worry, when GM and Ford, Chryslers come back hat-in-hand for a few hundred billion more during the next round of economic contraction were due for anytime, the printing presses and blank cheques will be standing by to keep churning out…GAS-BURNERS. Dont worry, youll probably never see an EV or Fool-cell car cutting you off while your choking to death on gas-fumes on a clogged 12-lane ‘freeway’.
Bob Owens on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 11:21 pm
EVs will probably end up as a niche vehicle with little impact on pollution. It is worth trying as there might be some battery invention that makes them competitive, like ultra-capacitors. But don’t count on it. If you want to get 50 mpg today at little cost just get a thrifty used car for long trips and a small scooter for quick errands. The two combined will get you great gas mileage at little cost. Take the money you save and put it into insulating and air-sealing your home. Then you will have some REAL savings for yourself and the world!
BillT on Tue, 17th Apr 2012 11:46 pm
I live in a nice condo in Makati, the financial section of Metro Manila. The rent is more than most Filipinos make in a month. The buildings have 1,000 condos total, all rented or owned. The 6 floors of parking garages have a total of less than 100 cars, on average, yet people get to where they need to be. Maybe that tells you what is in store for America in the near future. One in ten families owning a car.