Krizek: Time to make the move to electric cars
This column was submitted by Del. Paul Krizek (D-44), and does not necessarily represent the views of Covering The Corridor.
Did you know that the largest carbon emissions, upwards of 3 trillion pounds of pollution into the air, comes from American passenger cars and trucks? This pollution is not just from the tailpipes but from extracting, refining, and transporting the oil to our cars and trucks.
I learned this and much more last week when I attended the Electric Vehicle Car Show of the Future put on by the Clean Cars Campaign Environment Virginia. They are a statewide citizen-based environmental group promoting an increase in the usage of electric vehicles across the Commonwealth, and they told a compelling story of the need to transition from gas to electric cars that I want to share with you today.
The future is fuel efficiency, and what’s more fuel-efficient than electric vehicles? Imagine how much gasoline is wasted during rush hour driving when a vehicle is idling in standstill traffic. There are now over 50 models of electric cars and trucks that you can purchase.
And their prices are increasingly affordable. In fact, when you factor in gas and maintenance visits, electric cars compete financially with their gas counterparts by their fourth year. And, with falling battery prices and economies of scale, it won’t be long before their sticker price will soon be equal or even lower to that of the comparable gasoline-powered car!
Furthermore, electric vehicles do not use energy when stopped, except to run utilities in the vehicle. Given that most electric cars can now go 150-330 miles on a charge, there is little reason for “range anxiety.” And more and more charging stations are popping up everywhere.
There are fewer and fewer reasons not to purchase one. In fact, I am seriously considering sponsoring a bill during next year’s session to promote the installation of electric vehicle charging stations at each state government building in the Commonwealth. This move would further show Virginia’s commitment to a clean energy future.
Moreover, it is crazy to say “I prefer the convenience of gasoline-powered vehicles” because electric vehicles have 85 percent fewer moving parts than a gasoline-powered vehicle. The Tesla I sat in has only eight moving parts! This allows for much fewer maintenance visits. All you need to do to maintain your car is rotate the tires and fill up the windshield washer container. No waiting at the gasoline pump. No oil changes every 5,000 miles. No routine maintenance at 15,000, 30,000, 45,000 miles. Which car is more convenient?
One big environmental advantage for electric vehicles is that it’s easier to contain emissions of all kinds at a central point than to do it across hundreds or millions of individual locations. And, of course, nearly every electric utility uses some mix that includes nuclear, hydro, wind, natural gas, and now solar. So, compared to gasoline, there will be a higher percentage of energy that is clean in the first place. And that percentage is growing as we grow our renewable energy portfolio.
From the perspective of energy use, electric vehicles are about 80-85 percent efficient in converting electricity to power, compared to around 20 percent for gasoline-powered vehicles. There is, of course, meaningful loss of efficiency as the electricity is generated and transmitted, with coal-producing the least efficiency and wind the most. Electric vehicles are far more efficient.
And, if you can’t measure it any other way, at current prices the cost of the electricity used to move an electric vehicle one mile is much less than the cost of gas to do the same thing, which certainly suggests that electric vehicles are significantly more efficient from an energy-usage perspective.
Electric cars are the cleanest, most efficient, most cost-effective mode of transportation around. But more importantly, increasing the use of electric cars is a critical step in reducing air pollution and tackling climate change.
My next car will be an electric vehicle, will yours?
A few questions, if I may:
Gasoline taxes go towards maintaining the roads. Hybrids used to get a tax break (to encourage conservation) but that has been reduced/killed (as tax revenues fell). Where will these electric vehicles fit into the tax structure – where will the money for roads come from?
Where is the new generating capacity to handle all these vehicles? You claim that range fears can be dismissed because new charging stations are popping up – where are these stations/how long to recharge and so forth. If a charging station can handle 4 vehicles, but each recharge takes hours, then not many vehicles are going through per day. Do the math – but we need data before we can do the math.
Are first responders being trained and equipped to handle the hazards associated with these (high voltages, chemical fires/batteries, and so forth)? This training and equipment will cost money.
Can the standard electric vehicle carry much more than a person or two plus several bags of groceries? Can we load the family and toys? Can we tow a small trailer for 4×8 plywood/sheetrock? What are the practical limitations?
Looking forward to hearing how your next vehicle (an electric one) is working out for you. Please keep us informed – do you have a time frame in mind for that purchase?
Gas Tax can be replaced or supplemented with road tolls.
Fast / Public charging
Typically it takes about 40 minutes to Quick Charge an EV from 10 to 80% charge. This type of charging is only needed on long trips if the owners can charge at home overnight or parked at work on a slow charger.
Model Availability
A Nissan Leaf can carry 4 to 5 people, aTesla Model X could tow the Leaf and its passengers on a car trailer with ease. More electric models are coming all the time including compact SUVs from Audi, Mercedes, Hyundai and Jaguar. Keep an eye out for an EV that will suit you.
Energy Capacity
Millions of EVs can be supported by existing generation particularly if EV owners are incentivised to charge at night when electricity loads are at their lowest.
This is great to see our representatives looking for ways to encourage and enable the transition to a more sustainable and updated transportation future. Electric vehicles are not the entire solution on their own but they are a key and crucial component, and anyone that has ridden in one knows how amazingly powerful, versatile, and fun they are to drive. While there is the convenience of charging at home rather than visiting the gas pump, not everyone will have access to home charging, and others will need access to fast refuels for longer trips. As more vehicle types and models become available over the next five years, it will be clear that charging infrastructure availability shifts to the primary limiting factor, even if it is sometimes a mental barrier.
A bill to place EVSEs at state government buildings is a great step. Inclusion in the state’s comprehensive transportation plans, California 177 ZEV rule adoption, alongside incentives and streamlined processes for EVSE installations would go even further. Let’s prove to the world that Virginia is a forward-leaning technological and transportation leader.
Charging Infrastructure is likely to become a limiting factor for EV penetration:
https://www.theicct.org/publications/charging-gap-US
Electric Vehicles drastically reduce GHG emissions despite shifting some of those emissions from the tailpipe to the smokestack (and the grid is getting better all the time):
https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/new-data-show-electric-vehicles-continue-to-get-cleaner
I would not have ever believed it years ago but I’ll admit electric cars are not toys any longer. Ford just showed off a prototype of their upcoming F-150 pick-up truck towing over one million pounds. These things have torque to spare.
https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a28482314/electric-ford-f-150-prototype-million-pound-payload/
“The Tesla I sat in has only eight moving parts! ”
Four wheels. Four doors. Oops. Where’s the steering wheel, windows, turn signals (well, I recognize Virginians don’t like to use those anyway), gear shift lever, brake pedal, accelerator (well, Teslas don’t appear to accelerate worth a damn, either, in my experience).
Adds up to more than eight, Paul.
Something about this American auto company really brings out the FUD. AMCIT is entitled to his or her opinion but even the cheapest base Tesla Model 3 goes 0 – 60 in just 3.2 seconds. The Model S has has the fastest 0 – 60 time of any four-door production sedan.
Don’t just take my word for it. Search YouTube for Tesla drag race, and then tell us again about how they “don’t accelerate worth a damn”. You just picked one of their most impressive qualities.
Watch this race against a Lamborghini Aventador:
https://youtu.be/qLvpLGFacjQ
Read the full sentence. ‘In my experience’ is sitting behind them at traffic lights, while their drivers check phones or almost anything else but pay attention. Or that opt to drive well below the speed limit despite traffic flow.
“Grr, argh, argh. I’m a Russian internet troll”. -AMCIT
Ad hominem responses for the loss.
Yes, electric motors have great torque! Locomotives have electric motors (powered by a generator which is powered by a diesel engine).
Gas taxes are somewhat of a invisible tax. When that revenue decreases, then what tax will replace it (to fund road work)? A per-miles driven tax? A flat new tax of xyz $/month or year or whatever? All roads become toll roads, with EZPass required (which, by the way, permits govt to monitor when you pass through control points).
Moving away from gasoline is a good concept – and that will not be without significant adjustments. While we embrace the movement – let’s plan for the adjustments. If electric car use becomes common, and gas tax revenue falls drastically, then either roads deteriorate or new taxes must be be established. Let’s get ahead of the looming crisis.
I love the optimism.
Where do we get electricity? Coal-fired plants. More electric cars mean more power needs. Until we embrace nuclear, with its risks, or find a way to make solar reasonably efficient, and invent a clean way to dispose of or recycle batteries, we’re only seeking a feel-good.
Perhaps there’s a more comprehensive plan out there somewhere, but I’m not seeing it. I’m seeing a kick-the-can-down-the-road
The U.S. used to have a coal-heavy electricity sector but it doesn’t anymore (https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/images/charts/electricity-generation-by-major-energy-source.png).
Coal is no longer economical and is being phased out for far cheaper and lower GHG-emitting sources- mainly natural gas and industrial renewables such as wind and solar. Usage of renewables already exceeded coal this year (https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/26/18759933/usa-coal-power-natural-gas-renewables).
Average electricity in the U.S. creates 32% less CO2e/MWh than it did in 2005 (https://emissionsindex.org/).
EIA expects this trend to continue (https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/data/browser/#/?id=9-AEO2019&cases=ref2019&sourcekey=0).
Even today’s grid makes electric vehicles far cleaner than ICE counterparts (https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/new-data-show-electric-vehicles-continue-to-get-cleaner).
As for EV batteries, the initial vehicles released in 2011 haven’t produced enough battery volume to form mature industries but the first step will likely be to use the batteries for stationary battery storage (further reducing emissions from the electrical grid), and when they are no longer useable there, the valuable metals will be recovered and reused in new batteries, similar to how today’s lead-acid car batteries are the most recycled item in existence with above 99% recovered and recycled (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2018-06-27/where-3-million-electric-vehicle-batteries-will-go-when-they-retire).