Microeconomics?

Question

California once proposed legislation that would have required 10 percent of its car fleet to be nearly emissions free by the year 2005. This mandate spurred electric vehicle research. Such vehicles could be powered by photovoltaic cells or by batteries that are recharged using an electrical outlet. Would you agree that it is correct to conclude that electric vehicles that use electrical outlets are emissions free? What about electric vehicles powered by photovoltaic cells?

Answer 1

Let me take your question and make it a little broader, because none of these cars are emission free.
1) How much energy and emissions are used to manufacture a standard automobile? Add to that the amount of emissions and energy to manufacture typical fuels such as diesel and gasoline over the life of the auto. How much for maintenance, oil changes, lub jobs, etc.
2) Same question for the plugged-in vechicle - how much energy and emissions does it take to manufacture it? Add to it the amount of energy and emissions to produce the electricity How much for maintenance, lub jobs, etc. Added maintenance on the power plants because of increase electricity usage.
3) Same question for the photovoltaic vehicle - how much energy and emissions does it take to manufacture it? Probably more than either of the two above. Now how about replacing old photovoltaic cells and other maintenance. What is the amount of energy and emissions.
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Have we saved anything? Must look at the totals.

Answer 2

With the battery powered it would be hard to say, most likely not. This is because the electricity is being generated somewhere else, possibly a coal power plant.

The photovoltaic would be emissions free for the most part, but I am sure there would still be some emissions of some sort.

Answer 3

No - because 1/3 of California electricity is made by oil and gas generators, and another 10% are by coal generators (ick!) So, that is at best cutting emissions by 57%.

And it is really less as my guess is you are losing a lot of power by switching from gas to electrical generation, then storing it, then electrical car power - verses gas to car.

Now where I live we have 90% hydro generated electricity. It makes more sense that you pay us to do such things.

Answer 4

Electric cars are very low emission compared to gasoline vehicles, even when connected to power plants that burn dirty fuel. The reason comes down to efficiency.
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Gasoline engines are extremely inefficient, 25% efficient at best. But because of losses from idling, braking, transmission inefficiencies etc, only 10 to 20% of gasoline's energy actually gets to the road. Gasoline itself has chain of efficiency problems also. Large amounts of electricity are used to refine it. And It must be transported by thousands of inefficient and polluting trucks to many gas stations.
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Electric motors are better than 90% efficient, and EVs don't idle. Battery storage is close to 90% efficient also. Braking energy is recovered using regenerative braking. Fueling by wire (the electric grid is 95% efficient) is much more efficient than trucking gas all over the country. And fossil fuels, when burned in large plants, burn very efficiently (up to 85% efficient in newer plants.)
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The best way to prove the efficiency argument is to look at the price of fuel. Gasoline costs 10 to 15 cents per mile. Electric cars drive around for a penny or two per mile. (Proof of this cost is in my references.) This large difference in cost per mile comes from efficiency improvements. The EV needs a lot less fuel to get around. Less fuel per mile equals less pollution per mile, no matter what you burn. (And no pollution at all if charging from solar panels.)
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Electric motors are much smaller and simpler than gas engines (only one moving part in an electric motor), and so require less manufacturing resources. And new battery technology now makes it possible to have one set of batteries last the electric car's lifetime. (See the references.)