Energy

So the future is here, and it is the electric plug-in car.  A zero emissions wonder, which will get you from point A to B, within a reasonable distance, and will get you home on a re-charge.  Sounds perfect – for some people.

But we’ve often wondered a few things.   Are you going to be able to plug it in at work?  How green is electric power anyways?  According to a website that promotes clean-coal, Michigan’s energy sources break down like this:

Coal: 59.4%
Petroleum: 0.6%
Natural gas: 11%
Nuclear: 26.4%
Hydroelectric: 1.1%
Other renewables: 2%

So is this really a mostly coal-powered car?  Obviously these cars are not “zero emissions,”  they just transfer the emissions and energy waste elsewhere.  But I would be interested to see any calculations comparing emissions per mile for similar weight vehicles powered by a modern internal combustion engine and powered by the mix above.  If a mostly coal fired energy source is dirtier, than this seems like a lot of hassle for little result.

One nice thing you hear about electric cars is that they are cheap to charge at night, during off-peak hours.  but we’ve wondered what happens if the electric car revolution comes and everyone is plugging in their Buick Spark Avenues at night for a recharge?  How long until off-peak becomes peak?  We’ve been told the cars trickle charge at night and don’t draw much power, but here comes DTE with a wrinkled brow:

Preparing America’s neighborhoods to handle the additional power load that electric vehicles are expected to require is among the challenges facing the utility and automotive industries as plug-in electric vehicles are introduced, DTE Energy Chairman Tony Early said today.

Almost every major automaker plans to introduce an electric car over the next three years even though many questions about the technology remain.

Early said nation’s power plants and major power lines are capable of providing adequate electricity to meet the additional demand that plug-in electric vehicles for the foreseeable future. But in many cases, the power lines in neighborhoods will need to be upgraded.

With most plug-in electric vehicles expected to cost $40,000 or more, “We can pretty much guess what neighborhoods are going to buy these vehicles. It’s going to be upper end neighborhoods,” Early said during a panel discussion on electric vehicles in Detroit hosted by Inforum.

That means that the owners of plug-in electric vehicles will live in concentrated areas.

And so the local infrastructure will really be a challenge,” Early said. “You will see breakers trip and you will see transformers burn out.”

We’re not anti-electric car, but we worry when the government seems to be pegging GM’s future to building one, and GM pours money into what may be a niche vehicle.