Plug-in Electric Cars Combat Climate Change and Oil Dependence
Tesla Motors Offers Test Rides in Scottsdale
Scottsdale — Increasing America’s use of plug-in electric and plug in hybrid cars would dramatically reduce emissions that cause global warming and air pollution and would curb our dependence on oil, according to a new white paper released today by Environment Arizona.
“With more Americans focused on the environmental and economic consequences of our oil dependence, carmakers are scrambling to offer customers the cleanest, most fuel efficient cars”, said Bret Fanshaw, Environmental Associate with Environment Arizona. “Dramatically ramping up electric vehicles can bolster America’s efforts to wean ourselves off of oil and to reduce pollution that causes global warming.”
Environment Arizona was joined by Tesla Motors, who has been offering test rides in their fully-electric Roadster to residents in Scottsdale this week.
“Tesla Motors is committed to bringing uncompromised, pure electric vehicles to the world marketplace,” said Adam Slusser of Tesla Motors. “With the one-thousandth Tesla Roadster on the show floor of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last week, we have proven that performance and environmentalism don’t have to be mutually exclusive ideas. Tesla’s vision is to bring vehicles to the marketplace that give you more; not only a solution to our addiction to foreign oil, zero emissions, and incredible efficiency, you also get an thrilling driving experience that no internal combustion engine can match.”
A “plug-in” car is one that can be recharged from the electric grid. Some plug-in cars run on electricity alone, while others are paired with small gasoline engines to create plug-in hybrids. Many plug-in hybrids can get over 100 miles per gallon, while plug-in electric vehicles consume no gasoline at all. Plug-in vehicles produce direct no tailpipe pollution when operating on electricity and there is already a vast electric power infrastructure to fuel them. As renewable energy sources, like wind and solar, meet a larger share of our electricity needs, electric cars could contribute to little or no air pollution.
“The current electric system has the capacity to fuel up to 73 percent of American vehicles without building another power plant by charging vehicles at night or using solar panels by day,” said Fanshaw. “However, the nation will need to clean up its electric grid to reap the full environmental potential benefits of plug-in cars.”
This technology can make a major contribution to America’s efforts to reduce global warming pollution. Switching to plug-in cars will improve air quality for most Americans while reducing oil consumption.
The technology needed to build workable plug-in vehicles exists today, and plug-ins have several advantages over gasoline-powered cars including the fact that they require far less regular maintenance and no oil changes.
“America’s current fleet of gasoline-powered cars and trucks leaves us dependent on oil, contributes to air pollution problems that threaten our health and produces large amounts of global warming pollution,” said Fanshaw. “With the automobile industry in transition, we have a once in a generation opportunity to transform our nation’s vehicle technologies. We can do so in a way that reduces pollution and improves our energy security.”
Plug-in Cars: Powering America Toward a Cleaner Future answers many questions about plug-in vehicles and lays out a strategy for how to increase the number of electric vehicles on the road. It highlights data from existing research to show that electric vehicles can help to improve Americans’ standards of living. The key points of the paper include the following:
- Powering a car on electricity would result in 93 percent less smog-forming volatile organic compounds and 31 percent less nitrogen oxide emissions than powering a car on gasoline.[1]
- If half of the light vehicles in the United States were electric vehicles powered by completely clean electricity in 2030, total fleet emissions would be reduced by 62 percent. [2]
- If three-fourths of American vehicles including cars, pick-up trucks, SUVs and vans were electric, oil use would be reduced by about one-third.[3]
- Operating costs of plug-in cars are likely to be significantly lower than those of gasoline-powered cars. Electricity costs three to five cents per mile with average electric rates, or the equivalent of $0.75 to $1.25 per gallon of gasoline.
- Utilities can structure electricity prices so that it is cheaper to charge cars at times of the day when there is lower electric demand, ensuring that a large number of plug-in cars do not put a strain on the utility.
- Unlocking the full environmental and economic potential of plug-in vehicles will require efforts to lean up and modernize America’s electric grid. The United States should adopt a renewable energy standard requiring that, at least, 25 percent of our electricity come from renewable energy by 2025.
“Environment Arizona urges our state and local officials to fully harness the power of plug-ins by setting clean car standards, offering financial incentives for buyers of plug-in vehicles, creating a low-carbon fuel standard that allows plug-ins to contribute to lowering global warming emissions, promoting renewable energy and adopting ‘smart grid’ technologies that would allow plug-ins to help stabilize the electric grid,” said Fanshaw.
Arizona’s roads will see a dramatic increase in plug-in vehicles next year, with cars like the Tesla Roadster and the Nissan Leaf being introduced to markets in Phoenix and Tucson. In addition, the Scottsdale-based ECOtality was recently awarded a grant of $99.8 million from the Department of Energy to install thousands of EV chargers in Arizona and around the southwest. Phoenix City Councilwoman Peggy Neely has been supportive of the plan to bring electric cars to valley roads.
“When initially approached by Nissan and ECOtality, it quickly became clear that in order to successfully facilitate the introduction of the plug-in vehicle to the local market, all areas of the valley needed to have common infrastructure to support their operation,” said Neely. “As Chair of Maricopa Association of Governments Regional Council (MAG), I am proud to lead the way in ensuring that we are taking the necessary measures for plug-in vehicles to be available regionally. Higher use of these vehicles means cleaner air and a better quality of life for all.”
