EVs: First clarification on impact in cities
First clarification on impact in cities
Three key issues my Stanford and Cal students have ferreted out.
Do EV pay their road tax? In California, we pay 3 cents/mile in road taxes. IF an advanced EV gets 5 miles/kwh, that works out to 15 cents/kwh, more than double the average price of electricity in California. TAX THOSE MILES
Even with taxed electricity, EV still cost 30-50% per mile as much as gasoline cars to run. Even a small “rebound effect” (see the June 2000 issue of Energy Policy, which I edited) is important – if the cost of a mile drops by 2/3, then at a rebound of 10% that still means more miles driven. Not a good thing necessarily. Worse if the electricity is not taxed.
Unless the electricity come from a meter that charges during charging according to what CO2 the utility is emitting at that time, its not at all clear what the CO2 balance is for countries with lots of coal (US, Germany).
Plug in hybrids (PHEV) are touted in the US as 120 mpg (<2 l/100 km!) by supporters who assume most of the driving is done with electricity AND then only counting the gasoline. More realistic is that most of the PHEV will be driving at least half or more in the gasoline mode. The net fuel and CO2 savings are hard to estimate, but not big unless the electricity is essentially carbon free.
In the early 1990s Eric and I were at conferences where many cities bragged how they were giving EV owners free parking or free access to bus only lanes. Why? Is the emissions saving worth the likely extra driving? And is it fair as we do in California and DC (and for the time being Stockholm) to offer “green vehicles” free parking, car pool lane privileges, or free access over tolled bridges or congestion pricing cordons?
I just wonder if this is winner—picking all over again? In the US much of our past is about loser-picking!
Lee Schipper, Ph.D
Project Scientist
Global Metropolitan Studies