Quote:
Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache
I got it here
https://www.cer-rec.gc.ca/en/data-an...s-alberta.html
It is my understanding that thermal power plants have about ~40 percent efficiency
Transmission losses are around 10-15%
Say the EV has 85% power to wheels
So that would put you around 30 percent
I don’t think that is much better than an ICE, particularly if the ICE is supplemented in a hybrid with regenerative braking contribution |
That data is from 2019, which with the pace of coal retirement is way out of date. Power production in Alberta from coal is currently <10%, and by the end of the year will be completely phased out.
As of right this second (again, I'm looking at a real time snapshot) Alberta is running on ~7% coal, and 11% wind.
As for 15% transmission loss, it's more like 5%
https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=105&t=3
But sure, let's charging is really inefficient, and that the total loss is 15%
We still get:
40% * 85% = 34%
not 30%
There are also going to be mechanical and electrical losses from the battery, but you get a lot of those same losses in a ICE, so let's assume they even out.
A gas powered car is in the 25-35% range. (Diesel does better, but the majority of cars here are gas)
So the worst case for an EV, is equivalent to the best case for an ICE.
That doesn't even consider that a portion of the power for that EV will be wind (0 emissions), solar (0 emissions), or combined cycle gas which is closer to 50% efficiency.
And if we get really deep into it, let's not forget that gasoline kind of has transmission losses as well, as it needs to be pipelined to a refinery, then pipelined or trucked to a distributor, and finally trucked to the retailer, compared to natural gas that needs to be piped to the power plant. So if you take upstream emissions into account as well, you're looking even worse for an EV.
It's a complicated system, and its frustrating enough when people arguing against EV's don't consider some of the nuance, such as upstream emissions, and even worse when they get basic underlying principles wrong, such as claiming 35% of the power being used comes from coal.
Don't believe me, ask the EPA
https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/el...-vehicle-myths