Electric Cars - Do They Eliminate Polution and CO2 in the Atmosphere?

The Chevy Volt is billed as General Motors' green vehicle.  It was pushed along to market as the federal government was in the midst of investing our tax dollars in General Motors stock and loans to keep them afloat (or maybe to keep the union afloat and riding high).  Does this vehicle really help the environment?  In large areas of the United States it doesn't.

In 2012, coal was burned to produce 37.4% of the electricity in the United States.  A lump of coal contains a certain quantity of energy, and that energy is released when it is burned.  The coal is pulverized to a fine powder.  Then, it is mixed with air and blown into the combustion chamber.  The coal burns and produces heat that brings water to a superheated steam state.  The steam is hotter than the boiling point and under pressure that is released through turbine blades.  This converts the power to rotating mechanical torque that turns an electrical generator, and that produces the electricity we use in our homes, businesses, and factories.

Of all energy in the lump of coal at the start, 36% arrives at the electrical outlet where it is used.  What happened to the other 64%?  Part of it left the power plant through the smoke stacks.  The water for producing the steam generally comes from a river or lake, and the water that is returned afterwards is warmed.  That extra warmth is part of the energy from the coal.  Some more energy leaves through the cooling towers that cool the very hot water before it is returned to the lake or river.  The generators are probably 94%-96% efficient, so there is a little loss there as well.  The wires used to transmit the power from the power plant to the point of use have resistance, and some power is wasted here.  Transformers are used to step up the voltage for transmission over long distances at a lower current level.  When the power arrives at the destination, transformers are used again to step the voltage back down in stages to levels usable in homes, factories, and commercial buildings.  Those transformers have some more energy losses.

When the coal is burned, 64% of the carbon dioxide and other pollutants produced is used to produce wasted heat and energy.  In my mind, 64% of the CO2 is wasted.  If the efficiency of delivering the energy from the coal to electricity at the point of use was doubled to only 72%, the CO2 produced per MWHr would be cut in half.  The cost of the coal per MWHr would also be cut in half.

Now, let's get back to the electric car.  Does it produce less CO2 than a similar gasoline power car with an internal combustion engine?  Generally it produces more if you live in an area that uses coal-fired power plants to produce the electricity.  The gasoline engine mixes the fuel with air and burns it right there in the engine where it is converted directly from chemical energy to mechanical power and torque.  Some heat escapes through the exhaust pipe, and there is friction in the engine bearings and between the pistons and cylinder walls, but the efficiency is comparatively quite good.  The gasoline burns cleanly, and you eliminate all of those energy conversions and power transmission losses with coal-fired electricity production.

The electric car won't do much to help reduce emissions unless we convert power production from coal to cleaner alternative fuels.  Today, even with the poor efficiency of coal-fired power production, those alternative energies are still a lot more expensive.  That's where our tree-hugger population is teaming up with the EPA to make coal-fired power production and gasoline a lot more expensive.

In the past 4 years, gasoline prices have about doubled.  Electricity is about to go up drastically as well.  Why?  The EPA has issued mandates that limit the amount of CO2 that can be produced per MWHr of electricity, and that will force the closing of a number of older coal-fired power plants over the next year or so.  How did the EPA arrive at the permissible levels of CO2 production?  Was it just an arbitrary number?  Or was it possibly a number that will keep greenhouse gases below a harmful level in the atmosphere?  I don't think so.  I believe the mandates were designed to shut down a known number of power plants, and that will necessarily drive the price of electricity up.

At least, the price would have to rise in order to keep the supply and demand curves in balance.  Public utility commissions set the power rates charged by the power companies.  What if they refuse to allow large increases in electric rates?  We may be in for the same kind of rolling blackouts that were experienced in California a while back.  These public utility commissions are charged with regulating a supposed monopoly.  (You know there is competition between energy sources.  If electric rates were to rise too high, consumers could switch to natural gas, solar, geothermal, propane, etc.)  Generally, utility companies are allowed to raise rates if the costs of producing the power rise.  They may not be able to raise the rates enough to curtail demand if, for example, the rates need to double to keep the demand equal to supply, but costs have only gone up by 25%.  So where will electric rates end up a couple of years from now?  Who knows?  Maybe they will double or triple, or maybe we won't be able to get enough electricity to keep the lights on.

What do you think will happen to your electric bill if the rates double or triple?  That's right, that $150 bill will jump to $300 or $450.  Will that make your electric car economical to run?  Nope.  Although it might seem economical if the MessAPolitico gets the price of gasoline up to $7 or $8 per gallon.  What happens to the rest of the economy if we are suddenly spending all of this money on energy?  I guess we'll be able to get a raise at work to cover the extra energy costs.  (Ha! Ha! Ha!)  You'd better hope you still have a job.  Obama will need to raise taxes on those of us that have a job, because he will be paying the electric bill for an increasing number of people living in the projects and collecting welfare.

Just another MessAPolitico!  Save the earth -- drive a Chevy Volt!  Produce more CO2.  Pay more for the car.  Pay more for electricity -- if you can get it.  Don't worry, there won't be as much traffic at rush hour; the unemployment rate will reduce gasoline usage and put a stop to illegal immigration!  Look at all of the benefits of this MessAPolitico!