Reduced CO2 Emissions Should Start With Electric Cars

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Posted on oktoober 1, 2010 by jarmotuisk| Lisa kommentaar

A comprehensive study has concluded the best way to reduce U.S. oil demand and carbon emissions would be an aggressive push towards electric vehicles.
The study from the Baker Institute Energy Forum was comprised of several academic papers on a variety of topics pertaining to reduction of carbon emissions. Among them were carbon pricing, the wind industry, global U.S. carbon and energy strategies, and renewable energy research and development. The results of the study are being presented at the Baker Institute Energy Forum Sept. 27-28.
Among the studies there were none that addressed electric cars specifically; what the researchers did was look at the greatest carbon reductions and try different methods of getting there.  Electric cars were found to be the most effective way to reduce carbon emissions in the shortest time. The study found if there were a mandate requiring 30 percent of all vehicles to be electric by 2050, it would reduce U.S. oil use by 2.5 million barrels a day.
This would be in addition to the three million barrels-per-day savings already expected from new corporate standards for average fuel efficiency. The switch to using that many electric cars would cut emissions seven percent, while the proposed renewable portfolio standard for other kinds of energy use would only cut it by four percent.
“Eight percent isn’t a dramatic CO2 reduction, but in comparison with the other methods, it better achieves those goals,” said James Coan, research associate at The Baker Institute.
Coan said researchers from The Baker Institute are eager to see whether the Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf, two newer electric cars on the market, sell well. There are two factors holding back widespread adoption of electric cars: cost of ownserhip and infrastructure.
“In both the Volt and the Leaf, the battery costs are quite high. We’re interested to see how low they can get. Infrastructure is another constraint especially if you have to plug it in. It might not be that dramatic, but if they are significantly more expensive to operate than an internal combustion engine, that will inhibit market penetration alone.”
Coan said if manufacturers can figure out a way to design the electric car with lower costs then it should become more attractive to consumers. He said regulatory policies that favor electric vehicles from the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will also help. “If they have a standard of about 50-60 miles a gallon, plug in hybrids will be attractive,” he said.