The 60 Minutes TV show
had an interesting segment
on electric vehicles in China.
Of course they "forgot"
to mention electric vehicles
run on coal, natural gas,
nuclear power, etc --
whatever is being used
to generate electricity.
That reminded me of an article
I wrote here almost one year ago,
that is worth repeating here:
Electric (non-hybrid)
automobiles
are inefficient,
when compared with
gasoline powered
automobiles.
Gasoline engine efficiency
easily beats the efficiency
of electric motors
powered by batteries
That's why most of us drive
gasoline-powered cars !
For an electric car,
the total process
to run the car,
starts with
generating
electricity,
and ends with
battery driven
electric motors
that move the car.
This total process
can have efficiency
as low as 15%.
There are many energy losses:
(1) Losses when generating electricity
from a fuel, such as coal or natural gas,
(2) Losses from electric transmission lines,
(3) Losses when charging the batteries
(converting electrical energy into
stored chemical (battery) energy),
(4) Losses when converting stored
chemical (battery) energy
back into electrical energy,
(5) Losses when converting
electrical energy into
into the mechanical energy
that moves an electric car.
Also, when an electric car is
old, and ready to be scrapped,
or needs a new battery pack,
then the safe disposal
of a huge number of batteries
is an environmental concern
-- a real concern, not a fake
concern such as carbon dioxide.