[antisinguIarity]

>An EV is already cleaner burning coal than a petrol vehicle

That is a patently ridiculous claim.

The most efficient coal power stations approach 50% thermal efficiency. Near 15% of that is lost in power line transmission, and another 15% or so in EV charging cycle losses.

Modern diesels approach 40% thermal efficiency.

Also, this completely ignores one of the main benefits of EVs - that is, externalising emissions and pollution away from the point of use.

[toomuchtodo]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-15/electric-...

> Electric Cars Are Cleaner Even When Powered by Coal

> Emissions from EVs 40% lower than gasoline cars, BNEF says Researcher expects difference to grow as clean energy expands

> That’s the conclusion of research by BloombergNEF, which found carbon dioxide emissions from battery-powered vehicles were about 40 percent lower than for internal combustion engines last year.

https://thedriven.io/2019/12/09/are-evs-cleaner-than-ice-coa...

https://cgscholar.com/bookstore/works/the-climate-change-mit...

[antisinguIarity]

The article you linked makes my point:

"an average ICE vehicle will emit around 69 metric tonnes in its lifetime.

But an EV, in a state like Wyoming which is almost completely powered by coal, will only produce 66 metric tonnes if the vehicle is made by a manufacturer using a grid that is 13% renewables (the US national average)."

My back-of-the-envelope maths shows that fuelling an EV from a coal power source results in about the same thermal efficiency, and thus about the same CO2 emissions, as a modern diesel. Those published numbers show the same thing. I thought saving the planet required truly drastic reductions in CO2 output?