When Volt drivers talk about their favorite parts of the car, they usually mention the smooth and quiet ride, savings on gas (which we covered in my previous post) and the ability to drive gas and tailpipe-emissions free for an EPA-estimated 35 miles.
Now, if you don’t have all the facts about electricity, it would be easy to say: “Rob, the Volt may not use gas for those trips, but we get electricity from burning coal, so you’re essentially just substituting burning one fuel source (gasoline) for another (coal). It’s not cleaner at all!”
Let me share a little secret (in fact, we can call it the Volt’s dirty little secret) – that’s not the case, thanks to advancements in how we generate electricity. If you take a look at the pie chart on the left with data from the Energy Information Administration, you’ll see that nearly half of the electricity generated in the United States comes from sources other than coal – including nuclear, solar, hydro and natural gas. And note that these numbers are averages – your particular state can and will vary from this chart. For example, states like Rhode Island and Idaho use virtually no coal at all to generate electricity, instead relying primarily on natural gas and hydro power.
Plus, remember that as these alternative energy sources become more widespread, the Volt actually becomes cleaner to drive the longer you drive it. Our analysis indicates that the Volt will have lower overall CO2 emissions (including those from associated grid electricity generation) than a conventional gasoline powered compact vehicle even when grid electricity is predominately generated by coal. As the U.S. is aggressively pursuing renewable portfolio standards, the total well-to-wheel CO2 emissions of the Volt can improve over time. And the best part of all – all of this energy is produced domestically, just like the Volt.
And one more thing – there is another theory that as electric vehicles become more widespread, the electrical grid won’t be able to handle all these vehicles charging at once. Some of the scenarios that people dream up make me chuckle, but know this: electricity is an energy source with significant capacity to support transportation. Ten million Volts would only add an additional load that is less than 1% of the total grid load. Plus, most people charge their vehicles at night while they are sleeping, which is during off-peak hours for the grid. In short, the grid can handle it.
Look at that – two secrets in one blog post.
written by cheap hair extensions, April 08, 2013
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written by cheap lace wigs, April 08, 2013
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written by John McVicker, July 30, 2012
A lot of Volt and EV owners also are supplementing their electricity use with Solar PV - so they actually drop their electricity usage per month than *before* buying the EV. This means these consumers are becoming more educated and responsible pertaining to their impact. Dirty secret? Not so much. Clean responsibility? Yep.
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written by TVA user, July 30, 2012
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written by no comment, July 25, 2012
it's great to drive a volt for environmental reasons, but the important thing is to remember that while driving the volt is more efficient and environmentally friendly than driving a gasoline powered vehicle, it is just as important to not kid yourself into thinking that driving the volt has *no* environmental impact. that awareness, i believe, will allow a person to be a more sensible user of energy, which is ultimately the bottom line when it comes to the environment.
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written by Tom Crooks, July 25, 2012
I am in the coal industry and we are happy to provide the 40ish% of electricity for our country. Modern coal mines and power plants continue to provide low cost power, high paying jobs, and improving environmental impact. We use twice as much coal as we did in 1970 and emissions have improved 70% since 1970. We strive to continue to improve.
We'll drive our Volt about 10,000 miles on battery power this year (one full charge per day). My Subaru would have used 385 gallons of gas (with an origin outside of the U.S.) for those miles. Instead, we'll burn 1.76 Tons of local coal at our local power plant provided with local jobs. Win. Win.
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written by Austin Anderson, July 22, 2012
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written by no comment, July 22, 2012
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written by Roger LA, July 21, 2012
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written by Dave - Phoenix, July 21, 2012
But after having lost a brother in the Iraq War, I would much rather burn American coal than foreign oil, regardless of how clean or dirty it is. The Chevy Volt allowed me to reduce my own personal foreign oil consumption by 90%. How can you beat that?
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written by Frankie C, July 20, 2012
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written by Johnnie RR, July 19, 2012
Certain Chevy dealers already have solar charging stations at the dealerships.
Both in residential and commercial applications, solar is being deployed at an incredible pace.
This really is the end game... your car powered by the sun. It is happening. Game. Set. Match.
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written by no comment, July 17, 2012
i would certainly not say that the volt is "dirtier" than an internal combustion engine - for one thing, the volt makes more efficient use of its energy whereas in an ICE vehicle, a lot of energy is lost in heat dissipation (which produces emissions). i have always thought that it oversold the volt to suggest that the volt was "clean" in the sense that there are no emissions (of course there are also emissions in the transporting and refining of oil). but to speak in relative terms, i believe it is fair to say that the volt is "clean" in comparison to an ICE vehicle.
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