Reply #10: Short answer? The electricity is much cheaper to the customer and better for the environment. [View All]

[TheWraith]

A gas-fueled engine is extremely wasteful, in part because most of the energy produced gets turned into heat, not transport.

One gallon of gas contains about 36 kilowatt-hours of chemical energy. That means that if you're using a fairly efficient 30 mile per gallon car, then you're burning about 1,200 watt-hours of energy for every mile travelled.

An electric vehicle, on the other hand, uses about 330 watts per mile if you look at it "plug to wheels," meaning including the inefficiency of charging the battery. (This is based on the Tesla Roadster electric sportscar.)

Compare another way. One gallon of gas produces about 19.5 pounds of CO2. Again, if you're assuming a 30 MPG car, then that's about two thirds of a pound of CO2 per mile. In comparison, one kilowatt-hour of electricity in the US generates an average of 1.3 pounds of CO2. (That's equaling out coal, oil, gas, nuclear, hydro, wind, everything.) Gas: .6 pounds of CO2 per mile. Electric, .4 pounds. If your energy grid is cleaner than average, then that improves. For instance, where I live about half of my electricity comes from hydro (23% from Niagara Falls) and nuclear (23% from Ginna Nuclear Generating Station). That means my electricity is cleaner than the national average, and thus it would be a little more eco-friendly to run an EV.

Last comparison. A gallon of gas costs about $3.90. At 30 miles per gallon, that's 13 cents a mile. Average US price of 1 kilowatt hour of electricity, 11 cents, or about 3.6 cents per mile. Of course on top of that, there's the fact that electric vehicles don't have as many complications as fossil fueled ones. Fewer parts, less to replace. Even the Volt, which has an internal engine, can run completely without it, and the maintenance is less than otherwise needed.