Are Electric Vehicles The Future or Just The Beginning?

Everyone has their own opinion about Hybrids/Electric Vehicles. We all wonder if they are the future, are they really less polluting and some of the issues that surrounds these cars. Such as how much it would cost to buy a new battery, how far can you drive, how long it takes to recharge, the price of these cars, and the difference between Hybrids/Electric cars and ICE. So if they do help our environment, how many people will actually buy these cars is the real question. 

In the early 1900’s there were more EV’s driving around our nations road than gas-powered cars. Since Ev’s transfer their emissions from tail-pipe to smoke stacks many Critics say that Ev’s are “elsewhere emission vehicles”. Ev’s can also charge from zero emission sources such as nuclear, hydroelectric, solar, and wind power. They also have the unique advantage to a variety of renewable sources and a variety of fuels to generate electricity. California Air Resources Board (CARB) estimated that there would be 89 percent fewer oxides of nitrogen, 98 percent fewer hydrocarbons, and 99 percent less carbon monoxide than Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) in the Los Angeles Basin from operating EV’s. Over the course of 100,000 miles Ev’s were significantly cleaner than ICE, in a study conducted by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Also emissions over the course of 100,000 miles are projected less in Ev’s (10 tons) compared to ICE (35 tons) (Gribben).

Since northeastern states are exploring the idea of solar energy to generate electricity, sometime in the future Ev’s will reap the benefits of switching to cleaner fuels like natural gases. In 15 years modern natural gas plants will start to replace aging coal plants. Ev’s have a unique efficiency advantage over ICE vehicles since they recharge from fossil-fuel power plants such as coal and oil. While there may be losses with generating electricity from fossil based-fuels, they are a lot more efficient in converting their energy into mechanical power and two times more efficient than ICE vehicles, the system that refines gasoline. 

It is much easier to control emissions from several hundred power plants than controlling emissions from 187 million ICE vehicles. To remove emissions, state of the art equipment such as scrubbers. Electrostatic precipitators (ESPs) between the boilers and smokestacks remove up to 9g-75 percent of the ash emitted by power plants. In Texas, coal-fired plants use ESPs to remove up to 13.4 million tons of ash each year, releasing only 3000 tons into the atmosphere (24). Thousands of EV’s will immediately reap the benefits of improvements when one power plant upgrades its emission controls (Griddens).

Some disadvantages of the electric car are that it takes long to recharge, they can’t travel far and the cost to replace the battery. Recharging the battery takes about four to 10 hours from your home electricity supply depending on the current you use. Although recharging grids are being developed, so it will shorten the time to possibly as little as 10 minutes for an 80% recharge. The Tesla Roadster is a lithium-ion battery pack (same as laptops) that is projected to have a 5 year span about 100,000 miles. At the end of that time the battery will need to be replaced and can cost approximately $10,000, while the Roadster cost $100,000. Also the Tesla uses over 6000 of lithium-ion batteries. The Tesla Roadster can travel about 244 miles (393 km) on a single charge. The Nissan Leaf is an all-electric car with a 24 kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery pack is about $9000-or $375 kilowatt-hour. Well-equipped C-class cars vehicles can cost $28,000 to $35,000, without the $7500 tax credit. But if you factor that in the car can cost $35,500 to $42,500. The reason lithium ion batteries cost so much is because they can cost anywhere from $450 to $1000 per kWh (Dennis). The Nissan Leaf can travel up to 87 miles and might be able to make it to 100 miles depending on how much you drive. 

Gartner estimates the price of Lithium ion batteries to be about $900 today, but expects the price to drop 10 to 15 percent per year, reaching $470 per kWh in 2015. Ben Schuman estimates it to be about $1000 today, but “believes it can go down to $600 to $700 quickly” and optimistically to $350 in three to five years. Also depending on what type of car it is, replacing the battery could cost about $2000.

Hybrid vehicles have the best of both worlds being able to run on gas and batteries. Full Hybrids such as the Ford Fusion, Toyota Prius and Ford Escape can run on the engine, batteries or both. Also PHEVs use a combustion engine to back up the batteries when they are depleted. So not only are they emitting less pollution they can also travel far distances. They can also be plugged in to external electric power sources allowing it to be restored to full charge. Hybrids are also affordable and comfortable cars. The third generation Prius only cost $23,520, Ford Escape cost is $32,000 to $35,000 and Ford fusion is about $29,000. All are reasonable prices comparable to that of conventional cars.

A disadvantage of the hybrids are the cost of the batteries, even they are not as expensive as some electric vehicle batteries they are still pricey. The earliest Prius battery cost about $5,500, while the second generation overcame of the previous version it produced a better battery which is about $2,000 less. The third generation battery pack boost cost about $2,400. The Ford escape SUV can cost about $5,000 and the Toyota Highlander can cost about $4,900 to replace the batteries.

952 words

 This is just a rough draft, i haven't added the conclusion or interview yet.