Electric Cars Part 2
Electric cars are more efficient than their petrol and diesel equivalents and electric engines have many advantages such as quietness and high torque. However, they still just as much, if not more CO2 per km than petrol and diesel cars due to the electricity used to power them, which still comes from mainly CO2 dirty power stations (see earlier article on electric cars).
Top Gear tested the Tesla electric car. The manufacturers claim it can travel 200 miles on a full charge, yet Top Gear only got 55 miles from it. In the real world, the manufacturers’ claims are always inflated. Adjusting the CO2 figures to compensate for this makes their CO2 output per mile even greater.
There is a fantastic answer. GM’s ‘The Volt’, Dublin Bus and our electric trains currently use a similar system. The answer is to use smaller and lighter batteries, combined with a small petrol or diesel engine connected to a generator. The problem with internal combustion engines is getting them to perform over wide rev ranges as they work best running at one particular speed. Therefore, the answer is to get the engine to run at one speed that charges the batteries which in turn run the car. You get a final vehicle that will achieve something in the region of 200 miles to the gallon which equates to about 30g of CO2 per km and has a range the size of the fuel tank.
The great thing is that this system uses existing technology. At present, the country does not produce enough electricity to allow us to make the switch to electric cars but this system puts no demand on electricity. It will quarter the demand for petrol and make us ready for the next generation of cars when we can get a clean CO2 electricity supply like nuclear power.
At the moment the government is encouraging manufacturers to make electric cars through tax incentives etc. and all over the world manufacturers are making electric cars. However, at the moment this will achieve nothing as the electricity is not clean.
We need to start rating electric cars with their true CO2 output. This is not just CO2 produced at the tail pipe, but CO2 produced at the power station too. Incentives should only be provided to manufacturers who produce cars whose true CO2 output, based on this rating, is lower. If this is done, manufacturers will be forced to look at other, truly cleaner technologies.
It is ridiculous that the government is encouraging electric cars. Straightforward electric cars that plug into the electricity supply are a stupid idea.
Electric cars powered by a petrol or diesel fuelled generator are a fantastic idea.
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