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About The Southwest Portland Post. (Portland, Oregon) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (April 1, 2009)
April 2009 FEATURES TM EarthTalk Dear EarthTalk: If you have an electric or plug-in hybrid car, you’re paying for electricity rather than gasoline all or most of the time. How does that cost compare to a gas-powered car’s cost- per-mile? And since the electricity may be generated from some other polluting source, does it really work out to be bet- ter for the environment? -- Kevin DeMarco, Milford, Connecticut When you compare battery to gasoline power, electricity wins hands down. A 2007 study by the non-profit Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) calcu- lated that powering a plug-in hybrid elec- tric vehicle would cost the equivalent of roughly 75 cents per gallon of gasoline—a price not seen at the pump for 30 years. The calculation was made using an average cost of electricity of 8.5 cents per kilowatt hour and the estimated distance the car would travel on one charge, versus a car that gets 25 miles per gallon and is powered by $3 per gallon gasoline. Change any of those variables and the relative costs change. For example, substi- tuting a car that gets 50 miles per gallon doubles the comparative electrical cost (though it still works out much cheaper than gasoline). On the other hand, in some areas where wind or hydropower is wasted at night— just when the hybrid would be charging— the utility might drop the kilowatt hour cost to two to three cents, making the charge much less costly. And don’t worry that we’ll run out of electrical power: A 2005 study by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific North- west National Laboratory estimated that three-quarters of the country’s current small vehicle fleet could be charged by our existing electrical grid without build- ing new power plants. And if all those cars were replaced by hybrids, it would eliminate the need for 6.5 billion barrels of oil per day, or 52 percent of current U.S. oil imports. Regarding environmental impact, charging up your car with electricity from the grid also wins handily over filling up at the gas station. The Southwest Portland Post • 7 In the most comprehen- sive hybrid study to date, released in 2007 by EPRI and the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Coun- cil, results predict that all greenhouse gases will be reduced as hybrids begin to penetrate the car mar- ket. Estimated cumulative greenhouse gas reductions from 2010 to 2050, depend- ing upon how fast hybrids The all-electric Tesla Roadster sportscar from Tesla Motors. take hold, range from 3.4 to (Flickr courtesy photo) 10.3 billion tons. More than one half of our national en- environmental and health benefits will ergy grid is powered by coal, and in areas further increase. where hybrids are charged through coal- CONTACTS: Electric Power Research provided electricity, says NRDC, there is Institute, www.epri.com; HybridCars. the possibility of increased levels of soot com, www.hybridcars.com; Natural and mercury emissions. Resources Defense Council, www.nrdc. However, charging up can be much org. less of a guilt-ridden affair where cleaner SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL electrical sources like wind and solar are QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk, P.O. Box available. The website HybridCars.com 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@ points out that as more power plants emagazine.com. Read past columns are required to develop green power at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/ and emit fewer greenhouse gases, the archives.php. PoSt a to Z BuSiNeSS CaRd diReCtoRy 503-244-6933 PRECISION HOME REPAIR & DRYWALL JON A. GOSCH Phone: 503-643-3517 Pager: 503-441-8940 website: http://users.myexcel.com/precision1 Quality work at affordable rates Licensed • Bonded • Insured • CCB #77073 Quality dentistry in a caring, relaxed environment. FAMILY & COSMETIC DENTISTRY 503-246-2564 7717SW34thAvenue•Portland,OR97219 (MultnomahVillage•SWCapitolHighway&34thAve.) The IDEA Today … The SIGN Tomorrow! •SIGNS •BANNERS •GRAPHICS •MAGNETICS •LETTERING •LOGOS&MORE 503.244.0980 9220 SW Barbur Blvd. #111 - Portland - OR - 97219
