Searching for the facts behind the push to Electric Vehicles
UPDATE: After writing this post, I continue to find more articles and stories related to this topic. So at the end of my original article below, I will provide all the new links. – JC
Our politicians and environmental lobby are pushing the public to switch to Electric Vehicles as soon as possible. The switch to EV was the White House’s official answer to reporters when discussing high gas prices earlier this summer. And just recently California announced it is banning new gasoline powered cars by 2035. 17 states have their emissions standards tied to California’s so it will be interesting to see where this all ends up.
But is the technology ready to changeover as quickly as they say we need to? What about the economic impacts? And even more basic than that, is it in fact, “cleaner” to operate an EV than a traditional car? Let’s take a look at the various aspects of this.
How much more does the EV version of a car cost than the gasoline-powered equivalent?
Direct comparisons are hard to find, but expect to pay at least a 10% premium on a compact size. But more and more we are seeing that EVs are skewing towards luxury models with the average price now being $66,000.
Is car insurance the same for EVs compared to their gas-powered equivalents?
According to MoneyGeek, on average, electric vehicle models cost 15% more to insure than conventional gas-powered vehicles. The actual range is 6% to 40%. Teslas are on the higher end of that spectrum.
But “total cost to own” is lower for EVs, right?
“Operating cost” makes it seem lower when comparing the cost of fuel to the cost of electricity, but not if you include the purchase price and other considerations. It’s complicated. See the variables in this article from Car and Driver: EV vs. Gas: Which Cars Are Cheaper to Own?
Where does electricity come from?
Although the exact percentages vary by region, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration in 2021 60% of all electricity comes from fossil fuels, 20% from Nuclear, and the last 20% from renewable sources like hydroelectric, followed by solar and wind. So if you’re purchasing an EV with the intent of reducing your fossil fuel usage, you’re lying to yourself. Instead of burning gasoline to power your car directly, you’re burning natural gas and coal to power your car.
Can most homes support regular EV charging?
In order to utilize the most efficient charging process (a Level 2 charger), most homes would need to be upgraded to regularly provide the 30-50 Amps needed for the current generation of EV vehicles. Keep in mind, that is what is required for EACH electric vehicle you own. A lot of homes only have a master 100A panel. You would need at least a 200A panel to routinely charge two EVs and still have enough amps to run the rest of your home appliances, HVAC system, etc. If you have larger family with 3 or more vehicles, well, you can do the math. Millions of homes would need to upgrade.
Additionally, most EVs have a Level 1 charging cable that runs on a standard outlet, but the full charge time can be 20-40 hours (for a Tesla Model 3 for example). You can cut that down to 8-12 hours with a Level 2 charging cable but that requires a 240v connection in the garage (like an electric clothes dryer outlet), which most homes do not have. That would require a new circuit breaker and additional wiring by a licensed electrician.
In response, Tesla’s marketing team says the average commute is less than 30 miles so you should be fine with a Level 1 charger in most situations. (Unless of course you have to drive somewhere unexpectedly or run errands right after work – or you know – have a life outside of your commute.)
Could our current power distribution infrastructure handle a sudden increase in demand so we can all charge our EVs at home?
In short, No. the power grid would need to be significantly upgraded at every level to increase production, transmission, and distribution capacity. In fact, just recently the state of California asked people to limit the charging of their vehicles due to the increased electricity demand during Labor Day Weekend. This is when the state has only 12.5% of all vehicles being electric. What happens as the number of EVs increase?
How long does an EV full charge last? Is a full charge equivalent to a full tank of gas?
There are a lot of misleading websites out there. Often they will average all EVs and all gas-powered models and compare. Or they will include hybrids on one side or the other. One of the worst sites I saw (from the DOE) compared the MINIMUM gasoline range (of all models) vs the MAXIMUM range EV. Basic common sense should tell you these are flawed comparisons. Perhaps the fairest comparison is also from the Department of Energy, which states that on average, EVs have a range equal to 60% of their gasoline-only counterparts. So if comparing apples to apples, if your gas powered vehicle can do 300 miles on a single tank, the EV version can do 180 before needing another charge. You can half that range again if you’re hauling anything heavy (more info below).
What are the current longest range EVs?
1. Lucid Air (520 miles). MSRP $78k-$179k
2. Tesla Model S (348 miles). MSRP $106k
3. Telsa Model 3 (358 miles). MSRP $60k
4. Mercedes EQS (350 miles). MSRP $103k
5. Tesla Model X (348 miles). MSRP $122k
source: Car and Driver. For reference, a standard Nissan Leaf’s range is about 149 miles, a Chevy Bolt is 259 miles.
Can an EV handle longer trips and vacations?
If you plot your course carefully for supercharger locations and build in waiting/sight-seeing time at those same locations.
What happens if you run out of charge on the side of the road?
You call a tow truck. For 2021, The national average cost of a tow is around $109, but rates can vary, and you can expect to pay between $2.50 and $7.00 per mile. Then, of course, you’ll need to hope they can tow you to a quick-charger and wait a few hours to build up your charge to continue your trip.
Some Tesla owners may be able to call special roadside assistance for a portable supercharger to be brought to you when you are “Out Of Range”, but this service is not free and they don’t publish the cost.
Can an EV handle heavier loads?
It’s going to take a lot of R&D before EVs can take the place of gas engines in heavy duty vehicles. In 2022 Ford started shipping its new EV F-150 truck. After they actually started shipping, real-world tests are showing that when hauling a load such as a camper or trailer, even with the extended range option (bigger battery) and factory-installed tow package, the driving range is between 80-120 miles, or roughly a drive of 90 minutes to 2 hours max.
How does cold weather affect EV performance?
According to Consumer Reports, cold weather saps about 25% of range when cruising at 70mph. An earlier report from Norway found that electric vehicles lose 20% of range and charge more slowly in the cold.
How are EV batteries made? What is the environmental, economic, and social impact of mining battery raw materials?
In his excellent July 2022 article, writer Mark Putzer exposes how the mining of raw materials like Lithium and Cobalt are horrible for the environment and violate human rights. You should read the entire article, but the quick summary is Lithium-ion EV car batteries cause massive amounts of water, soil, and air pollution. “Furthermore, much of the lithium and cobalt mining is in impoverished areas. Miners often work in deplorable and unsafe conditions. Most of them have a low pay level that places them well below the poverty line.” Putzer goes on to say, “as detailed by the Washington Post, the contamination from cobalt mining [in the DCR] resulted in health ailments for people in the surrounding communities, such as birth defects and breathing problems.”
Going far beyond that, CFact writer Ronal Stein recently detailed the horrors of lithium mining in his expose, Is It Ethical To Purchase A Lithium Battery Powered EV? Please take the time to read the entire article, but here is a sobering quote: “
“Today, a typical EV battery weighs one thousand pounds. It contains 25 pounds of lithium, 60 pounds of nickel, 44 pounds of manganese, 30 pounds cobalt, 200 pounds of copper, and 400 pounds of aluminium, steel, and plastic. Inside are over 6,000 individual lithium-ion cells.
It should concern you that all those toxic components come from mining. For instance, to manufacture each EV auto battery, you must process 25,000 pounds of brine for the lithium, 30,000 pounds of ore for the cobalt, 5,000 pounds of ore for the nickel, and 25,000 pounds of ore for copper. All told, you dig up 500,000 pounds of the earth’s crust for just one battery.”
What is the average lifespan of an EV battery? What happens when it needs to be replaced?
The average battery warranty for EV’s is 7-8 years and/or approximately 100,000 miles. That tells you what the manufacturer’s risk-management bean-counters really consider as the expected lifespan, although individual cars may go longer. A reasonable person might assume if your car battery dies you can just replace it, right? Well it’s not that simple. That battery is far more integrated than you’d think and the manufacturers have adopted a disposable mindset. According to Nissan executive Nic Thomas when discussing the Leaf, “Taking the battery out [of an electric car] and putting a new battery in is not a viable proposition. It’s more sustainable to take the battery pack out of the car after 20 years, recycle the car, and reuse the battery.”
In a related example, New York Radio/TV host @marksimoneny posted a picture of an invoice from a local Chevy dealership to replace the battery in a Chevy Volt. The bill was nearly $30,000!
How does this affect the used car market?
Based on those expectations, a wise person would avoid buying a used EV that is approaching the end of the battery’s useful life. Because as the manufacturers have admitted, when the battery dies the car is basically disposable.
Can car batteries be recycled?
Yes, but there’s a major problem. In an Aug 1, 2022 article in Forbes magazine, writer Carlton Reid states, “Reclaiming cobalt and more through recycling makes ethical and environmental sense, but the financial case is often poor. The retrieved raw material—reclaimed through a hydro-metallurgical process that produces salts or metallic hydroxides which can be used as precursors—doesn’t always even pay for the labor involved, which includes collection, transport, battery chemistry sorting, shredding, separation of metallic and non-metallic materials, neutralizing hazardous substances, smelting, and then purification.” He then goes on to say, “It’s impossible to compile accurate figures for what percentage of lithium-ion batteries are currently recycled, but the value usually quoted is about 5%”
What happens to the rest of the dead batteries?
They end up in landfills.
Do we even have enough capacity to recycle EV batteries?
Carlton Reid continues, “The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that the world currently has enough capacity to recycle 180,000 metric tons of spent EV batteries annually. This is nowhere near enough: recycling experts estimate that the EVs bought in 2019 alone will eventually generate 500,000 metric tons of battery waste. By 2040, there could be 1,300-gigawatt hours’ worth of spent batteries in need of recycling, warns the IEA.”
If we all switch to EV’s, what will replace the gas tax to pay for road construction and repair?
According to Consumer Reports, “the federal tax on gasoline is 18.4 cents per gallon. The average state gas tax is 31 cents; it ranges from 8 cents per gallon in Alaska to 51.1 cents per gallon in California.
“The road tax is built into the price of gas. That money goes to support road infrastructure. And EVs don’t fuel up, so electric car drivers don’t contribute in that way,” says Gabe Shenhar, associate director of Consumer Reports’ auto test program. “For now, EVs are a small portion of the market. But this is something to consider, as EV sales increase.”
Some states have compensated for that lost revenue by doubling the registration fees for EVs, for instance. Another approach is to increase tolls on roads and bridges, with every driver paying the same toll, no matter what type of car they drive.
There are proposals for adding a tax to EV charging stations so that drivers are paying when they fill up, similar in spirit to what is done with gas-powered cars. The problem with that is EV drivers mostly charge their vehicles at home. States would be capturing that tax only when drivers charge up at public charging stations.
“The additional fee at registration may be the easiest method of recouping some of the lost gas tax revenue,” explains Kelly Funkhouser, manager of vehicle technology at Consumer Reports.”
What happens to small, hometown car dealers who can’t invest in the infrastructure to switch to EV support?
We’re seeing it play out right now with Buick. They will adapt or die.
Conclusion
I don’t think an overall conclusion on my part is particularly helpful. I’ve just tried to share my own research into the various aspects of EVs. The facts speak for themselves. And I would also like to point out that a major technological breakthrough could render much of this old news. What if tomorrow someone invents a new type of battery that gives you extended range, more horsepower, and can do a full charge in 10 minutes? it would change the world and make most of my article obsolete. But even if that happens, we should still tell the truth about environmental impacts. Zero emissions is a nice marketing platitude that makes it sound like you’re doing something positive for the environment, but does not convey the truth about how mining for lithium and cobalt rapes the earth and endangers humans and animals.
Keep asking questions. Peel back the curtain.
MORE LINKS:
Electric Vehicles ‘Laughable” Proposition For At Least A Decade: Expert
Jermination 
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