EVs and Electricity Prices

Here’s a quick discussion between life-long environmentalist Paul Scott and me, regarding the question posed at the left.

Paul: Short answer is no. You’ll probably be paying even less if you switch to solar or wind energy.

As an example, I paid cash for a solar PV system in 2002. I bought my first EV two months later. The money I saved by not having to buy kWh of electricity from my utility or gallons of gas from the local gas station paid off the cost of the solar system by 2010. So, since then, and for the rest of my life, I get clean solar energy to power my home, cars, and motorcycles – for free. The solar system will last for decades more with minimal maintenance.

Both my car and motorcycle are among the fastest in the world, and they all run on sunlight for free. The sooner you make the switch, the sooner your life improves. Stop being part of the problem. “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Craig: What a fantastic response that is!  The only points I’d like to add are these:

Because of the extremely low efficiency of internal combustion engines (~20%) and the relative high efficiency of charging and discharging batteries (80+%), the increased load associated with electrifying every car and truck on Earth is about 14%.  It’s not negligible, but it’s far less than people generally realize.

The cost of electricity generated by solar and wind is very low, and it continues to fall.

Electric vehicles can be charged with off-peak energy that has very little value.

If there is any action taken to make producers and consumers pay the cost of the pollution they’re creating, e.g., putting a price on carbon, electric transportation becomes a no-brainer instantaneously.