https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-15/electric-cars-seen-getting-cleaner-even-where-grids-rely-on-coal
[U.S. article. Coal makes up a very small fraction of electricity
generation in Canada, and zero in the 3 most populous provinces
accounting for 85% of the country's population (BC, ON, QC). In
addition, MB, PE, NL, NU, NT and YK burn zero coal.
video, images and links on online article]
Electric Cars Are Cleaner Even When Powered by Coal
By Jeremy Hodges
January 15, 2019, 12:00 AM EST
Electric cars are better for the environment than traditional gasoline
models, and that benefit will grow as power generators shift away from coal.
That’s the conclusion of research by BloombergNEF, which found carbon
dioxide emissions from battery-powered vehicles were about 40 percent
lower than for internal combustion engines last year. The difference was
biggest in Britain and the U.K., which have large renewables industries.
It still held in China, which is more reliant on coal to make electricity.
The report adds clarity to the debate about the lifetime emissions of
electric vehicles, which while they don’t pollute on the road do consume
electricity that is often generated using fossil fuels. BNEF’s research
assumes that electric cars will become cleaner in the coming years as
utilities close coal plants and draw more energy from wind and solar
farms, a process well underway almost everywhere except Southeast Asia.
“When an internal combustion vehicle rolls off the line its emissions
per km are set, but for an EV they keep falling every year as the grid
gets cleaner,” Colin McKerracher, a transport analyst at BNEF said.
The chart above shows BNEF’s forecasts for how much the gap will grow,
with China expected to make rapid progress as its renewables industry
takes a bigger share of the power generation market in the coming years.
The widespread adoption of renewables will decrease average emissions by
as much as 90 percent in the U.K. and over a third in Japan out to 2040,
according to BNEF.
The global share of zero-carbon electricity generation is set to
increase from 38 percent last year to 63 percent by 2040, according to
projections from BNEF. While technological improvements will see related
emissions from combustion engines falling by about 1.9 percent a year
through to 2040, pollution from electric vehicles will fall anywhere
from 3 percent and 10 percent annually. That’s largely because of grid
decarbonization but also reduced electricity consumption, BNEF says.