Quote:
Originally Posted by aerohead
So there's zero future for renewables in your state?
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The answer to that question depends heavily on what timescale you assume vs. the average lifetime of a vehicle. Even then, it's a rosy prediction to say a state like Illinois will have zero-carbon electricity production by even 2039 (in fact, I'll put money on that
not happening, and not even getting close).
Right now, you only need a gasser to do better than ~39 mpg to have a lower carbon footprint than an EV here. If I were to go out and buy a Niro EV right now, and expect it to last 15-20 years, how much cleaner will it be at the end of that lifespan? Ideally, completely clean. Realistically, probably not much better than it is now. Plus, its overall cleanliness compared to the gas car will have to take into account carbon dioxide emissions over the life of the vehicle, which will start out worse for the EV and have to be offset by future gains.