General and Environmental Benefits of the EDV
General Benefits
EDVs are great cars for running errands with significantly lower operating costs. Some of the current hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) can get in excess of 55 miles per gallon of gas. For future plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) the estimates are up to 100 miles per gallon and the estimated electricity costs is less than $1.00 per gasoline gallon equivalent. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are even more efficient, with costs in the $0.02/mile range based on off-peak electric rates.
EDVs are quieter, cleaner and offer a great incentive to commuters in that some Hybrid vehicles qualify for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) access. HEVs having their roots in the development of BEVs share many of the same efficiencies and benefits as BEVs such as regenerative braking, lower maintenance, better acceleration, just to name a few.
Environmental Benefits
Though conventional gasoline vehicles are becoming cleaner and other alternative fuel vehicles can alleviate air pollution, electric drive vehicles hold the promise of the greatest air quality benefits of any available technology. EDVs are unique in that they produce no operating emissions; the only emissions associated with these EDVs come from the power plants that generate the electricity for battery charging and the plants that produce the hydrogen for consumption in fuel cell vehicles.
Even compared to today’s gasoline vehicles EDVs or BEVs offer exceptional air quality benefits. For instance, driving an EDV within PG&E’s service territory instead of a gasoline powered vehicle would reduce emissions of reactive organic gases (ROG) and nitrogen oxides (NO) - the precursors to smog, a serious health hazard, would significantly drop. Also carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the principal gas associated with global warming would be reduced considerably.
Driving BEVs and HEVs would also decrease pollution to oceans, rivers, and ground water that is caused from petroleum, gasoline, and motor oil spills. Relief from urban noise pollution is another benefit, as electric motors are quiet as well as clean.
