Robust Renewables – The Missing Piece to Completing the Virtuous Cycle of EVs
By Edward A. Sanchez — June 7, 2022
I have said in many blog posts and podcasts that EVs aren’t for everyone. The technology is still in its relatively nascent stages, as is the charging infrastructure. Also, from a total lifecycle standpoint: Manufacturing, operation, maintenance, and end-of-life, the verdict on whether EVs are actually “greener” than hybrids or efficient ICE vehicles is not unanimous. This is precisely the point brought up by Graham Conway in his 2020 TEDx talk, “The Contradictions of Battery Electric Vehicles.”
Wearing a T-shirt with the motto “The Future is Eclectic,” Conway goes on to say he believes “EVs are the future of personal transportation,” and that they “do a fantastic job of moving pollution out of densely populated cities. There will absolutely be a place for the electric vehicle in our future. But not today.”
The premise Conway is operating from is the so-called “long tailpipe” model, in which the pollution is shifted from the vehicle itself to the manufacturing and energy source.
If we’re to be perfectly honest, any conversation about EVs and environmental friendliness needs to take a holistic view of the situation. Conway notes that rising CO2 levels are a global issue, not a regional one. While many developed nations are aggressively pursuing renewables as their main source of energy, certain global economies are not moving at the same pace, such as China and India. And then there are developing economies in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia that don’t necessarily have the money to invest.
Graham Conway’s “The Contradictions of Battery Electric Vehicles” TEDx talk is worth a watch.
Until renewables become the primary energy source on a global basis, the adoption of EVs in and of themselves does not complete the “virtuous cycle” promised by EVs. But Conway goes on to offer a solution saying, “There is something we can do today, with technology we have today, which will make a difference today. And that is to look at hybrids.”
There was a time, not too long ago, where I pilloried Toyota, its CEO Akio Toyoda, and its chief scientist Gill Pratt, for leading the obfuscation and distraction parade in praise of hybrids and downplaying the significance of EVs. I still feel there was an element of spin in Toyota’s PR campaign in covering up the company’s hesitance and late start in the mainstream EV market.
However, watching Conway’s video, I understand where Toyota is coming from, although I still feel the communication of their premise was a bit awkward, and perhaps a little tone deaf.
I don’t know if Conway has any formal or informal relationship to Toyota, but his explanation of the issue somehow was much more compelling and eye-opening than Toyota’s unconvincing PR campaign about “self-charging” hybrids.
Do I feel guilty for driving an EV today? Not at all. Specifically because it is a Tesla, and no matter what you think about Elon Musk’s politics, personal life, or quirky and sometimes volatile and impulsive personality, no other company I can think of is doing more to promote the holistic virtuous cycle of EVs more than Tesla, including residential and utility-level battery storage, solar, and EVs. Is the company perfect and pristine? No. Are there areas for improvement in their processes and supply chain in regard to environmental friendliness? Yes. But they have brought the awareness of EVs and renewable energy to the national and global conversation and consciousness like no other company in history.
I’m all for the enthusiastic adoption of hybrids and EVs, as well as renewables. And maybe I’m a bit naïve in this hope, but perhaps the rapid adoption of EVs, as Conway fears, could actually be the catalyst for more rapid adoption of renewable power.
(Images courtesy TEDx Talks)
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