I like the idea of electric vehicles, I just wonder if its too soon. It seems to me we need to get a handle on how we generate electricity. The chart below shows the source of the electricity that Puget Sound generated for 2011:
(Click on the chart for more details) Here in Washington, we are lucky to be able to get half our power from our dams. But even here, 32% of our electricity is generated from coal. PSE’s goal for 2012 is to get 3% of its energy from renewaable sources, primarily its wind farms.
So where are we going to find the replacement for Coal in the next few years? Obviously wind will get a larger share, but its a ways off from being significant. One would have to believe the winner will be Natural Gas, as cheap as it is and its alot cleaner than coal.
So I plan to keep an eye on the progress we make towards eliminating coal before I get on the electric car bandwagon. I am not saying I am against electric vehicles – but lets make sure we dont swap gasoline for coal. I really like my hybrid car – it is extremely efficient in its use of power and I get 40 – 44 miles to gallon. Lets focus on getting more cars to use gasoline efficiently while we tackle this electricity generation problem.