Comments on: West Coast Electric Highway Expands to Washington, Now Extends to Canadian Border

By: Guest

Guest — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 04:59:00 +0000

Your efficiency guesstimates are way off. See for a detailed analysis which shows that the well-to-wheels efficiency of a battery electric car (Tesla Roadster) is 3.6 times HIGHER than a car that directly burns CNG (Honda CNG).

This is also borne out by the MPGe numbers from the EPA. They rate the Honda CNG at 31 MPGe and the Nissan LEAF at 99 MPGe. See So, not only are electric cars much, much more energy efficient than internal combustion engine cars, but they also pollute much, much less, depending on the source of the electricity. If the electricity comes from burning natural gas, electric cars only contribute about 1/3 of the greenhouse gasses of a CNG-burning car. If the electricity comes from hydro, wind or solar (as most of it does in Washington), then electric cars can be truly zero-emission.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 05:30:00 +0000

When we extract natural gas from underneath the Earth’s surface and burn it for its stored energy we increase the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere.

That is not a good thing.

Leave the sleeping carbon alone. Do not awake the sleeping carbon.

There is not one damned thing sustainable about natural gas.

BTW, you are pretty danged wrong about the efficiency of EVs. And there is no way that burning NG in a ICEV is 90% efficiency.

Just to add to the list of things you are wrong about.

By: Yj Draiman

Yj Draiman — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 05:18:00 +0000

Electric cars are they conserving energy? Rev5

Ask yourselves what is the real cost of “Electric Car”?

Note: Electricity is a secondary form of energy derived by utilizing one form of energy to produce electric current.

Let us look at the facts:

In order to produce electricity, we need some form of energy to generate electricity, whereby you lose a substantial amount of your original source of energy in the generation process.
In the process we are losing the efficiency of the initial energy source, since it is not a direct use of the energy.

Let us take it a step further. To generate electricity we utilize; coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, hydro electric – water, photovoltaic-solar, wind, geothermal, etc. Many electricity generating plants utilize fossil fuel, which creates pollution.

Do you realize how much of the initial source of energy you lose to get the electricity you need for your electric automobile; you also lose electricity in the transmission lines.

Why are we jumping to a new technology, without analyzing the economic cost, the effective return and efficiency of such technology; while computing and measuring its affect on the environment?

Natural gas vehicles are a direct source of energy, where you get the most for your energy source – in efficiency and monetary value. Cost of natural gas to a comparable gallon of gas ranges around $1, it has higher octane and extends the life of your engine, it is also safer than gas. Natural gas vehicles have over 90% efficiency – Electric cars have just over 30% efficiency. Electric cars you loose some of the charge when the vehicle is idle for many days.

In these hard economic times – I would think, you would want to get the most for your dollar – and not waste resources.

Another economic impact would be the loss of road tax on fuel, these funds are used to build and maintain the highway infrastructure.

“It is Cheaper to Save Energy than Make Energy”

YJ Draiman, Director of Utilities & Sustainability

http://www.energysavers2.com

By: My Interview for Mashable: EVs, Bikes, & Carsharing Rockin' It - CleanTechnica

Wed, 04 Jul 2012 15:37:25 +0000

[…] to that, the West Coast Electric Highway (lined… or dotted, at least, with EV chargers now extends from California to Canada, as of last […]

By: Why You Should Consider an Electric Vehicle

Why You Should Consider an Electric Vehicle — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 14:58:51 +0000

[…] advancements, but the Midwest and New York City aren’t far behind, says Shahan. In fact, the West Coast Electric Highway project seeks to build a border-to-border highway system from Canada to Mexico, along the West […]

By: JMin2020

JMin2020 — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 22:26:00 +0000

We can use more of these Electric Highways. Ultimately it is a nice step in the right direction for the development of an electrified transportation system.