According to energy analysts, the electric cars that are manufactured by Tesla which are considered to be amongst the most ‘green’ vehicles in the world, could be responsible for the same amount of emission of greenhouse gases as their petrol and diesel equivalents.
The calculations have been based on the amount of greenhouse gas that is generated in making of a Tesla luxury car along with the amount of CO2 that is generated from the power stations which gives electricity for charging the vehicles. The results were compared to the green house gases that are emitted in the manufacture and running of cars that run on petrol and diesel.
“Teslas are not cleaner to run than the average car in the UK,” said Jonathan Harris, of Engaged Tracking. This is a London-based firm which is engaged in the business of analysis of the sustainability and “greenness” of companies for potential investors.
“The annual emissions of a UK car is 1.5 tons of CO2, based on an average of 7,800 miles a year. Both the Tesla Model S vehicles we analysed have the same emissions [as an ordinary petrol car] of 1.5 tons of CO2 per year.”
These issues impact not only Tesla’s electric cars but all battery-powered cars because those cars also have to be charged with electricity that is generated by the power plants. In the context of the United Kingdom, which formed the basis of the report, half of the power generated in Britain is from coal and gas.
Inefficiencies of power generation further amplifies the issue. It is known that only about one third of the energy consumed can be converted to electricity while the rest becomes waste heat. And even more energy gets lost during transmission through power grids and in the complex circuitry that is used for charging of electric cars.
Because of the large size of Tesla’s cars, the green performance of such cars is even worse.
“BMW’s i3 electric vehicle [a smaller model] has annual emissions of 1.3 tons of CO2 — 15% more efficient than Tesla’s Model S,” said Harris.
A Tesla roadster was recently launched into space on a rocket that was made by SpaceX, which is a company that is owned by the US entrepreneur Elon Musk who is also the co-founder of Tesla.
The company has however faced technical problems at its Nevada “Gigafactory” and has been plagued with delays in production and financial difficulties even though the company has been making these grand gestures.
The figures compiled by Engaged Tracking were refuted by Tesla and claimed that the numbers were an unfair reflection of the performance of its Model S because it is much larger clmpared ot the average car in the UK car and therefore it is but normal that the Tesla car would use up more energy on the overall.
“When a UK grid-powered Model S is compared to the large sedans [saloons] it competes with, [the saloon] produces 300% more emissions,” it said. “Emissions from oil extraction, refining and distribution add another 25% to the CO2emissions of a petrol car. Any fair analysis shows that vehicles like Teslas generate less CO2 than any comparable petrol car,” the company said
(Source:www.thetimes.co.uk)
The calculations have been based on the amount of greenhouse gas that is generated in making of a Tesla luxury car along with the amount of CO2 that is generated from the power stations which gives electricity for charging the vehicles. The results were compared to the green house gases that are emitted in the manufacture and running of cars that run on petrol and diesel.
“Teslas are not cleaner to run than the average car in the UK,” said Jonathan Harris, of Engaged Tracking. This is a London-based firm which is engaged in the business of analysis of the sustainability and “greenness” of companies for potential investors.
“The annual emissions of a UK car is 1.5 tons of CO2, based on an average of 7,800 miles a year. Both the Tesla Model S vehicles we analysed have the same emissions [as an ordinary petrol car] of 1.5 tons of CO2 per year.”
These issues impact not only Tesla’s electric cars but all battery-powered cars because those cars also have to be charged with electricity that is generated by the power plants. In the context of the United Kingdom, which formed the basis of the report, half of the power generated in Britain is from coal and gas.
Inefficiencies of power generation further amplifies the issue. It is known that only about one third of the energy consumed can be converted to electricity while the rest becomes waste heat. And even more energy gets lost during transmission through power grids and in the complex circuitry that is used for charging of electric cars.
Because of the large size of Tesla’s cars, the green performance of such cars is even worse.
“BMW’s i3 electric vehicle [a smaller model] has annual emissions of 1.3 tons of CO2 — 15% more efficient than Tesla’s Model S,” said Harris.
A Tesla roadster was recently launched into space on a rocket that was made by SpaceX, which is a company that is owned by the US entrepreneur Elon Musk who is also the co-founder of Tesla.
The company has however faced technical problems at its Nevada “Gigafactory” and has been plagued with delays in production and financial difficulties even though the company has been making these grand gestures.
The figures compiled by Engaged Tracking were refuted by Tesla and claimed that the numbers were an unfair reflection of the performance of its Model S because it is much larger clmpared ot the average car in the UK car and therefore it is but normal that the Tesla car would use up more energy on the overall.
“When a UK grid-powered Model S is compared to the large sedans [saloons] it competes with, [the saloon] produces 300% more emissions,” it said. “Emissions from oil extraction, refining and distribution add another 25% to the CO2emissions of a petrol car. Any fair analysis shows that vehicles like Teslas generate less CO2 than any comparable petrol car,” the company said
(Source:www.thetimes.co.uk)