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Is Electricity the Solution?
Electric cars are getting lots of press, but can energy created by electric generators truly provide a solution for America’s energy deficit? Let’s look at the losses incurred en route to your electric meter:
According to General Electric, the newest Liquified Natural Gas generators are about 60% efficient. From ground to boiler, natural gas is 95% efficient, while the average electrical grid carrying power from plant to your home is 92% efficient.
Multiplied out, total efficiency for the most modern electrical power plant comes to about 52%. There is disagreement as to the average electrical plant efficiency, but it should lie somewhere between 35 and 50%. At best, half of the energy contained in the natural gas is available at your electric meter.
Switching source fuels from LNG to coal adds additional losses for mining and transportation, and according to Babcock Power, a new coal-fired catalyst steam plant driving the most efficient turbines achieves an efficiency between 36 and 40%.
Chevy Volt - Image courtesy of Chevrolet
Is this an indictment against coal-fired generation of electricity? Not necessarily. The United States has more coal reserves than any other country by far. Coal-fired plants can be built quickly, and smokestack catalysts reduce emissions to manageable levels. Like it or not, in the short-term, coal is the only fuel available in quantities that are sufficient to significantly reduce America’s reliance on imported energy, and using the increased electrical capacity provided by coal to drive electric vehicles adds symmetry by eliminating emissions at the street level.
While coal-fueled electricity may not a desirable long-term solution to America’s energy problem, it may prove to be a very effective in getting the United States through the transition from oil to other fuel sources.
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Data sources:
http://www.babcockpower.com/pdf/rst-163.pdf
http://www.gepower.com/prod_serv/serv_for/gas_steam_turbines/en/index.htm
