Electric vehicles and
the environment
Vehicle emissions
EVs that run on renewable energy (such as GreenPower)
produce no greenhouse gas emissions from their operation.
At the moment, road transport produces 12.7 per cent of
Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Using electric cars
and commercial vehicles run on renewable energy could
help reduce our emissions substantially.
The Victorian Electric Vehicle Trial is using renewable energy
sourced from the grid by premier partner AGL, so the trial
will produce zero carbon emissions.
The trial is assessing the real-world energy efficiency of EVs
within the context of Victoria’s mix of electricity sources.
The degree to which EVs offer environmental benefits into
the future will depend upon the proportion of renewable
energy in the electricity grid.
Electric vehicles have no tailpipe emissions. This is true
whether they are powered by coal, solar or wind, which
means better air quality and improved health outcomes,
especially in our cities.
‘Charging electric vehicles using sustainable
renewable energy could provide carbon neutral
travel, but also reduce toxic air pollution and
noise. Imagine being able to open windows
in buildings close to busy roads, reducing air
conditioning use and increasing property values –
all this becomes possible.’
Australian Conservation Foundation
The trial is assessing the potential benefits of EV operation
on Victoria’s air quality by better understanding projected
EV take-up and travel patterns, and how these interact with
Victoria’s climate and population.
‘AGL is taking action to achieve environmental
change and will source 100 per cent renewable
energy for the Trial from our award winning
emissions-free hydroelectric Bogong Power
Station in the Victorian Alps.’
GL General Manager Marketing,
A
David Hamilton
www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/evtrial
Noise
Vehicle production and disposal
Electric motors are very quiet but, some road users rely
on noise to tell if a car is coming. Vision-impaired
pedestrians, other pedestrians and cyclists use their ears
to keep them safe.
Manufacturing any car produces greenhouse gases.
Due to their large batteries, manufacturing an EV
may produce more emissions than manufacturing a
conventional vehicle.
In the USA and Europe, politicians are considering whether
to require artificial noise to be added to electric vehicles
by manufacturers. Nissan has already added noise to its
LEAF electric car. It is likely that as mass-produced electric
vehicles reach Australia they will have added artificial noise.
An average petrol vehicle generally produces a lot more
emissions over its lifetime than what it takes to produce the
vehicle. Electric vehicles have very low emissions
and this quickly makes up for any emissions made from
their production.
The trial will work with various groups to better understand
the significance of EV noise impacts and how they might be
best managed for everyone’s benefit.
The Department commissioned a study in 2012 which
found that the impacts from an EVs operation far outweigh
those relating to its production – even if you allow for a
new battery during its life. Impacts from disposal were
found to be negligible due to the high expected rate of
material recycling. However, the impacts from vehicle
operation are strongly related to the source of the
electricity used..
‘Vision Australia is pleased to be participating
in the design and implementation of this trial.
It will afford us an opportunity to address the
needs of pedestrians who are blind or have
low vision, as part of the trial, and to explore
the possible impact of electric vehicles and the
related infrastructure on people who are blind
or have low vision.’
Vision Australia
Batteries
Automotive batteries (lead-, nickel- and lithiumbased) are all highly recyclable. Over 97 per cent of
automotive lead-acid batteries are recycled; one of the
most successful recycling programs in the world. The
new breed of lithium batteries for electric vehicles will
require new industry programs to recycle them.
Since EV batteries are so large and valuable, there are
powerful motives to find uses for them beyond their
vehicle life. They may be able to be used as storage for
renewable energy generation. This would assist with
smoothing the energy supply, given the variability of
energy produced from sources such as solar and wind.
DTPLI7748/13
Finding new uses for EV batteries will increase their
value at the end of their vehicle life, which in turn
decreases the costs of vehicle ownership. This fact
alone is driving research efforts into battery recycling
even though there are not many second-hand batteries
to manage at this early stage.
www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/evtrial