Uncovering the Impact of Electric Vehicles: Do They Truly Make a Difference? - "They Do"? Part 2

The Main Question: Is It Worth It??

Now, the most important question to be addressed. All this tech, all the schemes to promote it, all the promises made. Do they live up to their expectations?

Well, the answer in CURRENT Times is NO. Even though the answer is "NO", the criticality of "Current times" is to be noted very crucially as if you change the time scale up to 10-20 years from now then "YES".

This is because of the following points:

a. Even though the Primary source of power for these vehicles is Electricity. How do you think it is produced in the present times? Despite the end product running on the green source, even in 2024 we still produce ~ 60% of power via burning organic fuels like coal, and gas. They are called as the primary source of energy. The generated electricity is coined as the Secondary source.

Power Generation Distribution 2024. Ref - iea.org

b. When we transfer/shift the power from the primary to a secondary source we lose power at each stage of transfer. For example, if the calorific energy of coal is taken as 100 then typically the amount of electrical energy we can make is about 30-40. Then at each point of transfer and resistive and transmission losses, we lose further power which might come down to perhaps 10-15 % of the original value.

c. Now imagine, with a continuous rise in population and demand for power supply in the secondary form which accounts for that 10-15 % how much amount of energy we lose from the base value which is thermodynamically converted to heat/thermal radiation and exhaust products like greenhouse gases. The amount of pollution and energy wastage from these conventional sources on which we heavily rely in current times is far more(>50%) than that from the burning of fuels from vehicles when compared yearly. You can now imagine the chaos.

d. If we compare electric vehicles to Internal combustion(fuel-based) engines in terms of performance, any day the ones based on IC are better yet the point at hand is far bigger than performance now. A bit of compromise in performance can be adjusted for the greater good of society.

e. Reading all these points you might be now thinking that if the above points are true then is it all a hoax or a marketing gimmick to sell fictional ideas and earn quick money? Well, the answer is NO. Here's why.

f. The answer to this confusion from my understanding is the dependency of markets on each other and demand, otherwise which end up in a dead situation at high prices to sustain themselves and the technology dies without ever making a change.

Here's how.

1. Electric energy sources and these vehicles create an interconnected supply-demand network. The promotion of Electric vehicles creates space of power demand more heavily in the form of electricity independent of the oils and gas vehicles. This allows Renewable energy systems to enter the arena by creating a demand for it and in turn reduces the prices of power from these sources as each company has to sustain itself profitably. Now if you observe closely then this causes short-term damage in the form of heightened emissions due to higher power demand and reliance on non-renewable sources for energy, but when scaled over more than 15-20 years it will turn out to be a positive impact factor.

2. The upscaling of renewable energy sources like Solar energy, creates easily available energy for this technology to grow and evolve further which will bring down its costs and overall help the entire society to normalize electric vehicles as part of the norm. Thus both sectors help each other to grow and hence promotion of these vehicles is important right now to completely eradicate the dependence on Organic fuel-based transport systems and energy sources globally.

Here are the statistics to support my hypothesis

(Ref - 1. https://www.vasudha-foundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Demand-Projection-Report_Final_24Jan2024_for-WEB.pdf

2. https://www.autocarpro.in/analysis-sales/ev-sales-in-india-jump-41-to-166-million-in-fy2024-2-and-3ws-cars-and-suvs-scale-new-highs-119852) :

• EV Adoption and Electricity Demand:

  • India's EV sales reached 1.67 million units in FY2024, with electricity demand from EVs projected at 61–65 TWh by 2030, about 3-4% of total demand.

    

• Renewable Energy Integration:

  • Renewables currently contribute 25% to India's electricity mix. Policies like the National Solar Mission are scaling this up, with solar tariffs dropping to ₹2.00/kWh, driving affordability.

• Short-Term Emissions Rise:

  • Coal still dominates (66% of generation), causing a temporary emissions spike as EV-related demand rises. Coal-generated electricity emits around 850,000 tons of CO₂ per TWh.

• Long-Term Benefits:

  • By 2030, India targets 50% of installed capacity from non-fossil fuels. Economies of scale in renewables and EV adoption will reduce costs and emissions.

3. There's one extra very critical point that I have not highlighted here and will cover in another blog. The incorporation of EVs and Renewable Energy sources puts a heavy penalty on our well-established present energy distribution systems. How and why? Keep reading to know more.

Hence, all we need to be is patient and continue to push towards upscaling and promoting better technology to help evolve it and ourselves for a better future together.

Together Towards Transition.