Plug-In Hybrids Use Over 17 Times More Water Than Regular Cars, Researchers Say
While plug-in hybrids offer great increases in fuel efficiency, they may come at a surprising cost: water. A recent study from Environmental Science & Technology found that plug-ins require the consumption of 3 times more water, and the withdrawal of 17 times more water, than their gasoline counterparts. As Popular Mechanics pointed out last week:
A 30-mile commute in a gasoline-powered car would require the withdrawal of 18.9 gallons of water… The same commute in a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), meanwhile, would take a whopping 318 gallons…
So what accounts for the increase in water usage? PHEV’s don’t require water directly, but the power plants that power them do:
Any power plant that runs steam turbines uses water, whether fired by coal, natural gas, or nuclear energy, says King, a mechanical engineer at the Bureau of Economic Geology at UT. Many plants consume water by running it through cooling towers where it evaporates away. Plants can also tie up water resources via withdrawal, in which plants recycle water that is drawn from a reservoir.
- » See also: Leo Motors CEO Dr. Robert Kang on the Future of Electric Vehicles
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This is enough of an increase to warrant consideration by public policy-makers, especially in arid climates. If 25% of the nation’s fleet converted to plug-in vehicles it would require an additional 1 billion gallons of water for electricity generation. For comparison, that’s almost half the total urban water used by the state of California in one year.
But no one, including the study authors, is saying that plug-in hybrids should be blacklisted. It just adds an important consideration for water-stressed areas that have plans for a grid-based automotive fleet. It also highlights the importance of using sustainable (wind, solar) sources of electricity for electric vehicles.
And as far as the alternatives go: PM pointed out that growing a bushel of corn requires 2200 gallons of water, which only makes 2.7 gallons of ethanol. I would take a fleet of plug-ins over a fleet of Flex-Fuel vehicles any day.
Related Posts:
Get 120 MPG Out of Your Prius (Plug It In)
Sick of Gas?: Convert Your Car To Run On Electricity
Will Plug-In Hybrids Become the Standard?
Source:
See the study here.
ES&T (Feb. 20, 08): Plugging in to more water use
Popular Mechanics (Mar. 7, 08): Plug-in Cars Could Drain U.S. Water Supply, Researcher Says
Shaya,
I completely commend your efforts with personal solar and the hybrid. I wish everyone would do the same, however, I do not feel that everyone will and I believe it is a huge mistake to think for a moment that they will. While the grand solar park may not need be in one spot, I think it we should have parks paid for with tax dollars and that electricty pumped into the grid to those who will never put up solar panels- those being the vast majority of the US. I don’t think we have the time to wait to wait much longer. Break that park up into four or eight different sections or as many as is feasible. At the very least, let the government massively subsidize new electric companies. The point being that we cannot rely on the public to do it themselves and we cannot rely on the government to do it themselves without being pushed to do so- that is why I think a March around the concept is a great thing to do, to show the govenment and energy companies that we’re serious that we dont want coal and oil sources at all and to discourage them from thinking up new scemes to try to force it down out throats.
Shaya,
I completely commend your efforts with personal solar and the hybrid. I wish everyone would do the same, however, I do not feel that everyone will and I believe it is a huge mistake to think for a moment that they will. While the grand solar park may not need be in one spot, I think it we should have parks paid for with tax dollars and that electricty pumped into the grid to those who will never put up solar panels- those being the vast majority of the US. I don’t think we have the time to wait to wait much longer. Break that park up into four or eight different sections or as many as is feasible. At the very least, let the government massively subsidize new electric companies. The point being that we cannot rely on the public to do it themselves and we cannot rely on the government to do it themselves without being pushed to do so- that is why I think a March around the concept is a great thing to do, to show the govenment and energy companies that we’re serious that we dont want coal and oil sources at all and to discourage them from thinking up new scemes to try to force it down our throats.
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Sounds like a vote in favor of solar electricity which requires no water to produce.
I don’t get it, electric cars will be charged mainly at night where electric cars will HELP us store energy for the power plants that we can then sell back to the power plants when they need it most! France is going to do this. They’re going to set-up parking lots where people can HELP the power industry! People can buy electricity at night when it’s cheap and re-sell-it back to the power company when they need it most - during the day! The electric car - if done right- can actually help us store energy that is currently wasted!
Blah Blah Blah
Guess where it’s heading?
Rob said, “vehicle to grid flows during peak hours that could actually stabilize the grid and reduce the need for day time power generation.”
Please remember to plant in the spring and harvest in the fall…
With 1 trillion dollars worth or american income going to gas: $150 crude barrel times 20 million barrels a day times 365 days, that is 1 trillion a year, and about $3 billion dollars a day.
Doing the math: 50 million $20,000 cars bought outright, would cost 1 trillion dollars…, if all electric may start to pay out.
This article is retarded. To the extent that a plug-in car is charged at night it uses spare electric capacity in the grid. This means that no extra resources are required to power the vehicle.