China’s electric cars may be causing more harm than the gas-powered cars they are increasingly replacing, warns a new study by engineers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
The electricity used to power e-cars in China comes largely from coal-fired plants. While the cars themselves produce fewer emissions than gasoline cars do, the plants that power them produce acids, organic chemicals, and other harmful particulates, explains researcher Chris Cherry.
China’s power plants are typically located far from population centers, thus mitigating the harmful effects of emissions. However, a better e-vehicle choice may be electric bikes.
“E-bikes, which are battery-powered, continue to be an environmentally friendly and efficient mode of transportation,” says Cherry.
Source: University of Tennessee, Knoxville, www.utk.edu.