Did you know purchasing an electric vehicle, powered by energy from Holland BPW, can significantly improve your environmental footprint?
The average driver in Michigan travels a little under 15,000 miles per year, or around 40 miles per day. In recent years, new gas-powered vehicles reported an average of 25 miles per gallon of gas. Older vehicles and larger cars like SUVs and pickup trucks often have worse fuel efficiency ratings.
That means driving 15,000 miles requires, on average, 600 gallons of gasoline. The carbon emissions generated from burning that much gasoline come out to 5.3 metric tons of CO2 per year.
To put that 5.3 metric tons in perspective, the combined electricity and natural gas use of the average Holland home emits a total of roughly 7.7 metric tons of CO2 per year. That means, for a family with two or more gas-engine cars, your vehicle emissions alone are probably be higher than the emissions from everything else in your home.
If you drive an electric vehicle, those same 15,000 miles per year will equate to something around 5,000 kilowatt-hours of added electricity use, since most electric vehicles get around three miles of range per kWh.
However, unlike burning a gallon of gasoline, which creates the same emissions no matter where you are, the emissions from powering your electric vehicle depend on where you live and the source of your electricity.
In Holland, our electric emission rate is around one half of a metric ton of carbon emissions per 1,000 kWh. This is a net emissions average from Holland Energy Park — our natural gas power plant — and the other resources in our electric portfolio (including around 16% renewables).
So, 5,000 kWh of electricity to charge an electric vehicle generates about 2.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year — less than half of the emissions from the average gasoline-powered vehicle!
This graph shows the expected carbon dioxide emissions for the average home, gas-powered car,
and electric vehicle powered by Holland BPW.
In addition to the environmental benefits of reduced emissions, electric vehicles also have human health benefits. While they're still responsible for emissions, they spare your fellow drivers and pedestrians from having to breathe the pollutants from your tailpipe.
In even better news, based on the averages above, the electric vehicle will save a little over $1,500 per year in fuel costs based on Holland BPW’s residential electric rate and an assumed gas price of $3.50 per gallon.
Want to compare your options? Check out Holland BPW’s new EV Toolkit.