As a social media content creator, I spend a lot of time online. In several forums, most of which are frequented by Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) enthusiasts, the Electric Vehicle (EV) is seen as a threat to car culture. Group participants are inundated by a constant stream of anti-electric vehicle memes eliciting stirring responses from EV opponents.
There are often hundreds of comments, most of which argue that EVs are not environmentally friendly and go as far as claiming that EVs are worse for the environment than ICE vehicles.
A frequent claim is that EVs run on coal. This is a particularly damning claim as coal is universally recognized as one of the most environmentally irresponsible forms of energy. Allegations EVs are powered by coal also serve to repute EV zero emissions claims and seek to portray EV proponents as uninformed, or worse.
Curious about the validity of these claims, I sought to identify states with the highest percentage of EV ownership per capita and reveal the sources of energy used to charge EVs.
As of March 2023 about 4 percent of Americans own an EV. Of those EV owners, about one-third have homes fitted with photovoltaic (PV) solar systems and charge their EVs at home.
In California (the number one EV ownership state) nearly 40 percent of EV owners have home PV systems. PV Solar system owners are also three times more likely to also own an Electric Vehicle. The remaining two-thirds of EV owners or approximately .026 percent of the American population charge their EVs from the public electrical grid.
The top 10 states for EV ownership are California, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Vermont, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Nevada, Arizona and New Jersey. The following table outlines the sources of energy for the above-referenced states:
Primary Energy Sources of Top 10 EV Ownership States
Natural gas 32.95 percent.
Hydro 17.83 percent.
Nuclear 9.1 percent.
Wind 8.2 percent.
Coal 7.8 percent.
Solar 7.4 percent.
Petroleum 6.6 percent.
Biomass 6.25 percent.
The results demonstrate the clear relationship between Electric Vehicles and Solar Power with over 38 percent of EVs being charged by a combination of home and public photovoltaic charging systems. Natural Gas is used to charge 21.96 percent of EVs, Hydropower is 11.88 percent and Nuclear is 6.07 percent.
The claim EVs run on coal is partially true, but it’s a colossal exaggeration. In the top-10 EV ownership states outlined here, coal only accounts for 5.20 percent of the energy used by Electric Vehicles.
States with the greatest percentage of EV ownership are also among the states with the cleanest sources of energy and the highest use of renewables.
While we’re early in the transition to an EV-dominant future it appears the adoption of home PV systems might possibly keep pace with EV ownership. Necessary upgrades to our electrical grid may not need to be as expansive as opponents suggest. The duo of EVs in combination with PV systems may do more than eliminate tailpipe emissions; they may reduce demand on our power plants.
States with the greatest number of Electric Vehicles per 1,000 people (per capita) and their respective top-5 sources of energy.
California
(27.55 percent EV ownership per capita)
Natural Gas 49 percent of total energy.
Solar 17.4 percent of total energy.
Nuclear 8.4 percent of total energy.
Wind 7.9 percent of total energy.
Hydro 7.2 percent of total energy.
Hawaii
(15.43 percent EV ownership per capita)
Petroleum 65.4 percent of total energy.
Coal 11.8 percent of total energy.
Wind 7.3 percent of total energy.
Biomass and other 6.8 percent of total energy.
Solar 5.7 percent of total energy.
Washington
(14.5 percent EV ownership per capita)
Hydro 64.6 percent of total energy.
Natural Gas 14.5 percent of total energy.
Wind 8.7 percent of total energy.
Nuclear 7.8 percent of total energy.
Coal 2.9 percent of total energy.
Oregon
(13.88 percent EV ownership per capita)
Hydro 46.4 percent of total energy.
Natural Gas 33.3 percent of total energy.
Wind 15.7 percent of total energy.
Solar 2.5 percent of total energy.
Biomass and other 1.7 percent of total energy.
Vermont
(12.55 percent EV ownership per capita)
Hydro 50 percent of total energy.
Biomass 25.2 percent of total energy.
Wind 15.7 percent of total energy.
Solar 8.8 percent of total energy.
Petroleum 0.2 percent of total energy.
Colorado
(11.84 percent EV ownership per capita)
Coal 41.6 percent of total energy.
Wind 26.5 percent of total energy.
Natural Gas 25.5 percent of total energy.
Solar 3.1 percent of total energy.
Hydro 2.8 percent of total energy.
District of Columbia
(11.57 percent EV ownership per capita)
Natural Gas 62.5 percent of total energy.
Biomass 26.5 percent of total energy.
Solar 11.9 percent of total energy.
Nevada
(10.38 percent EV ownership per capita)
Natural Gas 52.5 percent of total energy.
Solar 15.9 percent of total energy.
Geo-thermal 9.4 percent of total energy.
Coal 6.6 percent of total energy.
Hydro 4.7 percent of total energy.
Arizona
(9.86 percent EV ownership per capita)
Natural Gas 44.4 percent of total energy.
Nuclear 29.1 percent of total energy.
Coal 13.2 percent of total energy.
Solar 6.2 percent of total energy.
Hydro 5.4 percent of total energy.
New Jersey 9.80 percent EV ownership per capita
Natural Gas 47.8 percent of total energy.
Nuclear 45.8 percent of total energy.
Solar 2.5 percent of total energy.
Biomass 2.3 percent of total energy.
Coal 1.7 percent of total energy.
Photo credit: General Motors, Pie chart: John Berg, Tables: John Berg)
Energy data was obtained from the websites of the following: Gallup (March 1-23, 2023 poll), Department of Energy, EPA, Inside EVs, NEI.org, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Cleantechnici.com.
