Charging Ahead to Reduced Emissions Electric vehicles, charging stations, and old myths.

• Author: Kvapil, Rachael
• Position: TRANSPORTATION

Tailpipes of idling cars and trucks exhale visible wisps on a chilly day. The clouds are mostly harmless water vapor The invisible part, though, is carbon dioxide. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 29 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation, more than any other man-made emitter. The EPA further states greenhouse gas emissions from transportation primarily comes from burning fossil fuel for cars, trucks, ships, trains, and planes, as long as more than 90 percent of vehicles run on petroleum-based fuel (gasoline and diesel).

Those emission rates have created a push for alternatives to the combustion engine, primarily electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs). Both types of EVs are still a minority vehicle in Alaska, but the use is increasing every year. Several organizations have started offering financial incentives to install commercial and residential charging stations. However, there are a few barriers to overcome before EVs make up a majority of Alaska's road transportation.

Electric vs. Gasoline Vehicles

At this time, most early adopters of EVs are everyday residential customers. Based on VIN-decoded Division of Motor Vehicles data from June 2021, there are approximately 1,225 registered EVs in Alaska. Chugach Electric Association also conducts its own count of EVs (both all-electric and PHEVs), and the utility's numbers show a steady increase from June 2018 to June of 2021.

The tally does not include much more widespread hybrid vehicles, like the Toyota Prius, which use electric motors but ultimately charge their batteries from a gasoline engine. PHEVs have gasoline engines to extend range, but they have the option of plugging into the power grid (hence the name). Pure EVs rely entirely on charging from the grid.

EVs have no tailpipe to emit exhaust, but PHEVs produce tailpipe emissions when the gasoline engine is in use. Likewise, an EV emits no cold-start carbon monoxide and other pollutants, which is particularly important in the coldest parts of Alaska.

That's not to say EVs are totally emission free. Charging the battery increases demand from power plants, adding more pollution depending on the local energy source, but according to the EPA total emissions associated with driving EVs are still typically less than those for gasoline cars.

Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) Executive Director Curtis W. Thayer says EVs offer many benefits beyond reducing emissions. He says EVs have a lower cost...