IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/retrec/v52y2015icp72-90.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From Cradle to Junkyard: Assessing the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Benefits of Electric Vehicles

Author

Listed:
  • Archsmith, James
  • Kendall, Alissa
  • Rapson, David

Abstract

U.S. programs subsidize electric vehicles (EVs) in part to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We model a suite of life cycle GHG emissions considerations to estimate the GHG abatement potential from switching from an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICE) to an EV in the continental U.S. The GHG intensity of EVs hinges on the electricity and ambient temperature when charged and operated. Both have high spatial and temporal heterogeneity, yet are typically modeled inadequately or overlooked entirely. We calculate marginal emissions, including renewables, for electricity by region and test forecasted grid composition to estimate future performance. Location and timing of charging are important GHG determinants, but temperature effects on EV performance can be equally important. On average, EVs slightly reduce GHGs relative to ICEs, but there are many regions where EVs provide a decisive benefit and others where EVs are significantly worse. The forecasted grid shifts from coal towards renewables, improving EV performance; the GHG benefit per EV in western states is roughly $425 today and $2400 in 2040.

Suggested Citation

  • Archsmith, James & Kendall, Alissa & Rapson, David, 2015. "From Cradle to Junkyard: Assessing the Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Benefits of Electric Vehicles," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 72-90.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:52:y:2015:i:c:p:72-90
    DOI: 10.1016/j.retrec.2015.10.007
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0739885915000517
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.retrec.2015.10.007?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Graff Zivin, Joshua S. & Kotchen, Matthew J. & Mansur, Erin T., 2014. "Spatial and temporal heterogeneity of marginal emissions: Implications for electric cars and other electricity-shifting policies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PA), pages 248-268.
    2. Kenneth Gillingham & David Rapson & Gernot Wagner, 2016. "The Rebound Effect and Energy Efficiency Policy," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 10(1), pages 68-88.
    3. Rogers, Michelle M. & Wang, Yang & Wang, Caisheng & McElmurry, Shawn P. & Miller, Carol J., 2013. "Evaluation of a rapid LMP-based approach for calculating marginal unit emissions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 812-820.
    4. Stephen P. Holland & Erin T. Mansur & Nicholas Z. Muller & Andrew J. Yates, 2015. "Environmental Benefits from Driving Electric Vehicles?," NBER Working Papers 21291, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Troy R. Hawkins & Bhawna Singh & Guillaume Majeau‐Bettez & Anders Hammer Strømman, 2013. "Comparative Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of Conventional and Electric Vehicles," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 17(1), pages 53-64, February.
    6. Severin Borenstein, 2014. "A Microeconomic Framework for Evaluating Energy Efficiency Rebound and Some Implications," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 1).
    7. Eddahech, Akram & Briat, Olivier & Vinassa, Jean-Michel, 2015. "Performance comparison of four lithium–ion battery technologies under calendar aging," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 542-550.
    8. Koichiro Ito, 2014. "Do Consumers Respond to Marginal or Average Price? Evidence from Nonlinear Electricity Pricing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(2), pages 537-563, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Todd D. Gerarden & Richard G. Newell & Robert N. Stavins, 2017. "Assessing the Energy-Efficiency Gap," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(4), pages 1486-1525, December.
    2. De Borger, Bruno & Mulalic, Ismir & Rouwendal, Jan, 2016. "Measuring the rebound effect with micro data: A first difference approach," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 1-17.
    3. Qiu, Yueming & Kahn, Matthew E. & Xing, Bo, 2019. "Quantifying the rebound effects of residential solar panel adoption," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 310-341.
    4. Kalghatgi, Gautam, 2018. "Is it really the end of internal combustion engines and petroleum in transport?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 965-974.
    5. Ensieh Shojaeddini & Ben Gilbert, 2023. "Heterogeneity in the Rebound Effect: Evidence from Efficient Lighting Subsidies," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(1), pages 173-217, January.
    6. Benjamin Volland, 2016. "Efficiency in Domestic Space Heating: An Estimation of the Direct Rebound Effect for Domestic Heating in the U.S," IRENE Working Papers 16-01, IRENE Institute of Economic Research.
    7. Maxwell Woody & Michael T. Craig & Parth T. Vaishnav & Geoffrey M. Lewis & Gregory A. Keoleian, 2022. "Optimizing future cost and emissions of electric delivery vehicles," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 26(3), pages 1108-1122, June.
    8. Ambrose, Hanjiro, 2019. "Environmental and economic costs, benefits and uncertainties of vehicle electrification: a life cycle approach," Institute of Transportation Studies, Working Paper Series qt3bx6f16d, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis.
    9. Toroghi, Shahaboddin H. & Oliver, Matthew E., 2019. "Framework for estimation of the direct rebound effect for residential photovoltaic systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C), pages 1-1.
    10. Lucas W Davis, 2017. "Evidence of a decline in electricity use by U.S. households," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 37(2), pages 1098-1105.
    11. McRae, Shaun D. & Wolak, Frank A., 2021. "Retail pricing in Colombia to support the efficient deployment of distributed generation and electric stoves," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    12. Amir Shahin Kamjou & Carol J. Miller & Mahdi Rouholamini & Caisheng Wang, 2021. "Comparison between Historical and Real-Time Techniques for Estimating Marginal Emissions Attributed to Electricity Generation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-15, August.
    13. Sylvain Weber & Mehdi Farsi, 2014. "Travel distance, fuel efficiency, and vehicle weight: An estimation of the rebound effect using individual data in Switzerland," IRENE Working Papers 14-03, IRENE Institute of Economic Research.
    14. Bigazzi, Alexander, 2019. "Comparison of marginal and average emission factors for passenger transportation modes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 1460-1466.
    15. Fullerton, Don & Ta, Chi L., 2020. "Costs of energy efficiency mandates can reverse the sign of rebound," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    16. Colmenares, Gloria & Löschel, Andreas & Madlener, Reinhard, 2019. "The rebound effect and its representation in energy and climate models," CAWM Discussion Papers 106, University of Münster, Münster Center for Economic Policy (MEP).
    17. Simon Mathex & Lisette Ibanez & Raphaële Préget, 2023. "Distinguishing economic and moral compensation in the rebound effect: A theoretical and experimental approach," Post-Print hal-04217073, HAL.
    18. Blum, Bianca & Hübner, Julian & Milde, Adrian & Neumärker, Karl Justus Bernhard, 2018. "On the evidence of rebound effects in the lighting sector: Implications for promoting LED lighting," The Constitutional Economics Network Working Papers 05-2018, University of Freiburg, Department of Economic Policy and Constitutional Economic Theory.
    19. Gilbert, Ben & Graff Zivin, Joshua, 2014. "Dynamic salience with intermittent billing: Evidence from smart electricity meters," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 107(PA), pages 176-190.
    20. Kevin Joseph Dillman & Áróra Árnadóttir & Jukka Heinonen & Michał Czepkiewicz & Brynhildur Davíðsdóttir, 2020. "Review and Meta-Analysis of EVs: Embodied Emissions and Environmental Breakeven," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-28, November.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Electric vehicles; Greenhouse gas emissions; Life cycle assessment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q48 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Government Policy
    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects
    • R48 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - Government Pricing and Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:retrec:v:52:y:2015:i:c:p:72-90. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/620614/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.