Benefits of Reducing Air Emissions: Replacing Conventional with Electric Passenger Vehicles

Ofira Ayalon, Bernanda Flicstein, Amos Shtibelman

Natural Resource & Environmental Research Center, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel..

DOI: 10.4236/jep.2013.410119                

Abstract

The study estimated the cost of local and global air emissions, and to compare the differences between electric passenger vehicles (EV) and conventional, internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. The air emissions were estimated for the year 2020, for Denmark, France and Israel, because of their significantly different fuel mixes to produce electricity—a high percentage of renewable energy, mainly nuclear energy and high fossil fuels, respectively. Air emissions from electricity production and conventional traffic were calculated for each country and then multiplied by the specific country’s cost of emissions. Subtracting the total cost of electricity production from the total cost of conventional transportation yields the total benefit for each of the economies studied. The environmental benefit, depending on EV penetration rates, was found to be in the range of 7.8 to 133 MEUR/year for Denmark, 94 to1948 MEUR/year for France and only 4 to 82 MEUR/year for Israel, whose energy mix is the most polluting. Our analysis also shows higher potential benefits when replacing passenger car fleets comprising a high percentage of diesel cars with EVs, as well as in highly populated areas. In addition, we quantified the differences between EVs with fixed batteries and the new switch able battery concept (EASYBAT), as part of the EU 7^th Framework Program me. The additional electricity demands for the EASYBAT concept are negligible, and therefore, do not change the overall conclusion that the cleaner the electricity energy mix and the higher the penetration of EVs, the higher the environmental benefits achieved.

Keywords

Air Emissions; Electric Vehicles; Passenger Car Externalities; Power Generation Externalities; Battery-Switch EASYBAT EU FP7

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	M. Krzyzanowski, B. Kuna-Dibbert and J. Schneider. “Health Effects of Transport Related Air Pollution,” World Health Organization, 2005.
[2]	M. Ketzel, G. Omsted, C. Johansson, I. Düring, L. Gidhagen, A. Lohmeyer, R. Berkowicz and P. Wahlin, “Estimation and Validation of PM2. 5/PM10 Exhaust and Non Exhaust Emission Factors for Street Pollution Modelling,” 2005. http://www2.dmu.dk/AtmosphericEnvironment/NORPAC/Downloads/Ketzel_etal_UAQ5_short_paper.pdf
[3]	EPA, “About PM2.5, PM 10,” 2011. http://www.epa.gov/pmdesignations/faq.htm#1
[4]	M. M. Finkelstein, M. Jerrett and M. R. Sears, “Traffic Air Pollution and Mortality Rate Advancement Periods,” American Journal of Epidemiology, Vol. 160, No. 2, 2004, pp. 173-177. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwh181
[5]	MoEP (Israel), “Very Good Air Quality in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area and in Jerusalem on Yom Kippur,” 2006. http://www.environment.gov.il/bin/en.jsp?enPage=e_BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=Object&enDispWho=News^l3175&enZone=e_news
[6]	International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), “Diesel Engine Exhaust Carcinogenic,” 2012. http://press.iarc.fr/pr213_E.pdf
[7]	C. Thiel, A. Perujo and A. Mercier, “Cost and CO2 Aspects of Future Vehicle Options in Europe under New Energy Policy Scenarios,” Energy Policy, Vol. 38, No. 11, 2010, pp. 7142-7151. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2010.07.034
[8]	O. Van Vliet, A. S. Brouwer, T. Kuramochi, M. Van Den Broek and A. Faaij, “Energy Use, Cost and CO2 Emissions of Electric Cars,” Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 196, No. 4, 2011, pp. 2298-2310. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2010.09.119
[9]	T. Oxley, A. Elshkaki, L. Kwiatkowski, A. Castillo, T. Scarbrough and H. Apsimon, “Pollution Abatement from Road Transport: Cross-Sectoral Implications, Climate Co-Benefits and Behavioural Change,” Environmental Science & Policy, Vol. 19-20, 2012, pp. 16-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2012.01.004
[10]	B. van Wee, K. Maat and C. De Bont, “Improving Sustainability in Urban Areas: Discussing the Potential for Transforming Conventional Car-Based Travel into Electric Mobility,” European Planning Studies, Vol. 20, No. 1, 2012, pp. 95-110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09654313.2011.638497
[11]	A. Mues, A. Manders, M. Schaap, A. Kerschbaumer, R. Stern and P. Builtjes, “Impact of the Extreme Meteorological Conditions during the Summer 2003 in Europe on Particulate Matter Concentrations,” Atmospheric Environment, Vol. 55, 2012, pp. 377-391. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.03.002
[12]	E. Ganor, I. Osetinsky, A. Stupp and P. Alpert, “Increasing Trend of African Dust, over 49 Years, in the Eastern Mediterranean,” Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres, Vol. 115, No. D7, 2010, Article ID: D012500. http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2009JD012500
[13]	Yuval, D. M. Broday and P. Alpert, “Exploring the Applicability of Future Air Quality Predictions Based on Synoptic System Forecasts,” Environmental Pollution, Vol. 166, 2012, pp. 65-74 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2012.03.010
[14]	R. Beelen, G. Hoek, E. Pebesma, D. Vienneau, K. de Hoogh and D. J. Briggs, “Mapping of Background Air Pollution at a Fine Spatial Scale across the European Union,” Science of the Total Environment, Vol. 407, No. 6, 2009, pp. 1852-1867. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.11.048
[15]	Cleaner Air for Europe (CAFE), 2005. http://ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/cafe/pdf/ia_report_en050921_summary.pdf
[16]	M. C. Maibach, D. Schreyer, H. P. Sutter, B. H. van Essen, R. Boon, Smokers, et al., “Handbook on the Estimation of External Costs in the Transport Sector. Report Produced within the Study Internalisation Measures and Policies for All external Cost of Transport (IMPACT),” Version 1.1, Commissioned by the European Commission DG TREN Delft, 2008. http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes/sustainable/doc/2008_costs_handbook.pdf
[17]	EASYBAT Webpage, 2010. http://www.easybat-project.eu/
[18]	Economist, “Economics A-Z Terms,” 2013. http://www.economist.com/economics-a-to-z/e#node-21529743
[19]	P. Bickel and F. Rainer, “Externalities of Energy. Methodology 2005 Update,” Institut fur Energiewirtschaft un Rationelle Energieanwendung—IER, Universitat Stuttgart, 2005. http://ec.europa.eu/research/energy/pdf/kina_en.pdf
[20]	N. Becker, G. Rosenthal and D. Gabai, “Calculating the External Costs of Air Pollution from Transportation, Industry and Electricity Production (in Hebrew),” 2011. http://www.sviva.gov.il/subjectsEnv/SvivaAir/Documents/airexternalcost/AirNirB_1.pdf
[21]	MoEP (Israel), “Balance of Costs and Benefits from Renewable Energy Development in Israel (in Hebrew),” 2011. http://old.sviva.gov.il/Enviroment/Static/Binaries/ModulKvatzim/energy_renew-2011_1.pdf
[22]	Danish Energy Outlook, 2011. http://www.ens.dk/Documents/Netboghandel%20-%20publikationer/2011/Danish_Energy_Outlook_2011.pdf
[23]	IEA, “Energy Policies of IEA Countries—France,” 2009. http://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/france2009.pdf
[24]	Y. Rondestein, “Master Plan Electricity Sector 2007-2030 (in Hebrew),” 2007.
[25]	H. Herynkova, “Impact Analysis of Diffusion of Electric Vehicles in Denmark,” 2009. http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=1474757&fileOId=1646989
[26]	L. Coret and S. Fenet, “Mure II Project. Transport Rue Scenarios Evaluation with Mure. French Case Study,” 2000. http://www.mure2.com/doc/Tr_f.pdf
[27]	Heifetz & Co. and DHV MED, “Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Israel, a Review of Current Conditions and Examination of Mitigation Measures (in Hebrew),” 2009. http://www.sviva.gov.il/InfoServices/ReservoirInfo/DocLib2/Publications/P0501-P0600/P0519.pdf
[28]	REGULATION (EC) No 715/2007, “On Type Approval of Motor Vehicles with Respect to Emissions from Light Passenger and Commercial Vehicles (Euro 5 and Euro 6) and on Access to Vehicle Repair and Maintenance Information,” 2007. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2007:171:0001:0016:EN:PDF
[29]	REGULATION (EC) No 443/2009, “Setting Emission Performance Standards for New Passenger Cars as Part of the Community’s Integrated Approach to Reduce CO2 Emissions from Light-Duty Vehicles,” 2009. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:140:0001:0015:EN:PDF
[30]	M. Weiss, P. Bonnel, R. Hummel, U. Manfredi, R. Colombo, G. Lanappe, P. Le Lijour and M. Scula, “Analyzing On-Road Emissions of Light-Duty Vehicles with Portable Emission Measurement Systems (PEMS),” JRC European Commission—Scientific and Technical Report, 2011. http://www.energy.eu/publications/Analyzing-on-road-emissions-of-light-duty-vehicles-PEMS.pdf
[31]	G. Santos, H. Behrendt, L. Maconi, T. Shirvani and A. Teytelboym, “Part I: Externalities and Economic Policies in Road Transport,” Research in Transportation Economics, Vol. 28, No. 1, 2010, pp. 2-45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2009.11.002
[32]	Trading Economics, “Population in the Largest City (% of Urban Population) in Denmark,” 2010. http://www.tradingeconomics.com/denmark/population-in-the-largest-city-percent-of-urban-population-wb-data.html
[33]	About France, “The Main French Towns and Cities,” 2011. http://about-france.com/tourism/main-towns-cities.htm
[34]	Israel CBS—Central Bureau of Statistics, 2010. http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader/shnaton/templ_shnaton_e.html?num_tab=st02_05&CYear=2010
[35]	Eurostat, “Climate Change; Transport-Related Emissions,” 2009. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/Climate_change_-_driving_forces#Transport-related_emissions
[36]	EPA, “Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis,” 2010. http://www.epa.gov/oms/climate/regulations/scc-tsd.pdf
[37]	Renault, “Renault Unveils Finalized Designs of Fluence Z.E. and Kangoo Express Z.E,” 2010. http://www.greencarcongress.com/2010/04/renault-20100415.html
[38]	J. Kiviluoma and P. Meibom, “Methodology for Modeling Plug-In Electric Vehicles in the Power System and Cost Estimates for a System with Either Smart or Dumb Electric Vehicles,” Energy, Vol. 36, No. 3, 2011, pp. 1758-1767. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2010.12.053