Skip to content

Monday, Oct. 26, 2020

Is some of the energy powering electric cars generated from coal?

Seth Smalley, Gigafact

yes

Though electric vehicles have no tailpipe emissions, in most of the U.S. the electricity recharging their batteries likely includes some portion of coal-generated power. In 2019, coal accounted for more than 23% of the U.S. electricity supply, but its share varies regionally. It's almost 80% in West Virginia, and nearly zero in California.

In states with "relatively low-polluting energy sources," electric vehicles "typically have a well-to-wheel emissions advantage over similar conventional vehicles running on gasoline or diesel," the U.S. Energy Department says. In coal-dependent regions, the advantage may not be significant.

A 2020 study by three European universities found that in 95% of the world, electric vehicles "lead to lower carbon emissions overall, even if electricity generation still relies on fossil fuels."

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

About fact briefs

Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.

See all fact briefs

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Learn More

Be a Friend of facts

Help us fund more great fact briefs like this one.