There's been a lot of talk about the benefits of 'green energy' and how that story is being sold as such. However, the green isn't as green as it is been sold or marketed.
Firstly, producing an electric vehicle contributes, on average, twice as much to global warming potential and uses double the amount of energy than producing a combustion engine car. This is mainly because of its battery. Battery production uses a lot of energy, from the extraction of raw materials to the electricity consumed in manufacture. The bigger the electric car and its range, the more battery cells are needed to power it, and consequently the more carbon produced.
Secondly, once in use, an electric vehicle is only as green as the electricity that feeds its battery. A coal-powered battery is dirtier than a solar-powered battery. Governments can help by speeding up their transition to greener energy.
Thirdly, while an electric vehicle has a higher carbon footprint at the beginning of its lifecycle, it is typically cleaner once in use. Over time, it can catch up on the combustion engine car. The point at which an electric vehicle’s lifetime emissions break even with a combustion engine car also depends on the car’s mileage.
So, taking all of the above into consideration - just how green is green.
From an article back from 2016 (Electrek), it was estimated that a Tesla 70kwh model S pack contains 63kg of lithium. That figure in all probability is lower now with advances in technology, however at that rate it's not hard to see how much lithium is needed even just to electrify the US govt fleet. Governments tend to hold vehicles for a comparatively short time prior to replacement and given that the useful life cycle of a battery pack is perhaps say 10 years then accordingly, not only will demand increase but also the amount of 'spent' batteries.
The concept of green energy and it's longer term effects is not all positive - there are some serious negative issues that also need to be addressed and whilst I'm sure they are being looked at, the push for demand may result in a lag of dealing with these negative issues with their detrimental effects. The overall picture may not be as green as it appears on the surface. AIMHO.
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