A brand new electrical automobile (EV) battery manufacturing facility in Kansas, funded by Panasonic with a $4 billion funding, is inflicting the state to delay the retirement of a coal-fired energy plant resulting from its excessive vitality calls for. The manufacturing facility, which aligns with the Biden administration’s push for EV adoption, is anticipated to require between 200 and 250 megawatts of electrical energy, equal to what a small metropolis would eat.
Evergy, the utility serving the manufacturing facility, expressed issues about useful resource adequacy to the Kansas City Corporation Commission. To meet the vitality wants of the manufacturing facility, the utility intends to proceed utilizing the coal plant close to Lawrence, Kansas, and postpone plans to transition some models to pure fuel. This determination has drawn criticism from environmentalists.
A coal energy plant shall be used to energy an EV battery manufacturing facility, which drew criticism from environmentalists.
A Lesser-known Fact About EVs
The state of affairs highlights a lesser-known reality about EVs: their manufacturing necessitates substantial vitality consumption. For occasion, a 15-pound lithium-ion battery requires as a lot vitality as a pound of oil, involving intensive mining and processing of minerals.
On common, an EV battery weighs round 1,000 kilos, and the emissions generated throughout the mining and manufacturing course of usually exceed these of a gas-powered automobile. As a consequence, EVs have to be pushed for a substantial distance, round 50,000 to 60,000 miles, earlier than their web carbon dioxide emissions discount is realized.
With the rising variety of factories supplying EV producers within the U.S., the demand on the facility grid is anticipated to rise considerably. Recognizing the necessity for coal to supply baseload energy, there may be rising consciousness amongst lawmakers and vitality consultants that prematurely shutting down coal-fired energy crops might pose vitality provide challenges.
While renewable vitality sources like photo voltaic and wind are vital for supplemental energy, they might not present the constant, baseload wanted for a dependable vitality provide. This actuality underscores the advanced vitality calls for related to the transition to electrical automobiles and the necessity for a balanced strategy to make sure vitality sustainability.
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