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India’s Messy Electric Vehicle Revolution

nytimes.com

1–10 of 64 posts

Re: India’s Messy Electric Vehicle Revolution

#2
One thing not mentioned in the article is that virtually all of Delhi's autorickshaws are powered by CNG, not gas/petrol. On the other hand, most of India's electricity comes from coal, and dirty coal at that. So is switching to e-rickshaws really a net benefit?

Re: India’s Messy Electric Vehicle Revolution

#3

One thing not mentioned in the article is that virtually all of Delhi's autorickshaws are powered by CNG, not gas/petrol. On the other hand, most of India's electricity comes from coal, and dirty coal at that. So is switching to e-rickshaws really a net benefit?

Coal power plants are more efficient than internal combustion engines. So yes, e-rickshaws are cleaner.

Re: India’s Messy Electric Vehicle Revolution

#4

One thing not mentioned in the article is that virtually all of Delhi's autorickshaws are powered by CNG, not gas/petrol. On the other hand, most of India's electricity comes from coal, and dirty coal at that. So is switching to e-rickshaws really a net benefit?

Even dirty coal is possibly better than dirty diesel and petrol. Yes, its dirty: what kind of remediation can be done in a centralized generator, compared to distributed catalytic converters in exhaust (which fail in service, or are not fitted) and a huge burden in NO and related problems.

Coal is bad, polluting, creates health hazards and we need to get rid of it. Petrol and Diesel are not "better" and there are reasons central generation may overall be net beneficial especially given the efficiency of generation, transmission losses and in-engine effects comparing ICE to EV

Re: India’s Messy Electric Vehicle Revolution

#5

One thing not mentioned in the article is that virtually all of Delhi's autorickshaws are powered by CNG, not gas/petrol. On the other hand, most of India's electricity comes from coal, and dirty coal at that. So is switching to e-rickshaws really a net benefit?

Sure. It’s easier to switch a few coal plants to gas, solar, etc than try and convince millions of people to switch to EV’s.

The hard part is done.

The article says the electricity is often stolen. We’ll call that market forces.

Re: India’s Messy Electric Vehicle Revolution

#6
post #4

One thing not mentioned in the article is that virtually all of Delhi's autorickshaws are powered by CNG, not gas/petrol. On the other hand, most of India's electricity comes from coal, and dirty coal at that. So is switching to e-rickshaws really a net benefit?

Even dirty coal is possibly better than dirty diesel and petrol. Yes, its dirty: what kind of remediation can be done in a centralized generator, compared to distributed catalytic converters in exhaust (which fail in service, or are not fitted) and a huge burden in NO and related problems. Coal is bad, polluting, creates health hazards and we need to get rid of it. Petrol and Diesel are not "better" and there are rea…

Dirty coal and the inefficiencies associated with generating electricity, then storing it in lead-acid batteries and then turning an e-rickshaw is definitely less efficient and far more polluting than autorickshaws running on CNG.

Re: India’s Messy Electric Vehicle Revolution

#7
post #4

One thing not mentioned in the article is that virtually all of Delhi's autorickshaws are powered by CNG, not gas/petrol. On the other hand, most of India's electricity comes from coal, and dirty coal at that. So is switching to e-rickshaws really a net benefit?

Even dirty coal is possibly better than dirty diesel and petrol. Yes, its dirty: what kind of remediation can be done in a centralized generator, compared to distributed catalytic converters in exhaust (which fail in service, or are not fitted) and a huge burden in NO and related problems. Coal is bad, polluting, creates health hazards and we need to get rid of it. Petrol and Diesel are not "better" and there are rea…

India has an ambitious goal of generating 175GW from renewable sources by 2022. There are various solar power plants coming up all over the country.

Source: https://www.niti.gov.in/reports [Line item 6]

PS: NITI is the apex advisory body to the Indian Govt.

Re: India’s Messy Electric Vehicle Revolution

#8

One thing not mentioned in the article is that virtually all of Delhi's autorickshaws are powered by CNG, not gas/petrol. On the other hand, most of India's electricity comes from coal, and dirty coal at that. So is switching to e-rickshaws really a net benefit?

Reading between the lines, it seems that a major advantage of e-rickshaws is that it's easier to steal electricity to recharge them vs gas/petrol.

Re: India’s Messy Electric Vehicle Revolution

#9
post #4

One thing not mentioned in the article is that virtually all of Delhi's autorickshaws are powered by CNG, not gas/petrol. On the other hand, most of India's electricity comes from coal, and dirty coal at that. So is switching to e-rickshaws really a net benefit?

Even dirty coal is possibly better than dirty diesel and petrol. Yes, its dirty: what kind of remediation can be done in a centralized generator, compared to distributed catalytic converters in exhaust (which fail in service, or are not fitted) and a huge burden in NO and related problems. Coal is bad, polluting, creates health hazards and we need to get rid of it. Petrol and Diesel are not "better" and there are rea…

Parent didn’t mention petroleum or diesel, just CNG.

CNG has much less pollution than those two things, but emits the same amount of CO2 (in concern of global warming).

Re: India’s Messy Electric Vehicle Revolution

#10
post #3

One thing not mentioned in the article is that virtually all of Delhi's autorickshaws are powered by CNG, not gas/petrol. On the other hand, most of India's electricity comes from coal, and dirty coal at that. So is switching to e-rickshaws really a net benefit?

Coal power plants are more efficient than internal combustion engines. So yes, e-rickshaws are cleaner.

Are cleaner than CNG rickshaws?
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