The Biden administration has pledged to work towards decarbonizing the U.S. electricity grid by 2035. And the recently passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill provides funding for more electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.
However, a claim that electric cars require an inordinate amount of oil or coal energy to charge has appeared on social media.
“An average electric car takes 66 KWH To charge. It takes 85 pounds of coal or six barrels of oil to make 66 KWH,” read a Dec 1 Facebook post that was shared nearly 500 times in a week. “Makes absolutely no sense.”
The post included a stock image of an electric car charging.
This claim is in the ballpark for the coal comparison, but the math on the oil usage is wildly inaccurate.
And the actual source of energy used to charge an electric car is dependent on the energy mix in the local electricity grid. Most U.S. grids are powered by multiple sources of energy, including renewables such as solar and wind.
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USA TODAY reached out to the social media user for comment.
It would take roughly 70 pounds of coal to produce the energy required to charge a 66 kWh electric car battery, said Ian Miller, a research associate at the MIT Energy Institute. That's about 15 pounds less than...
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