Are you actually driving a COAL-POWERED EV?
We hear it all the time: "EVs are 'ZERO EMISSIONS'."
Is that true?
First, let's completely ignore the millions of barrels of oil used and gigatons of CO2 gases released in mining, refining, manufacturing, and transporting those shiny new EVs... and instead assume that an advanced race of benevolent intergalactic space aliens beam down the nearly 300 million cars needed to convert the United States into an EV-only future. (It would take almost 1,000 YEARS for Tesla to make that many cars at their 2021 production levels!!!)
POOF! Every vehicle is an EV. Thanks to our benefactors in the Galactic Community, but they also say that it's up to us humans to power them.
So how are we making that power?
Here's a series of maps showing how each of the States generate their power:
(Hawaii and Kansas are outliers, as HI is primarily diesel at 67.7% and KS is primarily wind at 43.9%. For this reason, no maps exist below for wind or petroleum, nor for other fringe methods like burning wood, a.k.a. "biomass reactors".)
States with COAL as their primary energy source
States with COAL as their primary energy source
For those data nerds out there, here's a list of all States and their primary source for energy:
| STATE | PRIMARY ENERGY SOURCE |
|---|---|
| AK | Natural Gas |
| AL | Natural Gas |
| AR | Natural Gas |
| AZ | Natural Gas |
| CA | Natural Gas |
| CO | Coal |
| CT | Natural Gas |
| DC | Natural Gas |
| DE | Natural Gas |
| FL | Natural Gas |
| GA | Natural Gas |
| HI | Petroleum |
| IA | Wind |
| ID | Hydroelectric Conventional |
| IL | Nuclear |
| IN | Coal |
| KS | Wind |
| KY | Coal |
| LA | Natural Gas |
| MA | Natural Gas |
| MD | Nuclear |
| ME | Hydroelectric Conventional |
| MI | Natural Gas |
| MN | Nuclear |
| MO | Coal |
| MS | Natural Gas |
| MT | Hydroelectric Conventional |
| NC | Nuclear |
| ND | Coal |
| NE | Coal |
| NH | Nuclear |
| NJ | Natural Gas |
| NM | Coal |
| NV | Natural Gas |
| NY | Natural Gas |
| OH | Natural Gas |
| OK | Natural Gas |
| OR | Hydroelectric Conventional |
| PA | Natural Gas |
| RI | Natural Gas |
| SC | Nuclear |
| SD | Hydroelectric Conventional |
| TN | Nuclear |
| TX | Natural Gas |
| UT | Coal |
| VA | Natural Gas |
| VT | Hydroelectric Conventional |
| WA | Hydroelectric Conventional |
| WI | Coal |
| WV | Coal |
| WY | Coal |
| US Total | Natural Gas |
Primary Power Source: COAL
| STATE | % COAL | % "FOSSIL" | % "RENEWABLE" |
|---|---|---|---|
| AK | 11.5% | 69.3% | 2.0% |
| AL | 15.8% | 56.0% | 31.9% |
| AR | 28.2% | 61.8% | 28.1% |
| AZ | 12.6% | 59.1% | 34.8% |
| CA | 0.2% | 47.8% | 37.0% |
| CO | 36.0% | 69.2% | 27.5% |
| CT | 0.0% | 57.2% | 38.7% |
| DE | 2.0% | 94.7% | 1.1% |
| FL | 6.6% | 82.8% | 14.3% |
| GA | 11.6% | 61.0% | 30.5% |
| HI | 12.8% | 80.6% | 12.0% |
| IA | 23.7% | 35.7% | 62.2% |
| ID | 0.1% | 23.6% | 19.4% |
| IL | 18.0% | 32.2% | 67.2% |
| IN | 53.0% | 88.8% | 7.4% |
| KS | 31.1% | 36.4% | 63.4% |
| KY | 68.7% | 91.4% | 0.1% |
| LA | 3.9% | 77.5% | 16.9% |
| MA | 0.0% | 78.0% | 9.0% |
| MD | 9.3% | 48.6% | 44.8% |
| ME | 0.6% | 20.0% | 24.2% |
| MI | 26.2% | 61.3% | 34.9% |
| MN | 24.8% | 45.8% | 49.8% |
| MO | 71.3% | 81.9% | 15.4% |
| MS | 6.9% | 87.5% | 10.4% |
| MT | 36.4% | 39.6% | 13.2% |
| NC | 16.7% | 50.1% | 41.1% |
| ND | 58.1% | 61.7% | 32.3% |
| NE | 51.0% | 54.3% | 41.7% |
| NH | 0.8% | 23.3% | 63.6% |
| NJ | 1.5% | 51.7% | 45.9% |
| NM | 37.5% | 72.8% | 26.5% |
| NV | 4.8% | 71.1% | 23.9% |
| NY | 0.1% | 41.3% | 33.8% |
| OH | 37.2% | 81.5% | 17.1% |
| OK | 7.2% | 60.4% | 35.8% |
| OR | 2.6% | 32.5% | 15.8% |
| PA | 10.2% | 62.7% | 34.9% |
| RI | 0.0% | 93.1% | 4.6% |
| SC | 12.6% | 37.3% | 57.3% |
| SD | 11.7% | 19.5% | 39.2% |
| TN | 17.7% | 37.3% | 46.0% |
| TX | 16.6% | 68.8% | 30.1% |
| US | 19.3% | 60.3% | 30.8% |
| UT | 61.5% | 87.1% | 10.1% |
| VA | 3.7% | 64.6% | 30.6% |
| WA | 4.5% | 16.5% | 16.1% |
| WI | 38.7% | 74.6% | 18.9% |
| WV | 88.6% | 93.8% | 3.3% |
| WY | 79.4% | 82.8% | 13.5% |
"--" denotes insufficient data for calculation
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