WELL-TO-WHEEL CO2 EMISSION OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE IN POLAND

Abstract

The total CO2 emission of electric vehicle depends on a renewable energy share in an energy market of given country. At the moment, this share is significant only in a few European countries (Denmark, Germany, Scandinavian countries) having large number of water, solar and wind power plants. Additionally, France may be considered as a country possessing low-emission electric energy, because around 90% of this energy is generated by a nuclear power plants. In order to compare the greenhouse gas emission from an electric vehicle with combustion powered cars well-to-wheel (WtW) methodology may be applied. The well-to-wheel emission estimates the total CO2 which is required to generate a given power measured on vehicle wheels including generating, transferring and processing losses. The magnitude of WtW varies from 0g/km in the case of a vehicle charged directly by a solar or wind powered charging point to 200 g/km in the case of charging form public grid powered by old coal power plants. For the Polish energy market the share of renewable energy sources is negligible (below 10%), moreover majority of a power plants uses coal to generate electricity. However, according to the EU strategy this share should be doubled until 2020. Additionally, it is considered building of a nuclear power plant, which results in further reduction of CO2 from energetic industry. In this article WtW CO2 emission of electric driven vehicle charged from the public grid was analyzed for Polish conditions at present and various growth scenario as well. Moreover, an actual energy market structure as well as growth perspectives were reviewed.