EPA Stopped Updating the Data Behind Electric Vehicle Emissions. The Numbers Still Show EVs are Winners

A new analysis backs up what researchers have said for years: driving an electric vehicle produces far less climate-warming pollution than driving a gas car, even after accounting for the emissions from generating electricity. The average EV on the road today is as clean as a hypothetical gas car getting 100 miles per gallon, about a quarter of the emissions from an average new gasoline vehicle. This holds true almost everywhere in the country. In regions covering 96 percent of the US population, the average EV beats even the most efficient gas car sold, a 57 mpg hybrid.

Where you live affects how clean your EV would be, since it depends on how your local grid generates power. Upstate New York has the cleanest grid in the country, where an EV's emissions match a 219 mpg gas car. California has the lowest emissions on a state-by-state basis, at the equivalent of 164 mpg. Even in places with dirtier grids, like the Texas region, where more than 60 percent of power still comes from fossil fuels, an EV still beats gas, matching an 87 mpg car. Choosing a more efficient EV model also matters: the most efficient one on the market would beat the best gas car everywhere in the country, even in the state with the dirtiest grid.

The analysis also flagged a data problem: the EPA database that tracks power-plant emissions, used for years to calculate these comparisons, has stopped being updated, with no explanation given. Researchers worked around the gap using the agency's own open-source methods and outside data to keep the numbers current.