Stationary Emissions vs. Mobile Sources

Batteries and electricity are the perfect medium for powering cars. No pollution on board. Just need to focus on manufacture and recycling/disposal of batteries, not so much a tailpipe and what’s coming out if it.

Of course a lot of that electricity is currently (no pun intended) coming from non-renewable sources such as coal. Many say that is just shifting the problem. Not only do many studies that seem to indicate that overall emissions would be reduced (see presentations here), it’s a good move for another reason.

The beauty of moving emissions treatment upstream to stationary sources it that it makes it less difficult to reduce overall emissions. It’s a lot easier to clean up a stationary smokestack than by trying to control it on a rolling chemistry set that operates in all sorts of weather conditions while moving about, and expends even more energy carrying the weight of the emissions controls devices.

A powerplant is a lot more amenable to having aftertreatment devices fitted (if necessary). Weights not really an issue. It doesn’t have to be driven anywhere. Space constraints are far less restrictive than under the hood of a car. It makes sense. Let’s get mobile sources to be zero emissions, open up the stationary power generation sites to reducing overall emissions, and use electricity as the common energy source.