electricity costs
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Electric cars still cost significantly more to buy than gasoline-powered vehicles of the same size and capabilities. But cars that plug in are almost always cheaper to run per mile, often by a significant multiple. A study released Thursday has quantified those differences, comparing the cost-per-mile of gasoline versus electricity in different states. DON'T MISS: Buyers still think used electric cars cost more than gas cars; they're wrong Using state-by-state electricity-cost data from October and gas prices from late December, Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle at the University of...
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U.S. regulator rejects coal, nuclear bailout, says renewable energy may double by 2020
For much of last year, U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry pursued a plan that, in essence, would prop up the financially challenged U.S. coal and nuclear industries. His proposal, submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last fall, provided financial subsidies to electric-generation...
John Voelcker -
People have no idea what electricity is or how it works (video)
Everyone knows what a gallon of gasoline is, or what they paid the last time they put fuel in their car. But trying asking your friends, relatives, and neighbors how much they paid per kilowatt-hour in their last electric bill. Or even what a kilowatt-hour is. We guarantee you that 19 out of 20 of...
John Voelcker -
California plans for its post-fossil-fuel future in electricity, cars
For 50 years, the state of California has led the United States when it comes to renewable energy and electric cars. The state features many programs to incentivize electric-car ownership, and 29 percent of the state's 2016 energy production came from solar, wind, and other renewable power sources...
Sean Szymkowski -
Ohio bill would grant permanent subsidies to coal-fired power plants
It's now widely acknowledged that the energy and electricity-generation landscape is changing rapidly. The U.S. has vastly increased its oil and gas production, driving down prices of fossil fuels globally. At the same time, ever-cheaper renewable energy—not only solar, but surprisingly...
John Voelcker -
Tesla's Supercharger pricing: one owner reacts to new fees
It’s a new era in Teslaworld: the end of unlimited free Supercharging. Starting on January 15, anybody who orders a new Tesla Model S or Model X will receive an annual allotment of 400 free kilowatt-hours (good for about 1,200 miles). After that, they will have to pay for use of the...
David Noland -
Sometimes, when tucking in for the evening, you can't help but wonder: did I really make the right choice? Could I have done better? Even now, could I still do better? This is the question I ask myself, each evening, when I park my 2015 Nissan Leaf in the garage next to my wife’s 2006 Toyota Prius. Given that both vehicles are now driven daily into Boston from the suburbs, a direct comparison seems inescapable. Cost (your mileage may vary) Like many people, my wife keeps a logbook for the Prius showing the odometer readings, gallons added at each fill-up, cost, and indicated mpg. We now...
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Small Wind Turbines Now Offered On Leases, Like Solar Panels
A startup offers wind-turbine leases similar to ones already available for solar panels.
Stephen Edelstein -
Will Tesla Powerwall Home Battery Save Money? Cost Calculator Helps You Decide
Determining the economic benefits of home energy storage requires some calculation.
Stephen Edelstein -
As Solar Power Spreads, Diverse Users Fight Utility Attempts To Penalize It
Utilities' attempts to pinch solar are countered by the Left and Right.
Stephen Edelstein -
Indiana Utility: Electric-Car Owners Recharge FREE, At Night
Electric-car owners know that home recharging is virtually always cheaper, on a per-mile basis, than driving on gasoline. In some cases, it's considerably cheaper. We recently reported on the sweet deal enjoyed by a Tesla Model S owner in Indianapolis, whose local utility charges just 2.3 cents per...
David Noland -
The Coming Solar Power Boom: Charts Tell The Story, Grid Parity In 2 Years
Will solar panels become as cheap as grid electricity by 2016?
Stephen Edelstein -
I always knew electric cars were cheap to run, but this is ridiculous. After I bought the first set of replacement tires for my 2013 Tesla Model S (at 26,000 miles), I crunched the numbers and came to a startling conclusion: I've spent substantially less per mile for my electric "fuel" than I have for my tires. DON'T MISS: Life With Tesla Model S: At Last, Some Maintenance Needed (New Tires) The tires weren't cheap. The Michelin Primacy MXM4 all-season grand-touring tires set me back $250 apiece, plus mounting and balancing, for a total of $1,131. Over 26,277 miles, that works out to 4.3...
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Audi A3 e-tron Option: Carbon-Free Recharging (In Germany)
One advantage to plug-in electric cars is that they can operate with no carbon footprint if the electricity used to recharge them is generated from renewable sources. Burning liquid fuels, on the other hand, will always generate carbon emissions. Now Audi is offering a way for German buyers of its...
John Voelcker -
Electric-Car Charging: 15 Hours In Jail For 5 Cents Of Power
"Opportunity charging" can have serious consequences, as one Atlanta-area Nissan Leaf driver found out recently.
Stephen Edelstein -
Life With Tesla Model S: Even After Update, Vampire Draw Remains
The Tesla Model S, for all its technical and design artistry, has a dirty little secret: the car has a substantial appetite for kilowatt-hours even when turned off and parked. Since the Model S was introduced in 2012, this "vampire" power drain from the cars sold so far has consumed roughly 15...
David Noland -
Energy Department Launches 'eGallon' To Explain Electric-Car Cost, Efficiency
It isn't easy to compare gasoline and electric vehicles. Sure, you can look at EPA stickers, sit in them and appreciate the way they drive, but comparing like-for-like on an economic basis is requires some thought. The U.S. Department of Energy has simplified the process with its new eGallon...
Antony Ingram -
Electric Car + Solar Panels: Are They Right For You?
When it comes to service costs and fuel, everyone knows that electric cars are far cheaper to run than gasoline cars. Even with a plug-in car, however, you still have to pay your local utility company for the electricity used to charge it. Like gas prices, electricity prices are on a steady, upward...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Seven weeks ago, we told you about the March deal reached among NRG Energy, the state of California, and the state's Public Utility Commission that would install $100 million of electric-car charging stations in the state. At the time, we noted reservations from insiders who questioned certain provisions of the deal. Last Friday, the other shoe dropped. Charging-station provider Ecotality, which operates the Blink network of charging stations, has filed suit to block implementation of that agreement. Ecotality charges that the agreement 'punishes' NRG for overcharging California ratepayers by...
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Electric Cars Equal $1/Gallon Gas For Life + $1,200 Cash A Year
Car buyers are notoriously fond of focusing only on the purchase price of new vehicles, without much thinking about the total cost of ownership. For electric cars that may cost twice or more what a similar-size gasoline vehicle does, that's a problem. Still, two separate pieces of evidence begin to...
John Voelcker -
Single-Malt Powered Electric Car Offers Travel Sans Hangover
You might feel a little "green around the gills" the following morning, but a night of drinking Bruichladdich whisky from the UK helps to do your bit for green transportation. Mark Reynier is managing director of the whisky distillery in Scotland, and every day drives to work in his recently...
Antony Ingram -
Tesla Electric Car Plus Solar Power Equals Zero-Cost Driving (Video)
Mike Koenigs is also a true Tesla and clean power activist
George Parrott -
Virginia Utility Tests Cheap Rates for Electric Car Owners
Dominion Virginia Power announced yesterday that is waiting for Virginia State Corporation Commission approval to offer two electricity tariffs exclusively to electric vehicle owners in a bid to encourage customers to make the switch to electric cars. As we’ve discovered before, more and more...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Cheap Insurance For EVs? LEAF May Benefit, Will Others?
With all the talk of purchase price, charging costs, tax incentives, congestion charging exemptions and maintenance costs for EVs, there's one financial area which often gets overlooked - insuring them. With so few EVs on the road it's been difficult to gauge whether they'll cost more or less than...
Antony Ingram