A comparative evaluation of CO2 emissions between internal combustion and electric vehicles in small isolated electrical power systems: case study of the Canary Islands

Abstract

One of the goals of the European Union (EU) is to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To this end, internal combustion vehicles (ICVs) will be progressively replaced with battery electric vehicles (BEVs) over the course of a transition period that is expected to last until 2035. While GHG reductions have been extensively evaluated for continental territories, this is not the case for territories with isolated electrical power systems, as in some islands of the EU. Emissions generated in these territories are considerably higher than in continental systems because their electricity generation mixes commonly have more polluting fuels. In this study, a calculation is performed of the CO2 emissions that result from the charging of a reference BEV in the different isolated electrical power systems of the Canary Islands (Spain). The results are then compared with the CO2 emissions of ICVs. Results show that the Canary electrical power systems that consume the least energy are the most contaminating and that charging a BEV entails higher CO2 emissions than those generated by an ICV. In addition, no significant differences were observed between BEV- and ICV-related CO2 emissions in the electrical power systems of the islands with higher energy consumption. A small decrease in CO2 emissions was only observed in isolated insular systems with energy storage systems and high levels of renewable penetration.