United States Department of Transportation
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Abstract:The U.S. transportation system relies on oil for 94 percent of delivered energy with no substitutes currently available at scale. This complete dependence on a single fuel has its origins in a time when oil was an inexpensive and exclusively domestic resource, but over time, it has created serious economic and national security vulnerabilities for the United States. In addition to highly volatile and economically damaging prices, petroleum fuels carry high environmental costs. With nearly 50 percent of U.S. supplies deriving from foreign producers, high oil prices have also contributed heavily to an expanding trade deficit and national security concerns. Electrification of the transportation system with plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) has the potential to decrease the United States’ dependence on oil and the risks associated with its production and use. Using electricity as a fuel also has benefits for the average consumer, as it is less expensive than gasoline, and electricity prices are less volatile than gasoline prices (MIT 2010). From 1976 to 2008, the price of residential electricity decreased 0.1 percent in real terms while gasoline prices increased by 75 percent in real terms (EIA 2009). In the United States, petroleum accounts for less than one percent of electricity generated, almost all electricity is from domestic fuels, and electricity can be made from sources with almost no greenhouse gas emissions (EIA 2011). Therefore, electrification has the potential to mitigate some of the negative consequences of oil dependency on the economy, national security, and the environment (MIT 2010)
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