Electric cars cleaner than any gas-only car for 97 percent of U.S. drivers

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The Union of Concerned Scientists released an updated version of its MPG-equivalencies map last week, showing what fuel efficiency would be necessary in a gasoline car to equal the carbon footprint of an electric car on different U.S. regional electric grids.

The group explains in detail the methodological changes it made to its latest estimates, but the crucial point remains the same: the grid mix varies considerably from state to state and region to region.

The West Coast and the Northeast have the lowest-carbon grids, meaning gasoline cars would have to get 70 mpg or better to be as clean as electric cars in those regions.

Other grids have lower equivalencies, but only one—in the Rocky Mountains—is below 40 mpg, using the most recent grid data (from 2014) and a sales-weighted average of 2016 electric-car sales.

Six regional grids fall between 41 mpg and 50 mpg, and everywhere else is higher than 50 mpg—with the best, in New York state above New York City, at a whopping 160 mpg.

In other words, to emit as little carbon per mile as an electric car charged on the New York state grid, a gasoline car would have to be rated at 160 miles per gallon. Which will never happen without a plug.

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