There has been a significant environmental development that has received little attention. Electric power generation is no longer the largest source of greenhouse gasses in the U.S. The transportation sector surpassed it several years ago.

Greenhouse gasses emitted from electric plants peaked around 2005. Since then they have decreased due to the closure of coal-fired plants, which have been replaced by less-polluting gas-fired plants and by non-polluting renewable energy. Electric rates have stabilized for several years because these replacements have become inexpensive. Clean air is no longer costing us.

Meanwhile emissions from the transportation sector have have hardly changed in the last fifteen years. Since 60 percent of greenhouse gas released by transport is from tailpipes of gasoline vehicles, electric vehicles have real potential to provide significant decrease. And car owners will benefit because electric vehicles are cheaper to fuel and easier to service than gasoline vehicles.

Source: EIA Monthly Energy Review, accessed 04 Dec 2020, https://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/monthly/