The MEC Fuel Savings Calculator uses full fuel cycle factors and calculations obtained from the following sources:

Vehicle Fuel Consumption Rate:
Information on the litres consumed by a variety of vehicles sizes has been averaged from data on the Australian Government Green Vehicle Guide website.

Average Kilometers Per Annum:
The average kilometers travelled per annum for motor vehicles according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Survey of Motor Vehicle Use 2007, based on 2006 figures, is 14,600kms. Passenger vehicle average is 13,900kms.

Price of Petrol:
The average cost of petrol of $1.22 per litre was taken from the Australian Institute of Petroleum for December 2009.

Price of Electricity:
The cost of electricity (standard and green) has been sourced from a range of state supply utilities and averaged for December 2009 (available on request).

Kilowatt Hours Per 100 kms:
The number of kilowatt hours per 100kms has been calculated (conservatively) on the Mitsubish Mirage electric conversion featured on the MEC website and is consistent with the figures released for the General Motors Volt electric vehicle (a much larger vehicle). The Nissan Leaf is rated by the US EPA at 21.25 kWh per 100 kms

Annual Emissions:
The calculation of annual emissions factors has been sourced from the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, National Greenhouse Factors 2009.

Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to verify the information on this website, My Electric Car takes no responsibility for the accuracy or authenticity of the content of the website. My Electric Car does not accept any liability to any person for any information or any advice which is provided on this web site or incorporated into it by reference. The information provided is on the basis that anyone visiting the website undertakes responsibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content.

From Wikipedia on this subject:
( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_car )

"Pollution
Electric cars produce no pollution at the tailpipe which will contribute to cleaner air in cities, but their use increases demand for electricity generation. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted depends on the emission intensity of the power source used to charge the vehicle, the efficiency of the said vehicle and the energy wasted in the charging process.

For mains electricity the emission intensity varies significantly per country and within a particular country it will vary depending on demand,[70] the availability of renewable sources and the efficiency of the fossil fuel-based generation used at a given time.[71] Charging a vehicle using off-grid renewable energy yields very low carbon intensity (only that to produce and install the off-grid generation system e.g. domestic wind turbine).

An EV recharged from the existing US grid electricity emits about 115 grams of CO2 per kilometer driven (6.5 oz(CO2)/mi), whereas a conventional US-market gasoline powered car emits 250 g(CO2)/km (14 oz(CO2)/mi) (most from its tailpipe, some from the production and distribution of gasoline).[72] The savings are questionable relative to hybrid or diesel cars (according to official British government testing, the most efficient European market cars are well below 115 grams of CO2 per kilometer driven, although a study in Scotland gave 149.5gCO2/km as the average for new cars in the UK[73]), but would be more significant in countries with cleaner electric infrastructure. In a worst-case scenario where incremental electricity demand would be met exclusively with coal, a 2009 study conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature and IZES found that a mid-size EV would emit roughly 200 g(CO2)/km (11 oz(CO2)/mi), compared with an average of 170 g(CO2)/km (9.7 oz(CO2)/mi) for a gasoline-powered compact car.[74] This study concluded that introducing 1 million EV cars to Germany would, in the best-case scenario, only reduce CO2 emissions by 0.1%, if nothing is done to upgrade the electricity infrastructure or manage demand.[74]

In France, which has a clean energy grid, CO2 emissions from electric car use would be about 12g per kilometer.[75]

A study made in the UK in 2008 concluded that electric vehicles had the potential to cut down carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40%, even taking into account the emissions due to current electricity generation in the UK and emissions relating to the production and disposal of electric vehicles.[76]"