Energy Security

The U.S. relies almost completely on one single fuel source for its light-, medium-, and heavy-duty fleet: petroleum. The U.S. spends over $300 billion on imported foreign oil annually, which represents over 50 percent of the U.S. trade deficit.  According to the International Energy Agency, oil demand from developing countries will cause prices to average $100 a barrel between now and 2015, and to double by 2030.

As an alternative to oil, we can fuel our vehicles with electricity, which is reliable, abundant, and domestically produced.  In fact, a recent federal study projected that, with grid management, 73 percent of the light duty fleet could be fueled by electricity without having to add any new generating capacity. The change would displace an estimated 6.2 million barrels of oil a day, about 52 percent of current oil imports.

Key facts

"[There is] $1 billion that American families and businesses send overseas every day for oil" (Gobbling Less Gas for Thanksgiving)

"Oak Ridge National Laboratory estimates the combined total [foreign oil expenditure] has reached more than $5 trillion since 1970" (An Action Plan)

"OPEC [Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela] accounts for 40% of the world's yearly oil production [...] and this dependence is projected to increase to more than 50% by 2025" (Plug-in Electric Vehicles: A Practical Plan for Progress)

"One out of eight U.S. Army casualties in Iraq (2003-2007) resulted from protecting fuel convoys" (CNN)

"70% of the oil consumed in the United States is used for transportation" (Will Electric Cars Transform the U.S. Vehicle Market?)

"Oil demand [is] projected to grow by 1 percent per year on average from now to 2030—reaching 105.2 million barrels per day in 2030" (Changing the Game)

"The transport sector [is] the main driver of this growth [in oil demand] (accounting for 97 percent)" (Changing the Game)

"Electric vehicles –if widely adopted – could reduce petroleum fuel consumption by 70 to 90%" (Plugging-In)

"PHEVs are expected to displace the use of 380 million gallons of gasoline in 2015, increasing to 1.4 billion gallons in 2020" (Transportation Electrification)

"American troops are deployed on oil-security missions, costing U.S. taxpayers $67 billion to $83 billion a year" (Electric Vehicles: Reducing Foreign Oil Dependence)

"The U.S. passenger vehicle fleet accounts for more than 40 percent of U.S. oil demand" (An Action Plan)

"In the United States, 94 percent of cars, trucks, ships and planes depend on oil" (Electric Vehicles: Reducing Foreign Oil Dependence)

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