Is E-mobility a panacea for emission mitigation? A case study of an Indian city

Catering to the growing demand for urban mobility and emphasis on reducing air pollution in towns and cities are mutually conflicting objectives. One solution is a paradigm shift of the transportation policies from personal vehicles to public transportation system using electric buses. Using electric bus fleets for public transportation is not straightforward in Indian cities for two reasons, viz., weak electricity grid and predominantly coal-based power generation. In this work, a novel transportation system, that uses solar PV generation and large capacity batteries, is analyzed for its impact on air pollution and environmental sustainability. A detailed well to wheel analysis of the system, for various power generation scenarios, is presented and also compared with the existing ones. The analysis done in this work answers the question: “Can the electric bus-based public transportation contribute towards emission reduction in transportation?” The results also elaborate that to reach the target under the Paris Protocol, India has to take drastic majors like phasing out of coal by 2030. To phase out Coal, India has to reduce its contribution by 5% each year from now and use renewable energy sources extensively.