Given that for every 10 kWh (units) of electricity made 'available for use' in our homes, the far distant, Midlands based fossil fuel (coal or natural gas) powered power station has to generate 37kWh of 'heat energy' then surely it makes much more economic and ecological sense for us to generate our own electricity as close to home as possible? (This is because 27 units of the 'heat energy' generated at the 'distant' power station is 'lost' in the generation process and in its journey of many, many miles over 'lossy' overhead power lines from the 'furnace/boiler/generator' to the wall socket in your home). Similarly, if nuclear power is used to replace the fossil fuel 'furnace' the remaining stages of generation, transmission and distribution are subject to the same 'heat losses' as are involved in those same process stages in the fossil fuel case.

The nominal efficiency of the process is further diminished in the use of mains electricity in our homes to charge up the 400 volt 5/10/22/24 kWh 'battery' in an electric (EV) or in a petrol-electric hybrid (PEHV) car or motorcycle. Typically between 30 and 50% more electricity than is actually stored as usable energy in the battery, has to be 'drawn from the mains' in the battery charging process. Finally the conversion of stored electrical power in the battery to motive force in the car is no more than 85% efficient. Thus 'doing the maths' we can see that for the EV or PEHV, the 'conversion efficiency' from power station to 'motive power on the road' is between 10/37 x 1/1.5 x 0.85 = 0.153 and 10/37 x 1/1.3 x 0.85 = 0.177 i.e. the conversion efficiency is between 15% and 18% with a typical value of 16.4% for coal fired electricity generation. In contrast the conversion efficiency between petroleum based fuels burnt in an internal combustion engine (ICE) and 'motive power on the road' is typically around 18%.

If the petrol/diesel burning ICE had been 'invented' before the electric car and the steam engined car were introduced in Europe, towards the end of the 19th Century, then the electric car would probably never have been seriously considered for anything other than certain 'niche' applications such as milk delivery 'floats' since the 'start/stop' nature of this activity is ideally suited to rechargeable battery-electric propulsion. (Milk delivery floats, and golf buggy carts, commonly seen in the mid to late 20 th century even used heavy Lead-Acid batteries and yet they seemed to work satisfactorily).

P.S. As a final example of benchmarking 'comparison' - the 'conversion efficiency' of solar energy to 240 volt rms a.c. electricity, using modern, roof mounted domestic solar panel arrays etc, is around 15% - makes you think doesn't it ?

Do I feel a range of futuristic, Hydrogen Fuel Cell based, electric, light weight, personal transport vehicles with their associated, supporting, geographic, Europe wide infrastructure coming along in the next decade or so ?