How cleanly powered is your electric vehicle? Appalachian Power and Dominion Energy share data - WDBJ

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - When you look to the streets nowadays, odds are you’ll see more electric vehicles roaming the roads.

Their popularity has soared in recent years, mainly by touting their zero-emissions.

But the electricity powering them has to come from somewhere, and major local power providers are sharing details with WDBJ7.

“Right now we do burn more fossil fuel - that’s coal and natural gas - to generate our electricity versus available renewables like solar, wind and hydro, however, that percentage is changing,” said Teresa Hall with Appalachian Power.

Hall says coal makes up a little over 60% of their energy right now, with natural gas clocking in at almost 20%. However, in the coming years, those numbers will sharply drop.

“Just in the last few months we’ve added 20 megawatts of solar from a facility located in Henry County and we’ll be adding even more solar to our supply in the coming months,” said Hall.

Solar, along with wind and hydroelectric from places like Smith Mountain Lake will help AEP continue toward cleaner energy.

And they’re not alone in the endeavor.

“Today when someone in Dominion Energy’s service territory buys an electric vehicle, right off the bat they’ve made a significant cut to their CO2 footprint,” said Craig Carper with Dominion Energy.

As of 2020, coal and natural gas make up over half of Dominion’s energy, with nuclear making up almost a third.

“As we continuously move more and more of our grid to zero-carbon renewable fuel sources,” said Carper, “this energy that powers your home and your car will get cleaner and cleaner every year.”

In a little over a decade they plan to have over half their energy come from renewable resources, with nuclear still making up about a third.

“The transition is happening,” said Hall.

In 2020 former Gov. Ralph Northam signed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, setting a goal of 100% electricity from carbon-free sources by 2050. Both companies plan to meet that deadline.

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