Again, none of this is to say solar canopies are bad. They are a net positive, all things considered, because we need all the solar we can possibly get if we want green energy any time soon.

But the relationship between EVs and that green energy is more complicated than is often presented. As a recent study argues , more than half of the emission-reduction impact from fewer gas-powered vehicles will be offset by increased emissions from the electricity sector “without significant and concurrent changes to the electricity sector far more substantial than those over the last decade.”