Today, on World Consumer Rights Day, I make a wish to be able to afford an electric car. I would like manufacturers to stop reserving this innovation for the luxury niche, and produce models for the mass market. It looks like my wish may start coming true soon.
Last week I met a person who was adamant that electric vehicles (EV) are no better than ordinary cars (with combustion engines). I felt so helpless against their firm belief in this misinformation, and decided a quick blog on this was in order.
There is plenty of evidence that EVs are a huge improvement, from the the US EPA debunking ‘EV myths‘, to the detailed scientific account of the IPCC Working Group III chapter on Transportation. EVs win hands down – especially when charged using renewable energy (such as solar power or wind).
Full life-cycle analysis takes account of greenhouse gas emissions of a product, during all stages of its existence: manufacture, storage, transport, retail, operation while in use, and finally scrapping or recycling – including powering and supplying all the raw materials and processes along the way.
Battery technology is also progressing rapidly – watch this space. The perceived issues with Lithium-Ion batteries will soon be moot. The more we invest in EVs, the more research and development will happen, and the sooner we’ll see even better solutions.
Having said all that, I must now confess that owning and driving a car is an environmentally unfriendly privilege for those who can afford it, that should eventually be phased out. Manufacture-related emissions are still considerable, and electric private cars are not the solution for a climate-resilient future. To achieve net-zero-emissions, electrified public transport is the way to go – of course fueled by renewable energy.
However, EVs have another potential use: vehicle-to-grid technology is an emerging solution to help solve the problem of variable power supply from solar and wind, providing power stability to the owner or even to the wider grid. EVs are plugged into the grid whenever they are not in use, adding to the total power storage capacity. They store excess power when available, and help supply the grid during high demand periods.
UPDATE (22 April 2022): in a recent article “The search for South Africa’s lost electric car“, the Daily Maverick reveals that already back in October 2008 an electric vehicle (the Joule) was unveiled at the Paris Motor Show. Full-scale production was supposed to start in 2012, “with cars in showrooms by mid-2013”. ‘Van Van’ replied that they saw the Joule displayed at Cop17 in Durban: “It was beautiful.” Jeffrey Barbee shared a link to a video:
This is so amazing! But for some reason the Industrial Development Corporation of SA pulled out, the government refused to provide funding, the idea was scrapped. Apparently one out of the four fully functional cars still survives. Now I feel deeply depressed that 11 years ago South Africa missed such an incredible opportunity.
EASTERaction 