There is much discussion about the level of range needed for an electric vehicle to achieve longer journeys. The idea that an electric vehicle requires the same range as a liquid-fueled vehicle is arbitrary, and irrational.
Apart from everybody giving up eating meat, everyone ditching their diesel and petrol cars to drive a shiny new electric vehicle is the best contribution we can make to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The ideal, therefore, is for it to be as easy as possible for everyone to get their hands on an electric vehicle, but what are the bridges and roadblocks on the road to making that a reality?
Insurance companies in the UK are now seemingly reluctant to insure electric vehicles. Well, they will insure them, but they will charge drivers a premium to do so. We have no data to support a direct linkage between higher insurance rates on electric vehicles and lower adoption rates, but the logic is hard to deny.
New legislation has been enacted in the UK on the 19th of July, 2018. Though this is UK legislation, and only applies here, it is important because it is one of the first attempts to enshrine the requirements for autonomous vehicles, and electric vehicle charging, into law. The legislation is the “Automated and Electric Vehicles Act 2018,” sponsored by The Secretary of State for Transport, Christopher Grayling.
Recently, I have been involved in a number of discussions on CleanTechnica about the range required for an EV to do longer journeys, and to be considered more than just a “city car” for local runs.
This question required a lot of technical research on a wide range of cars to come up with an answer. The basic idea is that an EV is there to convert electrical energy into kinetic energy, or less technically, electricity in for miles of travel out.
ometimes, on CleanTechnica, I have seen articles extolling the virtues of futuristic designs for service stations for electric vehicle drivers that include full user facilities for their refreshment and entertainment. As Ringo Star said when asked about the new topless bathing costumes, “We’ve bin wearin’um for years.”
It’s only really by driving a car that you can get a good impression of it, and I have been very fortunate to be offered the chance to borrow a brand new 2018 Nissan Leaf Tekna, complete with ProPilot, for two days. This was kindly lent to me by Annie Cooper, the Sales Manager at Sandicliffe Nissan in Nottingham.
It was with a mixture of anxiety, and excitement, that I realised, about three years ago, that used EVs, were now available to buy, at an affordable price, and, which would serve my purposes. At the time, I was not totally sure that an EV would really suit me, and be practical, so, I was reticent to spend much money in buying one.
Green gas would cut carbon emissions, help to create an an energy independent Britain, support food production by improving soils, creating wildlife habitats, providing an additional income to farmers and giving them natural fertilizer from the residues of the process.
