WITH PROPOSALS from the Commission on Taxation that could eventually amount to up to 35 cent per litre on petrol and diesel, the need for Irish motorists to convert to cleaner fuel alternatives – quickly – would seem to be more pressing than ever, writes PADDY COMYN
In the short term, it seems that any scrappage scheme introduced in December’s Budget will only present incentives to those who scrap their old cars for new low-emission or electric vehicles. Perhaps this will finally be the impetus to push electric cars towards the mainstream Irish motorist.
Electric cars are being held up by many as the answer to the prayers of both the motorist and a Government seeking to reduce a nation’s reliance on fossil fuels and the carbon footprint, which inevitably follows. The Government has set targets to have 10 per cent of all vehicles on the road, or 230,000 vehicles, running on electricity by 2020.
This is itself an ambitious target, dependent on many parties, not least the ESB, which is charged with rolling out the infrastructure to provide the charging points essential for these vehicles. But is the relentless pursuit of the electric car dream just another environmental red herring, or is it the obvious solution to a problem that just won’t go away?
This was the main issue debated at a Green Power Forum held in University College Dublin last week. Senan McGrath, sustainability manager at the ESB, explained how it aims to have over 1,000 public charging stations installed by the end of 2011, delivering an 80 per cent charge in 30 minutes.
“In March last year, the board of ESB adopted a new position, that by 2035 ESB will be carbon neutral,” he said. “We contribute to 15 million tonnes of the 70 millions tons of CO2 produced in Ireland and we hope to be down to about two million tons by 2035.”
McGrath noted that there will be an excess of wind energy available over the coming decade and this will be perfect for use on electric vehicles.
However, not everyone is as confident that the predictions will become reality.
Paul Witherington, director of Transport Watch UK, criticised the notion of electric cars being a means of reducing carbon emissions, claiming that the “electric car is a non-starter” due to the inefficiency of electric engines.
He claims that, under the most ideal conditions, electric vehicles use 24 per cent more energy than a diesel engine and that, in an urban cycle, an electric vehicle will use 58 per cent more energy than diesel.
Dr William Smith, from the UCD School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Energy, said that 10 per cent of greenhouse emissions come from cars and in 10 years’ time there will be a 1 per cent impact on our greenhouse emissions, so “carbon is a non-issue”.
The use of electric vehicles outside of an urban setting, he said, makes little sense, as the time taken to recharge batteries would lead to huge backlogs at charging stations.
His argument was countered by GM’s Craig Cheetham who explained how cars like his firm’s Opel Ampera will be an extended-range electric vehicle, so it will overcome such issues by using a petrol engine to power the electric motor if needed.
In the shorter term, most the experts at the forum agreed that greater efficiencies in current fossil fuel engines offered significant carbon savings.
Joseph Beretta, head of energies, technologies and automotive emissions at PSA Peugeot Citroën told The Irish Times that the immediate solution is to improve the efficiency of diesel and petrol engines.
He said that hybrid diesel cars will become an important interim technology for Europe from around 2011.
There remains a great deal of disagreement over the potential supply of lithium for the lithium-ion batteries as a power source for electric vehicles.
While Witherington claims there is a mere 10-year supply of lithium left, Tom Smith, a marketing manager for Nissan, claimed there could well be 350-year supply.
The vast difference in claims highlights the uncertainty that remains over electric vehicles.