A chara, – James Wickham’s article on transport policy raises some pertinent questions in relation to rail transport and the roll of electric vehicles (EVs) in general (“Current policies only make us more car-dependent”, Opinion & Analysis, December 14th).
He correctly states that the footprint of each EV should include the substantial embedded emissions from its manufacturing process.
In fact, recent research from Volkswagen/Audi EV manufacturers will surprise policy-makers, environmentalists and those contemplating buying a new EV. The findings clearly show that the total manufacturing footprint of EVs, including emissions from infrastructure, is three times that of a conventional diesel or petrol car.
As a result, EVs only make environmental and economic sense when fuelled by close to 100 per cent renewable energy.
In Ireland’s case, where wind is extremely intermittent, for the past week or so wind only provided around 5 per cent of the total electricity demand, as shown by the Eirgrid Smart Dashboard energy mix records,
Similarly for the same reason, during the three months of last summer, renewables only produced 2 per cent to 5 per cent of the total demand of four to five gigawatts, the remaining coming from fossil fuels.
Mr Wickham is incorrect therefore to state the conventional view that EV may produce zero emissions, as they are charged from the national grid where renewables only generate power from 2 per cent to a maximum of 50 per cent of the total demand. – Is mise,
JOHN LEAHY,
Cork.