Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), is very glad he decided in February to lease an electric vehicle.
February… that’s just about the time that my wife and I considered buying an electric car—and balked.
Why did Kimmell and the Crowders reach opposite decisions? Well, they did so for reasons that Kimmell elucidates very nicely in a blog post titled “My no-regrets, enthusiastic transition to driving an EV.”
First, Kimmell. “As UCS’s president,” Kimmell writes, “I was obviously very motivated to drive an electric car.” That’s crucial. He could swing the expense—also crucial. He had the leisure and the savvy to perform the necessary research. He also … this is very mundane … had a garage.
Result? Kimmell leased himself an all-electric Chevy Bolt EV—and, for four main reasons, he loves it:
Sounds awesome. But electric vehicles aren’t yet for everyone, as Kimmell discusses in the second half of his blog post. Which brings us to…
The Crowders.
For us, affordability was something of a stumbling block. We could afford a used electric vehicle as a second car, but affordability tended to go hand in hand with an 80-mile range—fine for extended errand-running, but not much else.
The real stumbling block would have been charging our new used car. That’s because we live in a rented house without a garage, which means that charging the car would have required—well, the details are boring. But in short, we were looking at considerable trouble and expense, which doubly gave us pause because we suspected we might soon move to a different house. As indeed we are doing tomorrow.
Kimmell argues that, for electric vehicles to achieve greater market penetration, progress is needed in three key areas: affordability; practicality; and one-stop shopping.
The Crowders regretfully concur.
The Bulletin elevates expert voices above the noise. But as an independent, nonprofit media organization, our operations depend on the support of readers like you. Help us continue to deliver quality journalism that holds leaders accountable. Your support of our work at any level is important. In return, we promise our coverage will be understandable, influential, vigilant, solution-oriented, and fair-minded. Together we can make a difference.
View Comments
I hope this article is not paid by the Oil, Coal and Gas industry lobby? If it is, I apologise in advance, because I will debunk two of the myths in the article.
For the record, I am happy owner of electric Nissan LEAF (since 2014), driving every month between 2200 and 3500 km. (Today, the odometer turned 105,000km)
1. The affordability issue myth.
In short, it is cheaper to finance, and buy, a brand new electric car, than to spend money on ICE car. Make your own arithmetics:
The Nissan LEAF energy consumption is approximately 13,5 kW/h per 100km. In Ireland, this equals 1.3€ running costs per 100km (my daily commute). But since I'm cheap bastard, most of the time I charge the car at the public network (still for free), at work (also for free), and at the Q-Park parkings (you guessed - for free) so, my monthly fuel expenses are well under 30€... The other expenses are fluid for the wipers, and cabin air-filter once per year.
2. The garage/renting issue myth.
For the last 105,000 km, I lived in rented accommodations, changing houses 3 times in 4-years period. (Because of the global climate refugee crisis, Ireland is in the middle of the worst housing crisis ever.) Only when I initially bought the Nissan, I installed a dedicated charging point, mostly because I was rookie, and the electric car was a mystery. (I still keep the approval letter from the first landlord - he was thinking that installing a charging point will require total demolition of his beautiful house... ?)
Afterwards I didn't bother. Every well built, high quality, domestic power outlet, capable of delivering 3 kW power (13 Amps at 230 V) is enough to charge the Nissan overnight. (But, to be on the safe side, I just hardwire a 16 amp industrial socket.)
But yes, you will need to rent a house with driveway.