[greenclub] How bad is your car

[Klemm, Roger W (348E)]

With apologies to those who tire of hearing about electric cars, I came across this article yesterday and thought it was worth sharing: http://www.vox.com/2016/9/28/13080498/tool-cars-climate

The conclusion: "The only automotive system commensurate with our long-term climate targets is one composed entirely of BEVs connected to an entirely carbon-free grid.”

Those of us with available roof space can get close to that by driving battery only EV’s and installing enough grid-tied solar panels to generate as much electricity as we use. As BEVs and solar panels come down in price, this becomes more affordable, though the changing landscape of incentives and rebates clouds that picture somewhat. 

I installed my first set of solar panels in 2008 and the out of pocket cost for the 3 kW system was about $17k (not counting the federal tax credit). This year I installed another 4.5 kW of solar capacity (with a big enough inverter to handle the panels from the 3 kW system when the older inverter dies, which I expect it to in the next few years), and the out of pocket cost was right around $20k (also not counting the federal tax credit). If you don’t have the cash available, there are finance and lease options available, especially with the bigger companies. And don’t fret if you don’t expect to live in your current house forever – a realtor friend told me recently that installed solar PV systems are definitely selling points to a house. 

I’d like to point out I didn’t do this overnight. When the Nissan Leaf came out in 2010, I wanted to go electric right then. For a variety of reasons, we delayed the purchase of an electric car until we were ready to get another car in 2014. So my advice is not to go buy another car "just because”, but to make your next car electric, whenever that may happen to be. Every year there are more options available, with better capabilities. Last year 80-ish miles of range was typical; this year it’s over a hundred, with roadmaps (i.e., battery and auto manufacturers’ development pipelines) to 200 and more – and not just from Tesla. It’s an exciting time in electric transportation!

-roger