Electric cars are becoming more common, but are the manufacturers pushing the agenda or consumers demanding them. Only time will tell and Australia has a long way to go with infrastructure issues before they become accepted by the general motoring consumers. (editors note)
As it stands, charging EVs from fossil fuels emits around 178gm/k of CO2 (source: EV Council of Australia). But this will change in time, as more power is generated from renewables. As users learn to maximise the benefit of charging, peaks and troughs in the power grid be completely eliminated. Power failures will be a thing of the past.
The only candle-lit dinners will be the ones you plan well in advance. Don’t think of Leaf as a car. Instead, think of it as a battery, with wheels. Your car would work for you whether on the move, at home, at work, or while shopping. As long as it is plugged in, it is a power asset. Governments will no longer be able to use “base load power” as an excuse to bolster wealthy corporate profits.
As the transition to renewable energy gains momentum, mobility will not rely on long dead animals, and will not dump CO2 in to our failing environment. Storage of solar and wind power has long been a problem and home battery storage is touted as being a big part of the solution.
If everyone had a Nissan Leaf, would the problem would simply evaporate. School children are more aware of this than the adults who teach them, and as they grow into adults, they will already have turned their backs on coal and oil. By then, EVs will possibly be the norm.