Since publishing this post, we’ve been able to confirm three electric cars and four electric bicycles will be at our first stall at Mosman Arts and Crafts Market on Saturday October 3. Many thanks to our transport group and volunteers. Come and see the Nissan Leaf and the Hyundai Kona (from 9.30am) and the Tesla (from 12.30pm) and chat to the owners about the driving experience.
For the curious, young and old, there will be hands-on exhibits, like a pool pump which could save you $100s of dollars, and a photovoltaic panel, converting the sun into power in real time. Plus have you seen the Tesla PowerWall battery in action? We’ve got an app for that, and you’re invited to come and play.
We’ll be there from 8am till 3pm, with information on ways to reduce your emissions ranging from rooftop solar to electric bikes to home efficiency tips. If you’re in the area, please drop by and say hello.
Many thanks to Mosman Council for their support and Mosman Council Community Grant to help us buy our market tent and market equipment and to print hand-outs. Don’t forget to sample the food, have a good coffee and browse the beautiful, hand-crafted jewellery, clothes and other treasures while you’re there.
Ursula recently attended a webinar hosted by RenewEnergy featuring two electric car — aka ‘electric vehicles’ or ‘EVs’ for short — enthusiasts. Turns out EVs are good for towing, great for work, and light on maintenance. Read on…
David Cann and Bryce Gaton answered questions at RenewEconomy’s EV webinar on 18 May 2020.
David Cann is a member of the Adelaide Electric Vehicles Association (AEVA). He is also a founder of the Nissan LEAF Owners Australia and the Hyundai Ioniq and Kona Enthusiasts Facebook groups.
David has owned three EVs. His first EV was a second hand Nissan LEAF, purchased in 2015 as a spare car and shopping runabout. He didn’t realise it would become the only car he and his wife would use for the next 4 years. They haven’t used petrol cars since!
On long trips David charges his EV overnight where he’s staying using a standard power point. He’s never been charged for it, although he does like to leave a bottle of wine or some beer at AirBnBs to say thank you 🙂
David has driven his EV from Darwin to Adelaide and Sydney to Cradle Mountain. He’s been able to charge at hotels, caravan parks, even AirBnBs when on long trips, often using a standard power point and charging his EV overnight. He always offers to pay extra for the electricity, and has never been charged for it (other than at commercial fast chargers), although he does like to leave a bottle of wine or some beer at AirBnBs to say thank you 🙂
Bryce Gaton is editor of the AEVA newsletter and a writer for RenewEconomy and The Driven specialising in electric vehicles. Bryce has owned four EVs. His first was a conversion, which he did himself. The second was a Nissan Leaf, which he loved and kept until he decided that he needed a battery with more range. The third was a Berlingo van conversion, which he sold last month to a mechanic who wants to practice conversion work on a classic car. Bryce is now very happy with his fourth, a Kona.
How will I charge?
Single phase at home is fine to charge most vehicles, overnight. A DC charger is good for a fast charge while out and about including on a road trip. Three phase power may be nice to have but it is not necessary to have this at home. Most people are fine with charging overnight at home with the occasional use of fast chargers when out and about including on long trips.
Do shopping centres with charging stations cater for all types of EVs?
Yes but you will need leads and maybe an adaptor if you drive an older Type 1 socket EV.
What about servicing?
One of the major differences of owning an EV is far less servicing time and cost. This is because there is no internal combustion engine to need servicing. The most regular task is to have the wheels rebalanced. Brakes last well due to the cars’ regenerative braking technology. David’s Hyundai Ionic has done over 20,000 kilometers but, apart from annual services and inspections has ‘never had spanner on it’. Likewise, his Tesla Model 3 has done over 10,000 km, and has not needed any servicing or repairs.
Should I buy a second hand Electric Vehicle?
The good thing about second hand EVs is there are few moving parts to break. A key issue is battery range, but if you do not drive far each day, driving in the day and charging at night may work very well, even with an older EV.
Can you use electric vehicles for towing?
The Hyundai Kona can tow and many people add tow bars to them, which increases the cars flexibility and use.
What about an EV as a work vehicle?
The more driving you do, the more money you are likely to save on petrol and servicing, which means EVs make good sense for businesses who do considerable driving. If we had more EV utes and vans in Australia, we’d see much more take up by business.
How can we encourage more Electric Vehicle transport in Australia?
New Zealand and other countries have far more EVs than Australia, per capita. This is because: (i) other countries have removed disincentives to buying an EV, such as a luxury car tax, (ii) other countries have added incentives to buy EVs based on fuel economy measures and lower emissions, and (iii) other countries have net zero emissions targets and charge a congestion charge for polluting vehicles.
How do I find out more?
The Australian Electric Vehicles Association has put together a great fact sheet comparing range, battery size, cost and tow rating for all EVs currently in Australia. https://www.aeva.asn.au/files/230/ Meanwhile, Zero Emissions Solutions has its own EV working group and we welcome volunteers. To find out more, get in touch: https://www.zeroemissionssolutions.org/join-us/
My first car was an electric blue Citroen Dyane. I called her Hermione. She had a 602cc engine and, with a following wind, could almost get up to the speed limit on the motorway. She sipped petrol but struggled with hills. Hermione went to the great scrapyard in the sky many years ago and now, like so many of us, I drive a big wagon which guzzles the gas and gets the family from A to B. I’d love to switch to a renewable energy option. I’ve looked enviously at my friend’s shiny new Tesla, but I always thought that an electric vehicle was out of my price range.
Turns out there might be another way.
The Good Car Company is a start-up founded by three sustainability entrepreneurs, Anthony Broese van Groenou, Anton Vikstrom and Sam Whitehead, who are passionate about decarbonising transport.
You don’t see many electric cars around Australia, but there are probably more than you realise. Luxury models, such as the Tesla and the Rivian, get most of the attention here. Outside Australia, however, many of the big manufacturers — Hyundai, Daihatsu, BMW, Nissan, Mini, –are offering electric and hybrid models. Better still, there is a growing market for second hand electric cars. The great thing about buying second hand electric is that there are very few parts to go wrong: compared to a petrol engine, an electric car is cheap and easy to maintain and ages with grace. Which is why the Good Car Company is collaborating with communities around Australia to deliver Electric Vehicle – aka ‘EV’ – Bulk-Buy’s.
Why go electric?
If you’ve never considered an EV, here are some of the benefits:
Lower fuel costs, less maintenance and lower cost of life
Zero particulates and no fumes on cold mornings
Avoid service stations, holiday price gouging & oil wars
Great driving experience, fully automatic with hill start assist.
They are now offering 2017-19 40kWh Nissan Leaf, 2015-17 30kWh Nissan Leaf and 2014-17 24kWh Nissan Leaf. The Good Car Company offers all vehicles below normal rates, with savings in shipping and compliance, passed onto to you. And they also pass through any savings achieved at auction to make getting an EV that much easier. This offer includes standard upgrades including Japanese to English head-unit (stereo and controls), dash instruments and an Australian charging cable. Plus, of course, full support and warranty.
The bulk-buy of affordable electric cars will help the transformation of transport to a low carbon emission future.
Electric vehicles. They’re expensive and we don’t have the infrastructure. Right?
Wrong.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are coming down in price, and they’re much cheaper to run than petrol cars. They don’t need special equipment to charge and, as a bi-directional mobile battery, they could play a key role in the renewable energy revolution. Which is why Zero Emissions Solutions has formed a working group to research EVs, looking at the pros and cons, the market, and affordable options for going electric.
In the first in a series of posts about electric vehicles, Ursula Hogben, one of the founding members of Zero Emissions Solutions, gives us the highlights of a webinar held by the Coalition For Conservation Electric Vehicles and Sustainable Mobility panel on 12 May 2020.
Welcome to Zero Emissions Solutions Inc news. Behind the headlines, behind the government policies and reports, behind the technical nuts-and-bolts, there are real stories to tell which connect us all.
It seems only right to begin at the beginning, and tell the story of how Zero Emissions Solutions was founded and launched.
What was our goal? It was back in May 2019, after the Federal Election returned a majority Liberal National Party government, against all projections from three years of opinion polls. A group of locals, deeply concerned about the growing climate crisis, sat around a table in our local café with concerns. Before that day we’d been full of hope that the next Australian Government might be one which took action on climate change, but now that seemed less likely. However our community had elected a pro-climate Federal MP and we wanted to help our community to reduce emissions together.
What did we do next? Our talk quickly turned to – What we could do now? What practical actions could make a difference? That’s when our ideas began to flow. Taking inspiration from the Beyond Zero Emissions network, seven of us – Dof, Susie, Ursula, Ann-Charlott, Kirsty, Tina and Anna – decided to using our experience in science, technology, business, design, law, psychology and community impact – to join the network with a zero carbon community for our area. So Zero Emissions Solutions North was incorporated: a volunteer community group of people from all walks of life united by a common goal: taking swift, practical action on climate change.
What have we done so far? We spent months of research, consultation and brainstorming to solve questions like – what actions make the biggest impact on reducing emissions? what gets in the way for people considering taking those actions? We met renewable energy companies, rooftop solar installers, industry experts and more.
We then created a suite of programs to deliver reliable, unbiased advice on no-cost and low-cost ways households, businesses and schools can switch to renewable energy and become ‘heroes for zero’. We’ve met many amazing people in our community who have joined our core team – including Chris, Jenni, Mona, Fay, Louise, Kate, Alan, Louisa, Tania, Linda, Lesley, Harriet, Milo, Narween and Marieken. We’ve learnt a huge amount, adapted to COVID-19, and helped our community save money and save thousands of tons of carbon emissions from the atmosphere – equivalent to a small forest of trees!
Since launch in 2019 we’ve: 1. held over 70 free events with over 1,500 bookings, helping homes and businesses install rooftop solar and switch to renewable energy, electric transport, electric appliances and more. 2. created over 30 free guides, case studies and videos on our website 3. launched the Zero Emissions Schools Mosman network for all Mosman LGA schools 4. won 3 Council Grants, 1 Federal Grant, and a Council Sustainability and Climate Award 5. created the Mosman Sustainable Living Guide which Council provided to the LGA’s 30,000 residents. We’re developing further LGA specific Guides with other Councils 6. built zero emissions communities online with our Facebook Page, Facebook Group, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn; and 7. installed 13.3kW rooftop solar for local mental health charity Pioneer Clubhouse in Balgowlah.
Above all, we’ve discovered that like-minded friends and taking action are great antidotes to despair.
L-R: Linda Robertson, Chris Lee, Susie Morgan, Tina Jackson, Anna Josephson, Ursula Hogben, Kirsty Gold, Ann-Charlott Paduch, Harriet Cunningham and Lesley Treleaven, (and a shout out to Dof Dickinson who couldn’t be here.)
