The Megra electric car on display at last night’s showcase event at Beau Sejour. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 0673285)
THE FUTURE of electric transport was showcased at Beau Sejour last night.
Fully electric cars, a motorcycle and a number of bicycles were on show and representatives from vehicle companies and environmental groups were pushing the message that electric transportation is right for Guernsey.
Guernsey Climate Action Network member Richard Lord said the event should broaden the vehicles’ appeal.
‘Electric car technology is becoming increasingly economically viable, as well as more environmentally friendly,’ he said.
This was the beginning of a new era, he said.
‘If the present trend continues, the world’s oil supply will run out this century and it costs more and more as it goes – but these cars cost less than one pence per mile to run.’
He said the full significance of the impact of traffic pollution could no longer be overlooked.
‘Traffic pollution causes all sorts of major problems, to everything from damage to key crops to human health. We don’t take this seriously enough,’ he said.
The world was changing and the island needed to be ready.
‘Barak Obama has been pushing the message of self sufficiency, moving away from oil and into renewable energy – imagine if in Guernsey we could all drive around on tidal power in the next few years without having to pay for oil importation. It’s a beautiful thought.’
Paul Domaille, from the Guernsey Electric Car Company, said the future would also be quieter.
‘Picture the Grange without the noise of traffic and the smell of fumes,’ he said.
The States would have to get behind the development, he said, and install charging points at car parks around the island.
Mr Domaille’s wife, Carolyn, said perhaps as an incentive to go electric the government could supply the points for free in Town.
‘In London, drivers have the incentive of skipping the congestion charge if they use electric-powered vehicles,’ she said.
Church Road Garage owner Rick Lowe said that electric motorbikes would be perfect for Guernsey.
‘It takes two hours to charge this one up to 80% and it has a range of about 60 miles, which is plenty for over here,’ he said.
‘You can use it to cut down on your commute, as well as pollution and fuel costs.’
Electric Vehicles Company boss Mark Parr said he was looking at the project on a bigger scale.
‘Guernsey is absolutely ideal for electric cars, but we have also had a lot of interest from around the world with groups from Austria and the US requesting tens of models from us,’ he said.
He added that he had already sold both within Guernsey and to UK customers.togier@guernsey-press.com
Article posted on 18th November, 2008 - 2.29pm
One Article Comment
Whilst the above is a step in the right direction it feels as though we are putting the cart in front of the horse. We need to start cashing in on all the free electric that our shores can provide us with. These cars may even become a gift from what the Island makes once we have embraced the technology. How would that look to others! A state that has a massive car pool that is free due to the fact that they are using what they have and are doing very nicely from it. All this negativity will quickly become positivity. Whilst I have no gripes with these cars themselves it is a shame that the technology is becoming available to us before we can grasp the fact that we can also run them for next to nothing! How long is it going to be before we stop trying to protect what we have and start to think about what could have?
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