The Co-Founder of Drive Electric NL says the biggest thing holding the province back from growing the number of electric cars, is the lack of fast-charging stations.
Fast-charging stations take approximately 15 minutes to completely charge an electric vehicle.
Jon Seary says many people have “range anxiety” meaning they’re fearful a charge won’t last when travelling long distances. He says these vehicles don’t die like a cell phone, as you can see how much range you have based on how you’re driving.
There are a several dozen Level 2 charging stations in the City which take about 3-4 hours to charge a car.
Gov currently has an RFP out and are receiving bids for the new fast-chargers.
This is a Tesla SUV, and electric trucks are on the way.@VOCMNEWS #nlpoli #nltraffic pic.twitter.com/eWOrkBG25d
— Ben Murphy (@BenMurphy590) November 20, 2019
Seary says for long distance travel, or more importantly the people who want to visit the province and tour all ends, need fast chargers. He says they need to be strategically placed, so as you drive the length of the TCH there are many options to stop and charge, the same way you would normally when stopping for a bite to eat.
Seary says it’s actually an easier, and much more pleasant drive than what people are used to in gas cars.
He says we’re the only province without fast-chargers. If you look at a map of fast-chargers, it’s peppered all the way up until you reach the ferry.
When you look at the province with a surplus of hydro power, and trying to balance the books, he says it doesn’t make a lot of sense. And, there is federal money to put these in.
Seary says to cover the entire province and Labrador is not a huge investment compared to a single gas station. He says what they’ve seen elsewhere, are other companies following suit and putting in their own fast chargers.
A number of new electric vehicles are on display at Confederation Building this afternoon.
MHA Perry Trimper wants support for governments plan for a province-wide electric vehicle fast-charging network. @VOCMNEWS #nlpoli #nltraffic pic.twitter.com/AgCz3fHl6m
— Ben Murphy (@BenMurphy590) November 20, 2019
House Votes to Move Forward on Stations
Meanwhile, MHA Perry Trimper moved a resolution in the House on Wednesday to debate government’s plan for the province-wide charging station network.
The House voted unanimously to support government’s efforts.
Trimper says with the ongoing issue of rate mitigation, more electric vehicles can help. He says by having more electric vehicles, and a greater demand for electricity, there will be a greater use for all the additional power the province will be challenged with due to Muskrat Falls.
He says one vehicle has a sign that says “I contribute $500 to rate mitigation every year”, and that’s essentially what an electric car is representing.
Trimper says this is a nice way to challenge and deal with the reverberations of an oil and gas dependent economy. He says electricity is a much more stable and predictable cost.
Trimper says with everyone much more aware of climate change and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they can really make progress.
He says for example, the average car emits about five tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year, multiply that by the 390,000 cars in the province, they can make huge advancements.