In the News: Politics, an increased tax break for businesses and the electric vehicle lie

Are electric vehicles really that much greener in Australia?

There was a lot of talk about electric vehicles during the federal election.

But the fact is: electric vehicles will completely disrupt the energy market and distribution grids which today would be unable to support the rapid uptake nationwide.

Right now, there is a street in Toorak, Victoria, that keeps having blackouts because there are six Tesla cars being charged at once!

The ‘Anti Electric Car’ rhetoric has gained momentum with recent reports showing Australia is the third worst country for carbon emissions whilst charging EV’s, due to our reliance on fossil fuel power in our grids (see the graph below).

Effectively, that means, if you have an electric vehicle and you don’t have your own solar power solution, you are charging your electric vehicle with fossil fuels.

In a recent review, BP suggested it would be more emissions-friendly by focusing on more fuel-efficient combustion engines. Make what you want of that.

And when Uber Air takes to the skies in Melbourne, one would assume its electric vehicles will be powering up from current infrastructure.

While some are taking to the electric vehicle with gusto, a few are concerned with exactly how 'clean' they are. If owning an electric vehicle increases your environmental impact and makes you a large consumer of power, are they really the way forward to a 'greener' world? We'll have to wait and watch.