On Wednesday, September 23, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom of California issued an executive order that announced California would require all new cars and passenger trucks sold in the state to be Zero-Emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035.  

It’s imperative that we all switch from internal combustion engines to electric cars for several compelling reasons. The most important is that reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions enough to save the planet depends upon it. But what’s particularly exciting is: we can magnify the benefits of EVs by managing when we charge them.

In the United States car market, big cars rule. In April 2020, crossovers, pickups, and SUVs together made up 70% of new vehicle sales in the “light” vehicle market. 70%! As we work to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), it’s clear that we need competitive EVs in these segments. There are already some excellent larger EVs available – check out the Hyundai Kona Electric, Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), Kia Niro EV and PHEV, Audi e-tron, or Tesla Model X on our Drive Green page. And we’ve previously written about the electric pick-up trucks headed our way. But automakers have announced or released several larger EVs that we’re keeping our eyes on. Here are the electric SUVs that we think are the ones to watch in 2020 and early 2021.

We at Green Energy Consumers Alliance like to connect the dots between technology, markets, and policy to help people make smart green energy choices. Electric cars help dramatically lower the carbon footprint of passenger vehicles, just as electric heat pumps replace the fossil fuels used to heat our homes; this is why we’re helping people to make the switch to both. But there’s an overlap between these two technologies that we find interesting and important.

At yesterday's Massachusetts Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Commission's quarterly meeting, the state announced a change to the MOR-EV rebate program. This important electric vehicle incentive will now be available to commercial fleet owners, as well as individual residents of the Commonwealth. We applaud the state for taking this step and are encouraged by conversation that further program changes may follow. In fact, we have a couple of ideas...

When we think of pollution and the emissions associated with transportation, planes, trains, and automobiles are often the first modes of mobility that come to mind. Cars in particular have been at the forefront of the electrification conversation, for good reason -- according to the EPA's 2017 report on US greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a cumulative 82% of transportation emissions came from passenger vehicles and medium to heavy duty trucks combined. (Transportation accounted for 29% of overall GHG emissions, so that 82% of transportation emissions translates roughly to ~24% of total GHG emissions.) We've written extensively on vehicle electrification, and our Drive Green program works to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles (EVs). Now we'd like to take a look at EVs nautical counterpart -- boats.

Most people still don’t know anyone who has switched to an electric vehicle or can’t name any electric models available for sale besides Tesla. There are a lot of factors contributing to the gradual rates of EV adoption, but it is in part due to the myth that gasoline cars are “easy” for consumers.

According to several studies and the personal experiences of EV drivers who have switched through Drive Green, electric vehicles have lower maintenance costs and better reliability than gas-powered cars. Though gasoline-powered cars are familiar, they are by no means the easier or better option for consumers. Here’s why.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are always a great topic of discussion! We know you have questions and we’ve done our best to get the answers for you. Recently we held two “Ask an EV Owner” webinars and they were a hit! Experienced EV owners acted as panelists to answer any and all EV-related questions. But don’t worry if you couldn’t be there, we recorded the sessions and they’re linked below.  Let’s take a look at some of the questions asked at these webinars.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Electric Vehicles

In a recent post, we refreshed the notion of why driving an electric car is a better choice for the environment, even in areas that rely on fossil fuels for most of their electricity generation: in one word, efficiency. An electric vehicle is 3-4 times better at converting energy to miles driven compared to a combustion engine. In New England, the average electric car emits 73% less carbon dioxide (CO₂) than a gasoline car on a per-mile basis. The emission reductions are even greater in the Massachusetts communities – and soon Rhode Island communities – that have adopted the model of green municipal aggregation.

Furthermore, a recent European study has concluded that electric cars are a better option for climate in 95% of the world already on a lifecycle basis, which includes manufacturing and end-of-life processes. While battery production certainly has environmental impact, there is a growing number of applications to give batteries a second life, turning a conundrum into opportunity, further reducing waste.