Electric vehicles (EVs) are ready today. And in the nick of time. Experts now say that widespread adoption of electric cars is necessary to solve the problem of climate change. Through Drive Green with Mass Energy (MA) and Drive Green with People's Power & Light (RI), you can purchase or lease an EV at a discounted price.
You’ve heard a lot from us about why now is the time to buy an electric vehicle. Running an electric vehicle produces fewer emissions than a conventional vehicle. Therefore, we see the need to dramatically accelerate the market for EVs in order to meet the greenhouse gas targets set for Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Readers of this blog should be aware that we are enthusiastic supporters of electric vehicles and air-source heat pumps. Costs of these products have come down in recent years while quality has gone up. We see them as economically sensible ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, to the point that we see them as essential parts of any climate action plan. That would mean for a plan for Massachusetts, Rhode Island, any other state, your city or town, and your family. In our work, we are lucky to come in contact with experts who have figured all this out and who are kind enough to explain their findings to the rest of us. So please enjoy this blog from our guest, Patrick Knight of Synapse Energy Economics.
2016 is the time to buy an electric vehicle. Why? Technology has made huge advances, costs have come down, and federal and state policies will help support your purchase. And if we want to meet our greenhouse gas emission goals, we need to electrify our transportation as quick as we can.
Updated: August 10, 2017.
Compared to many years ago, the last few heating seasons have shown moderate prices and very little fluctuations. According to the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA), the inventory of distillate oil (which covers heating oil and diesel fuel) is high. As a result, the likelihood of a price spike is quite low. However, the EIA does project a modest price increase of about 20 cents per gallon on average in the US between now and mid-winter.
Some years ago, the words “electric car” would make a lot of people scoff – either because they didn’t think it was ever going to be practical, or they had technical reasons or resignation that the car industry was not interested. Electric vehicles (EVs) are a reality now, and they are giving combustion engines a run for their money. Tens of thousands are on the road; the numbers keep rising, and every car company is jumping in the game. Models like the Chevy Volt, BMW i3, Nissan LEAF, SMART, Mercedes B-Class, Tesla and the Ford Fusion are just a few of the big names out there today.
The Boston Globe recently had a good story about how cold weather reduces tire pressure. And low tire pressure reduces gas mileage. Or, in the case of my Volt, wind mileage.
Readers of this blog know that my family bought a 2015 Chevy Volt on August 21, 2014. I’m happy to report that two months later, we are thrilled with the car. After doing a lot of research on the Volt, Prius Plug-In and Nissan Leaf, we chose the Volt and it is exceeding our high expectations.
Background: The Volt is a plug-in hybrid. When the battery is fully charged, my Volt has a range of about 40 miles (I’ve gone 47), more than its 38 mile EPA rating. If I deplete the battery, the car runs on gasoline (actually gasoline fuels a generator that runs the motor on electricity).
This past Friday, the Chretien family traded in our fabulous 2002 Toyota Prius and bought a 2015 Chevrolet Volt. After three months of research and test drives, we decided to go with the Volt if we could find a Chevy dealer we could tolerate. It was a difficult choice because we also liked the Prius Plug-In Hybrid and the all-electric Nissan Leaf. We would have been happy with either of those, especially given that we loved our 2002 Prius and still love our 2008 Prius. In fact, we even thought about holding off on buying a plug-in for a year or two because the 2002 Prius has been running great. On recent highway drives, it was getting 55 miles per gallon (mpg).
After a lot of deliberation, my family has decided to pursue buying a 2015 Chevy Volt rather than the Nissan Leaf or Toyota Prius Plug-In. We are not done yet, but here’s why we have settled on the Volt for our electric vehicle:
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