Drive Electric Week: See Why EV Drivers Love Their Ride
In Juneau, Alaska, take a spin in an electric car.
In Tucson, Ariz., see the film "Revenge of the Electric Car."
In Honolulu, get a "glimpse of the future in which Hawaii's roadways are filled with EVs."
Those are among the more than 200 events planned for National Drive Electric Week from September 10 through 18.
The events are designed to raise awareness of the many benefits of driving on electricity, from contributing to a cleaner, healthier environment to freeing yourself from the wild price swings of the volatile oil market.
Events also will call attention to the growing popularity of EVs, or plug-in electric vehicles, as car makers produce longer range and more affordable models.
Remember, about 400,000 people earlier this year plunked down $1,000 deposits to reserve the next-generation, moderately priced Tesla. GM's Chevrolet Bolt, with a 238-miles-per-charge range and costing about $30,000 after tax credits, also will be arriving soon in showrooms. Even more models are expected to be introduced across the industry at next month's Paris Auto Show.
Bloomberg New Energy Finance, like NRDC, has forecast a bright future for electric vehicles, noting that worldwide sales were up 57 percent the first half of this year.
Bloomberg is bullish, not only because battery costs are dropping, but EVs "out-compete internal combustion cars in lots of important dimensions: they drive more smoothly yet accelerate better, they can be charged at home or at the office, they require much less maintenance, they help solve air quality problems, [and] they improve the energy autonomy of oil-importing countries."
Drive Electric Week events are being held in both big cities (like Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Washington, D.C.) and small towns (like Cranberry Township, Pa., and Pigeon Forge, Tenn.).
A number of events are in California, the largest electric car market in the county. Electric vehicles are a critical piece of the state’s strategy for reducing carbon pollution as legislators and the Governor signed into law sweeping climate legislation last week. As part of this effort, NRDC has partnered with environmental justice, social equity, and other environmental groups as a member of the Charge Ahead California campaign to put one million electric cars, trucks and buses on the state’s roads by the end of 2022 and to build better access to cleaner transportation in underserved communities.
San Diego Gas & Electric representatives will be among those gathered Sept. 17 at Qualcomm Stadium to discuss the company’s initiative to expand the number of charging stations to apartment complexes, workplaces and other places where cars are parked for most of the day.
A splashy all-day event in Los Angeles’ Exposition Park will feature more than 50 EVs.
Organizers of National Electric Drive Week say the events will demonstrate how EVs are "greener, cheaper and more fun to operate than conventional vehicles."
It will be a great opportunity to see close up the different models of EVs and hear first-hand from EV enthusiasts about the benefits of driving electric vehicles, including the incentives available for purchase. EV dealers also will be offering test drives.
National Electric Drive Week is presented by Plug In America and its partners, the Electric Auto Association and the Sierra Club. It began in 2011 as National Plug In Day.
The events also provide an opportunity to showcase the benefits to all of us from electrification of the transportation sector, which accounts for a third of U.S. carbon pollution.
Electric vehicles also offer relief to drivers from high gasoline prices, as the chart by my colleague Max Baumhefner shows.
Widespread electric vehicle use (replacing polluting oil-powered cars and using clean energy such as solar and wind power to charge electric vehicles) could cut carbon pollution by 550 million metric tons annually in 2050, equivalent to the emissions from 100 million passenger cars. It also would reduce other harmful pollution, such as ozone and particulate matter. That’s according to a joint study by the Electric Power Research Institute and NRDC.
Electricity prices are also much more stable—the equivalent of $1 gallon—because electricity is made from a diverse mix of energy sources and is regulated. Electricity also is increasingly coming from the sun and wind, which are free. Electrifying the transportation sector also could help electric utilities to utilize underutilized, existing assets more effectively, which could lead to lower utility bills for all electric customers while also allowing for more renewable generation to supply our power needs.
Take the opportunity of National Electric Drive Week to learn about the benefits of driving on electricity. Talk to EV owners. Test drive different models. You’ll find out why your next car should be electric.