Solar panels can offset electric vehicle charging - 'greenly' and cheaply

Electric cars still in their infancy...

The Energy Saving Trust this week reported that British Gas has launched a scheme to install electric car charging points in homes and businesses, in a new deal with Nissan.

Nissan currently produce the Nissan Leaf.

The utility company is also urging owners of electric vehicles to consider charging them with renewable energy.

Using non-renewably generated power means your 'green' car isn't as green as it could be.

In January, we wrote about the Government's £5000 grant scheme for electric vehicle purchases (click here).

It makes perfect sense to recharge electric vehicles with renewable energy so expect similar tie-ins and deals between utility / solar panel installation companies and electric vehicle manufacturers in the future.

Wouldn't it be nice if there was a little deal sweetener involved when buying an electric vehicle for discounts off of installing solar panels etc?

Whether you're installing solar panels to generate electricity for your re-chargeable car or your home, getting an idea of cost is a great first step and our Solar Panel Quoter website can give you just that, in minutes, online without the need for a salesman to call on you.

photo credit: anyjazz65

£43m electric car initiative has begun.

Just before Christmas, the Government announced the details of the first nine electric cars that are now eligible for a grant of up to £5000 under the subsidy scheme which started on the 1st January.

Buyers of the nine vehicles will be able to get a discount / subsidy of up to £5000.

However, as a BBC report pointed out (read it here), only 3 of the chosen cars are currently available with some not following until 2012.

At the moment, car buyers have a choice of the Mitsubishi i_MiEV, the Smart fortwo electric drive and the Peugeot iOn

Critics have claimed that the prices of the new models will make them unattractive to new car buyers - the Mitsubishi is £24,000 after the £5000 subsidy.

The Government also announced new locations getting a share of £20m to build networks of charging points in the Midlands, Greater Manchester, the east of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This compliments charging stations schemes in London, Milton Keynes and the north-east of England.

Brighton recently completed its own network of charging points.

For me, whilst electric vehicles may 'appear' more environmentally friendly, there are three big issues that still need to be addressed:

1) The cost of electric vehicles against similar sized conventional fuelled models.

2) The distance they can travel on a full charge and the re-charging time / availability of charging point networks.

3) The electricity we're charging them with hasn't been produced from renewable sources.

What's your take? Are electric vehicles the next 'white elephant'? Do you expect sales to be good or bad? We'd love to know - leave your comment here.

photo credit: frank hebbert

£5000 electric car subsidy for UK but number of grants is cut

Read with interest in the Telegraph Motoring News, was this headline that UK drivers are to get £5000 in subsidy when buying a new electric car (the deal is 25% off and new generation electric car or ultra low carbon hybrid up to a maximum of £5000).

That's the good news though with charging and range issues, plus the additional costs of such vehicles, I'd like to think motorists will clamour for the subsidy but somehow...

Anyway, the bad news is the new coalition Government (which placed a hold on the scheme first announced by Labour in 2009) has slashed the number of grants that will be available from a planned minimum of 46,000 to just 8,600.

The news will still disappoint car manufacturers - like Nissan who are about to launch the Nissan Leaf, which the Telegraph describes as the 'first major rival to the Toyota Prius'. The Nissan can run for 70 miles on a full charge at a cost of 3p per mile.

Read the full Telegraph Motoring article by clicking here.

photo credit: charles williams