Solar Panels in Rhode Island and Electric Cars
When Most people think about solar, they think about displacing coal and Natural Gas. This is because most electricity is produced by burning huge amounts of these dirty fossil fuels. What about oil? Some electricity in this country is produced by burning oil but luckily that is a small percentage. Over 70% of the oil burned in this country is for transportation, mostly cars and usually not driving more than a couple of miles at a time. This is where the electric car is going to change our country- for the better!
Almost every car manufacturer has at least one plug-in, hybrid or plug-in-hybrid model (EV, HEV, PHEV) coming out and many are at Dealerships now with prices coming down every year. When someone buys an electric car instead of a car with an ICE (internal combustion engine), they are reducing this countrys’ huge thirst for oil. When thousands of people drive electric cars, we will greatly reduce or need to find new sources of oil. When millions of people drive electric cars we will reduce, and eventually eliminate, the need to police the Middle East and the need for wars that cost us more money than we can comprehend. Think about that on Memorial Day. We would then be able to spend that money on domestic issues such as Infrastructure and charging stations and lots of other things that make our lives better and more secure.
What about dirty sources of electricity? The fact is an electric car that’s charged from the dirtiest sources of electricity is ten times less polluting than an efficient car with an ICE. Lots of research has been done on this subject. Although this is true, imagine all of those EV owners with solar panels on their roofs. Now the dirty and costly oil that used to run the car, and our country, is replaced with sunshine. Charging can also be done at night when the electricity rates are even lower saving the driver huge amounts of money over the course of the year and for the life of the car.
With the cost of solar going down and EV’s being mass-produced and becoming more affordable, this seemingly Utopian future is not only achievable, but is indeed inevitable. Solar panels and electric cars will be a big part of our energy future for the sake of the Environment and our economy.