Full Speed To Green?

GREEN POLITICS:The political will is there for an electrical age - but will the public get on the bandwagon? asks HARRY McGEE

BEHIND THE wheel of the Tesla Roadster, Eamon Ryan had the look of a teenager caught smoking in the bike shed.

"It's not really my kind of car," he protests meekly.

Of course, this was after driving the convertible - that boasts a Lotus body, an acceleration of 0-60 in four seconds, a top speed of 135mph and a price tag of $109,000 - into the showroom forecourt at the speed of a cruising jet.

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources clearly enjoyed the test drive. But you could understand the talking-down that came afterwards - it seemed a little weird to see a senior Green politician and avowed cyclist enjoying the thrill of driving this iconic trapping of West Coast excess.

No matter how incongruous the image, there was no need for the coyness. For this sports car embodies - perfectly - the future as Eamon Ryan sees it. The Roadster may be a clone of the Lotus Elite in every respect - but it is the first all-electric sports car to hit the roads. But it comes at a price: some €100,000.

Tesla chairman Elon Musk's long-term dream chimes to a remarkable extent with that of Ryan. The Roadster is the first of a string of all-electric cars from Tesla. Already, a four-door sedan is in production, at just under $50,000. Musk has plans for a cheaper model (at about $30,000), which he wants to become the Ford Model T of electric vehicles (EVs). As Diarmuid O'Connell, Tesla's director of strategic affairs, told Ryan: "This is like the [ mobile] phone was in the 1980s: very expensive; not many could afford it. It wasn't perfect, but they were the vanguard for the technology."

Tesla isn't alone. Dozens of companies are in the race to come up with the 21st century Model T. The challenge? Develop a battery that is cheap, light and plentiful. In Ireland, the Government and opposition parties have embraced the idea just as enthusiastically.

Late last year, Ryan announced a new Government target for EVs: that they would comprise 10 per cent of the national fleet by 2020. This was confirmed by Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey in February. Based on current numbers, that would mean 230,000 electric vehicles in little over a decade.

The target is ambitious - some say unrealistic. But not to be outdone, the Oireachtas all-party Committee on Climate Change produced a policy paper last month that suggested Ryan was not ambitious enough. It called for 350,000 EVs by 2020 - 15 per cent. What's more, it wants the entire fleet electric by 2030.

The paper, driven by Simon Coveney, Fine Gael's spokesman on energy, set an interim target of 100,000 electric cars by 2016. When asked if technology and production would keep pace with his targets, Coveney cited countries - Israel and Norway - with loftier targets.

On the feasibility of the targets, Ryan says that he does not get hung up on whether his plan is under- or over-ambitious.

"When there are future shocks in oil, transport is the one sector that is most exposed. The experience that we have is that new technology will work best and catch on when close to commercial viability. The issue at the moment is the cost of the battery. It has a high up-front cost but, in the longer term, there are significant savings on fuel. There is an initial phase when you have to pump-prime a new industry," he says.

But the Government's - and the climate change committee's - ambitions extend beyond mere conversion of a fleet. They are also lobbying for some of the action as the fledgling industry develops.

To that end, it has been assertively marketing Ireland as a location for the development of EV technology, for some key R&D functions and for plants to manufacture and develop key components of the technology. It has also suggested to companies like Tesla and others that Ireland would be a perfect location to test models and technology.

The first tangible move came last month, when the Government agreed to a memorandum of understanding between the ESB and Renault-Nissan. The car manufacturer has committed to provide electric cars for sale by 2011, such as the Megane or the Almera, though the quantity isn't specified.

The ESB will build infrastructure throughout the country. In addition, the Irish Government will have access to confidential information on the development of EVs, allowing it to be more precise in targeting investment.

"The ESB is committed to rolling out a network for recharging the vehicles," says Ryan. "In our renewable energy system, we will be able to use the variable power from wind energy in a flexible way. The batteries for these cars will store the excess energy."

The prospect of three million EVs by 2030 is daunting. It will be a huge drain on energy generators like the ESB. Will renewable energy like wind have the capacity to power so many cars, or will the savings on emissions be cancelled by increased emissions from new, coal-fired power stations?

Within 15 years the brick handsets of the 1980s stockbroker had become much smaller, much more affordable, and ubiquitous.

The political will is definitely supporting EVs, but you get the strong sense that they will not make such quick and spectacular inroads. Like the Tesla Roadster, they may continue to stay just a little out of reach of the ordinary motorist.