Electric Vehicles Technology GEA Experience –Dr Mahender Sharma
Over the last decade, electric mobility has been gaining momentum with increasing popularity and proliferation in a number of countries. “Is it too good to be true?”, we wondered. According to the International Energy Agency, “Sales of electric cars topped 2.1 million globally in 2019, surpassing 2018 – already a record year – to boost the stock to 7.2 million electric cars. As technological progress in the electrification of two/three-wheelers, buses, and trucks advances and the market for them grows, electric vehicles are expanding significantly.” Sometimes, radical innovation results in technology that appears too good to be true and when this happens, our skepticisim is heightened. This skepticisim is actually a useful tool that compels us to question new information and can help to foster critical thinking. At the Guyana Energy Agency, we were keenly watching, learning, reading, researching and attending various training sessions and webinars to understand the operation and benefits of electric vehicles. We were trying to understand a number of operational parameters of electric vehicles and of course, we had many questions:
The car was supplied with a Fast Charger (shown in the red box in the picture above) that was installed at the GEA’s office in Quamina Street Georgetown and is currently being used to charge the car. The charger was installed on a dedicated 30amp circuit breaker to provide the 6kW of power for charging. Based on the distances that I drive, on an average week, the car requires charging once per week. Of course, if there is additional driving during any particular week, an additional
How many kilometres can a single charge allow you to drive? How much time is needed to charge? How frequently does the car need to be charges, daily or weekly, or monthly? What type of charger is required ? What is the physical size of the charger and how much power does it need to charge the car? What will be the energy cost per kilometre driven based on our electricity cost? Will if be difficult to charge, drive and operate in Guyana? While the webinars and training offered some information, the old adage that the proof of the pudding is in the eating, holds true. So, in 2019, the Guyana Energy Agency made representation and was granted approval to procure an electric car. The new Nissan Accenta Leaf 2019 model was acquired at a cost of GY$10.6 million, inclusive of a 14% VAT Tax. The electric car has a 40kWh Traction Battery capable of covering 160 miles (257 kilometres) on a single charge.
charging session is needed to avoid range anxiety. (Range anxiety is what an electric vehicle (EV) driver feels when the battery charge is low, and the usual sources of electricity are unavailable. It sparks a fear of getting stranded somewhere, which adds time, inconvenience, and stress to a journey.) As much as possible charging is done on weekends to make use of the available solar electricity from the GEA office. In this way the EV can be considered to be operating at zeroemission, with the electricity derived from a low carbon renewable energy source. GREEN GUYANA - ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
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