Ireland Banning Petrol and Diesel Cars

[joemcdokes]

You're charged for using the roads. More during peak hours, less in the middle of the night. It's on the way.

If you're interested, this explains how it could work.

Green Light: Next generation road user charging for a healthier, more liveable, London

Right, a road tax to replace the current set up.
You couldn't make it up.

 

[Redandwhitedust]

I can see a few issues in that road user tax... (which to me seems a lot like the way our rail fares are calculated)

1. The technology is going to have to sit in the cars, or by a vast network of ANPR cameras. All of which will be expensive to implement.

2. To be an efficient deterrent the cost will have to be higher than the local bus/tram fare. Given that buses are already expensive the cost of driving is going to have to be extortionate!

In short it's a money making scheme. They know people have to drive, and that they will have to drive at peak time because that's when they work. Theres no viable public transport for most people, so it's a revenue earner that they will justify as being "green".

 

[Mainze]

All ride around on horse & traps anyway.

None story.

 

[steve30000]

All ride around on horse & traps anyway.

None story.

Run red lights, no insurance, accountable to no one....

Need a bit cash, just pull up some train cables and sell them

 

[Joe Public]

Dumb question but I know little about electric cars.

How much does it cost to recharge at public point and does the government charge a duty on it.

It cost about £6.50 to fully charge at one of them fast charging points, and about £4 to full charge at home. Quite often the public charge points are free tho.

 

[Ciro_DiMarzio]

Its a good idea. Only problem is that most of them start at 25 grand... Not everyone can afford them


Agree. That's the piss take right there.

While I agree they're too expensive the Nissan leaf doesn't start at £40k.

 

[pillars of hercules]

You seem to be quite poorly informed about power generation in Ireland.

The main operator for the Irish power grid is a company called Eirgrid. They publish live stats on their operations on their home page Www.eirgridgroup.com

If you look down that page you will see that the ROI currently generate 66% of their electricity from gas and 29% from renewables which is mostly wind power. Only 5% or less from legacy peat stations which were never a large part of production and are being run down.

The stats on that page also show that the ROI exports electricity through an interconnecter to the UK and are currently building an interconnecter to France. If you and others here think that Ireland is not a technologically advanced country then think again.

Having worked in Ireland and working in the Environmental management sector I'm not that poorly informed.

Atm around 25% of power comes from renewables. This will increase, but as peat burning in rural communities gets phased out the additional fuel will have to come from somewhere. Peat burning power stations are planned to be phased out by 2030. Renewables are set to account for around 33% by 2022 and 70% by 2030. Great but 2.7 million cars using an average of 3000 kWh per year at today's rates would require at least 16 new wind farms bigger than any that Ireland currently has.

Assume these are built and so are the additional renewable sources to take Ireland up to the planned 70% by 2030. Peat bogs will have to be drained to facilitate so many turbines and each time this happens each average windfarm releases equivalent CO2 levels of an average coal burning power station.

What will happen when the wind doesn't blow? Ireland has a wind capacity factor of around 33%. Quite often the whole country will produce fuck all, no matter how many turbines are built. It's currently generating 625 mWh while it has a capacity for 3000.

Under the Climate Action Plan 2019 is proposed that Ireland will have a charging network to facilitate 800,000 EVs. That's 2 million vehicles replaced by donkeys and horses.