irish electric car

Irish Electric Car Developments Gather Pace

Written By: Karl Connolly, Posted: Friday, December 18, 2009
Irish Electric Car Developments Gather Pace


Electric cars have only made up a minuscule proportion of new car sales in Ireland over the past decade, but thanks to a number of new Government and ESB initiatives, electric vehicles are set to become a more common sight on Irish roads from 2010 on…

In April 2008, the Government vowed to make 10 percent of vehicles on Irish roads electric-powered by 2020, and thanks to a memorandum of understanding it signed with Renault-Nissan to test some of the group’s forthcoming electric vehicles, as well as various initiatives by the state electricity board, the ESB, progress is being made towards achieving this target. Moreover, the ESB has stated it has enough power in reserve to fuel electric cars for the entire Irish population. According to the ESB, it would take 2,000 mega watts of power to fuel electric cars for every person in Ireland, and it already has this much power spare during the night time, which is when most electric car owners would choose to recharge their cars.

Earlier this month, the ESB announced another significant breakthrough for the Government’s electric car agenda by revealing in The Irish Times that it aims to begin installing recharging facilities for electric cars in Ireland’s main cities before the end of the year. ESB Chief Executive Padraig McManus elaborated on the plans at a meeting with the EU Transport Commissioner recently, stating 10 electric car recharging points will be installed in Dublin, six in Cork and a further four in other locations yet to be confirmed. Speaking at the meeting, which was attended by over 60 of Europe’s main electricity suppliers, Mr. McManus said, “Electric road transport not only cuts emissions, it also boosts EU energy security by reducing dependency on fossil fuels. Setting standards for plug-in vehicle charging infrastructure will provide benefits to all stakeholders – the car industry, equipment manufacturers, electricity companies and the customer.”

The announcement is welcome news and paves the way to a greener future for the Irish motoring industry. With plans for recharging facilities confirmed and a number of new electric, cars such as the Nissan LEAF, and, possibly, the Mitsubishi iMiEV, set to arrive on Irish shores in 2010, we can expect to see a considerable increase in electric car use around the country over the coming years, and a significant decrease in Ireland’s carbon footprint.

Stupid question, but what is going to be the source of electricity for recharging the cars (fossil fuel, hydro, solar, nuclear) ?


The electricity source will be a problem itself if not dealt with now.

in irl they have brought out a new tax to screw more money out of people,we have changed to airtricity which uses wind turbines to generate power so it is not a fossil fuel,there is a slow change away like solar power and wave energy.
it all depends who you are with and the way they get their power.