Eight brand new electric cars charged by wind power make their debut on the Aran Islands.
The Aran Islands have been selected to take part in a three-year trial of electric vehicles. The pilot project is a collaboration between Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.
The Aran Islands were selected as the ideal test location for electric vehicles due to the abundance of wind energy.
SEAI head of low carbon technologies Kevin O'Rourke believes,
This is a small step but a very important step.
Eight householders receive an electric Mega e-City three-door hatchback vehicle. Six go to Inis Mór and one each to Inis Meain and Inis Oírr. The main cost for islanders is a €400 payment for the installation of a charge point close to home. Smart grid technologies are used to store wind energy usage. The overall running cost per year is estimated to be around €90.
The successful applicants for the scheme are all women. One of them, Bairbre Ní Iarnáin, has test-driven the electric car twice and found it easy to drive. Her only quibble is the small size of the vehicle.
Sergeant Vincent Jennings expects the drivers will keep within the speed limit, even though the electric cars have a top speed of 64 km/h.
According to Social Protection Minister Éamon Ó Cuív, the Aran Islands initiative is a small step in a larger project to show how wind and ocean energy might be used to provide electricity, heat and transport requirements across the country. In five years time, he is confident,
You will see energy being stored from the wind by the use for example of the technology that we're piloting here today.
The plan is to have 250,000 of these electric vehicles on Irish road by 2021.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 14 January 2011. The reporter is Teresa Mannion.
