No Seriously, WHAT THE FRAK!!

I have finally discovered what the issue is with the arrival of my new car - Pat Rabbitte! Our new Minister for Communications, Energy and Transport has apparently dropped the ball - and he's making me see Red!




As part of the rollout of EVs, and in particular BEVs, the Irish Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding stating that they would commit to a large scale project, including the incentivisation of the purchase of such vehicles for qualifying Irish citizens. They chose the mechanism of an SEAI grant for €5,000 for every BEV that was over €20,000. It was on this understanding that Nissan chose Ireland as one of six pilot countries for the launch of the Leaf.

All the other pilot countries have similar incentives and all other pilot countries has lived up to their obligations. But now, our new Minister is delaying in implementing the memorandum. As a result, Nissan are unable to deliver their cars to their waiting (and waiting and waiting) customers. They have had to take the very unusual measure of asking their customers for help. This was an email sent to one of the Nissan dealers about the current situation:

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We need to give you an update on the Grant situation for LEAF.



As we informed you last week, in order for SEAI to start distributing the Grant for LEAF, the new Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, needs to sign the relevant documents to give effect to the grant regulations. His predecessor failed to do so before he left office.



So far the minister has not done so. In spite of repeated assurances to the contrary, the Department and the Minister have still not managed to action this issue. We were informed last night that while this issue is on the Ministers agenda, the department are not prepared to give us a specific date by which the papers will get signed. The expressions being used are shortly and imminent.



Given that we cannot register any cars without this grant we have no alternative at this stage but to advise you that we must delay the delivery of cars to customers for the immediate future. We are taking this decision with the greatest of reluctance but as we learned that the Minister will be leading the Government side in the Moriarty Debate today it is not likely that a signature will be available.



We are assured by SEAI that they will turn this process around very quickly once they get the go ahead from the Ministers office but again, we cannot convert this into a specific delivery date.



We recommend that you contact your customers immediately and advise them of the situation.



Please ensure that our customers are aware of where the delay lies.



This is immensely frustrating given that we collectively as the Nissan Network have delivered all that was asked of us and the two government parties are massively behind schedule

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I have to agree strongly with that last paragraph. This IS immensely frustrating. Our new government is only in a few weeks and it is already jeopardising jobs, our environment and our energy independence. This scheme and the resulting investment in green technologies, to say nothing of the positive effect on our international reputation on environmental matters, is one of the few good things implemented by the last government. It is quite disturbing that this is one of the policies that our new government is delaying, or perhaps, considering reversing.

Location:N Wall Quay,Dublin,Ireland

The 'Filling Station' of the Future!

Do you like it?




"What the hell is it?" I hear you ask. This my dear friends is the 'filling station' of the future. This is my home charging station, located at the side of my house. The ESB sent round an electrical contractor to install it today. With this (and hopefully my car very soon!) I shouldn't have to go near a petrol station ever again, except for bottled water, dodgy breakfast rolls and, of course, next week's winning Lotto ticket!

This is a bit of a mind bender, not having to fill up at a petrol station. This has been part of my life long before I was old enough to drive. I remember being brought to a petrol station as a kid to see how to fill up my Dad's car. I remember my Mam bringing me after my first driving lesson with her. I have been to stations as early as 05:30hrs and as late as 04:30hrs. I have been in stations in France, the UK, Canada and America. It's going to be a bit weird not to have them in my life on a regular basis.


And while I will certainly miss the smell of petrol spilling onto my shoes (ok, not really so much), I won't miss paying €1.51/L at the petrol pump. But I guess I will have to get use to a whole new experience. From time to time (although not on a weekly basis) I will have to charge up at a fast charging station. As I cannot do this within a five minute window (26 mins), I guess I will have plenty of time to reminisce about the expensive but fast-paced filling up days!

What the Frak?!

Well, things just keep getting more and more bizarre! I am supposed to be driving my Nissan Leaf by now. In fact I should been driving it for more than a week, and yet, not only do I not have my car, but I don't even have a confirmed date for delivery of my car!




I have been informed by Nissan Ireland that the issue is administrative, and that the vehicles for the first eight customers are in the country, tantalisingly close to their new owners. But until this "administrative issue" has been resolved, we ain't getting it!

These kind of delays are to be expected, especially with new technologies. But they are also the kinds of things that should be avoided, especially with new technologies. If your goal is to encourage people to adopt a new product, one that, in the general public's mind, has not been fully tried and tested, then you should not be giving them reasons why they shouldn't try it. Unreasonable delays and unclear communication does not help to promote paradigm-shifting transportation ideas. So Nissan Ireland, get into "Drive" gear pretty damn quickly and sort this out, in particular for your committed early adopters. Like you, they are taking on a very high risk. Don't be leaving them stranded (like some sort of old style electric car!) when they need you most.

Location:Bramblefield Crescent,Clonsilla,Ireland

If Kryten says it's ok...

Have a look at the following YouTube clip of Channel Five's Fifth Gear TV programme. Hosted by Red Dwarf's Robert Llewellyn (Kryten), it goes on to explain the pros and cons of the Nissan Leaf

Location:Delwood Close,Clonsilla,Ireland

I am not a shrimp! I am a KING PRAWN!

For those of you who don't know, this is Pepé. He is one of the few characters from the ill-fated Muppets Tonight television show from the 90s, who managed to survive into the Muppet continuum. He has appeared in a number of the more recent Muppet films and has become one of my favourite Muppet characters (along with New Jersey's own Rizzo the Rat, and of course the ever clumsy science nerd Beeker!). A few of Pepé's more memorable quotes include:

"You tell him, and I will smack you. I will smack you like a bad, bad donkey, okay!"

"I got good news! I got the fire permit, the health permit, the permit to open a topless nightclub, all the contracts..."

(On beating some other Muppets in a game of cards)
"De prawn cracker wins"

Basically, he is a funny, peppy crustation with fiery red hair and a suave latino manner! So why the hell am I blogging about him in these pages? Well, I know this is going to sound ridculous, but given that my new car is red, suave (technologically speaking) and extremely peppy, I feel that it is appropriate that I name it after one of my favourite Muppets!

Now, yes, I know that I am opening myself up to being called a muppet, or other such muppet-influenced taunts given that I am making the great leap forward into the electric unknown. But I think the name of your car is very important. We can spend quite a large amount of time in our cars (or about 160km in an electric one!) and they become a part of our family for a little while.

I think the anthropomorphisation that we tend to apply to machines is a way of humanising what is on the one hand, a completely inanimate object, but on the other hand is also something that adds a sense of familiarity, or indeed belonging given that it is so much a part of our daily lives. So, here's to my new car - Pepé! May he always get me home safely.

It's a long way to go...for a cello lesson?!

Yesterday I drove from Dublin to Blackwater, Wexford for my sort-of-fortnightly cello lesson with my amazing cello teacher, Dee. Dee is one of those people who is not only an exciting, bubbly character, but is also an unbelievable cellist and incredibly patient teacher. I was introduced to her a few years ago through a mutual friend. As it happens she used to live only a few houses away from me. But alas, as with all good things, our short-lived teacher-pupil relationship was to end with her move to the sleepy, yet beautiful Wexford town of Blackwater. But, there was no way I was going to let 138km get in the way of a good cello lesson. So late last year I decided I was going to commute, every two weeks, to Wexford.




James Bond plus leading female using 'cello power' to get away from the bad guys!

With the exception of cases of excessive snow, driving down to Wexford on a fortnightly basis, is, actually a bit of a guilty pleasure. I get to meet up with a great friend, it's something different during the week, and of course, I get a fantastic cello lesson out of it. So, why am I blogging about this experience?

Well, you see, one of the questions I had to ask myself when considering the purchase of a range-limited vehicle was - can I do everything I currently can if I were to purchase this new car? So then I had to ask myself - well, what is it I do with my current vehicle? The following were the answers:

1. Drive to and from the train station
2. Go to the shops for weekly groceries
3. On occasion, drive into town to go to work
4. Drive to the gym on Saturday mornings
5. Drive down to my parents at the weekends
6. Drive to Wexford every second week for my cello lesson!

A ha! A problem! Blackwater is only 138km away and in theory the Leaf can do 160km, so there really should be no problem getting down there. But getting back would be an issue! That's when I started to look into charging stations and charging times in a big way. I had to find a station that allowed me to get to Blackwater and back while not deviating too much from my original course or extending my journey too much. Luckily, the town of Arklow has come to my rescue.

Tucked away in the very centre of this medieval town is the site of one of Ireland's 30 fast charging stations. A fast charger allows you to charge your BEV from flat to 80% capacity in 26 minutes. Ok, so this is not as quick as filling up a tank with petrol, but it's better than using the standard home charger and waiting eight hours.

Thus, at a maximum this charging requirement would add 30 minutes per direction, and that is assuming that I would empty the entire battery pack by the time I reached the station. Now, of course, this is not convenient. What would be convenient would be to not have to stop and charge and wait and then go again. But, this is do-able. I can make this relatively minor modification to my plans in order to take full advantage of this technology. I'm sure many of you are asking, but why would you bother putting up with the inconvenience at all? Simple answer - very soon we'll all have no choice.

The other day I was basically paying €30 (149.9c/L) for every 20 litres of petrol. This is becoming more and more expensive and I don't believe the trend is going to reverse. My car will cost between €2 and €4 to charge for 160km. This just cannot compare. So an extra hour onto my journey is worth the save for me. I just hope I can't fit my cello into the passenger seat!

Location:Bramblefield Crescent,Clonsilla,Ireland

Smug Alert!

My younger brother has been urging me to watch a relatively recent episode of South Park in which a cloud of Smug threatens the sleepy mountain town. Of course the Smug cloud emanates from the Smuggiest city in America - San Francisco!




Image courtesy of South Park (c)

Of course, what my brother is trying to say, in his own non-subtle way is "Just because you will own an electric car doesn't mean you can call everyone else an Earth-killer!"

He is correct, of course. Currently I own a 1997 BMW Z3 1.9L petrol engine convertible - a true Earth-killer if ever there was one. And I also use my rather energy inefficient condenser dryer, even when the sun is out (although in my opinion drying weather in Ireland is a bit of a myth - like leprechauns, elves and a bank with a clean balance sheet!) So just because I am willing to take the leap of faith and "Go Electric" doesn't mean that I get to rub it everyone's face and charge them with crimes against the Earth.

However, being somewhat like Bertie (the politician, not my brother) when it comes to my selective memory I will, no doubt, sometimes forget that I have agreed to curb my own personal level of Smugness. Writing about it in a blog I guess is one new way I have chosen to remind myself of my promise not to go Eco on everyone's ass. But I will need help, from my brother and indeed from all of you. So, if you detect higher than normal levels of Smug emanating from this blog, please feel free to refer me to this blog entry and you shall quickly put me in my place.

Location:Ireland