Day 35 - What happened to day 34?

Well, I seem to have missed a few days since my last blog entry. Sorry about that. I guess too much has been going on in my life! I'll do my best not to miss any more! And it's a pity, because a lot has been happening in my life with regards to personal private transport - unfortunately not as much of it has been happening in my car!

Basically, I have increased the number of extra-Pale trips that I have been doing i.e. I have been getting out of Dublin a lot more in the last few weeks. But, alas, poor Pepé is not yet equipped to deal with these trips. The trips included:

1. Three journey's to Blackwater, Wexford
2. A trip to Athlone town
3. A journey to Galway Citiy

Now, please don't misunderstand me. Pepé is more than capable of reaching Blackwater or Athlone (not so much Galway City). But the problem with the shorter journeys is the return trip. Yep, Pepé is unable to get me there and back again on a single charge. But I knew this! I had looked at all these distances and figured out a long time ago what I could and could not do on a single charge. So what's the solution? Charge Points!

Just as with any combustion engine vehicle Pepé needs juice! And for that there needs to be an energy infrastructure. The great thing about electricity is that it is ubiquitous in our society. However, the bad thing about being an early adopter is that you get to experience all the hiccups before anyone else. Yes, electricity may be everywhere, but the EV Charging Network is not.

A group of us early adopters have opted to work together to make sure that the "hiccups" that we are currently facing are cured rather quickly. Irish EV Owners (www.IrishEVOwners.com) are all too aware that the use and growth in use of EVs in Ireland is a virtuous circle. If we can make sure that the initial infrastructure is put down in a timely fashion then interest in and consideration of EVs in Ireland will increase. But, if no infrastructure is put in place then less and less people will consider purchasing an EV and then chances of electric driving in Ireland will suffer a serious blow. I guess we'll just have to keep at it.

For now, we have been informed that the first seven fast chargers will be down by the end of June at the following locations:

Location:Ireland

As you can see, I should be able to do those pesky Athlone and Galway round trips soon! However, Blackwater is still out of reach. (I am currently working on that one with the ESB!) It is my intention to do a number of these longer trips as the Charging Network grows. I intend to put in all the details of the trips - start time, end time, number of chargers, waiting time to use a charger, waiting time while charging etc. But if there is anything else you want me to look out for, drop me a note. Remember, I am doing this for you. I want to male sure you have all the information you need, so get posting and let me know what I should be taking note of!