EV SALES DATA

New data on the EV race

A mind-blowing (but not exhaust-blowing) 97% of new vehicle sales in Norway were zero-emissions in the final quarter of 2021, according to BloombergNEF. Sweden came in second with 60%, while the Netherlands took the final podium position with a 51% electric market share. Denmark gets a notable mention at 49%. (These numbers include plug-in hybrids.)

Sales are increasing here in Canada as well, albeit on a different scale. Canada’s overall zero-emissions vehicle share increased to 8% (6% of total sales were all-electric) in the first quarter of this year, up from 5% in the previous quarter. Of the provinces, B.C. is still out front with a respectable 17% market share (14% for all-electric). Meanwhile, Ontario’s 6% share, while an improvement, still falls well below national and international peers.

As Clean Energy Canada’s Joanna Kyriazis wrote in a new Toronto Star op-ed, Ontario’s poor EV performance is of its own making. When Premier Ford first took office, he cancelled the province’s EV rebate program, scrapped EV-ready requirements in the Ontario building code and removed public charging stations. Until the Ford government does more to support drivers going electric, Ontario will be missing out on air quality, emission reduction and cost-savings benefits.

Election incoming

Indeed, in the run up to the election, Premier Ford has come under scrutiny for his record on climate action, with opponents raising his poor EV record as well as his government’s restrictions on renewable power development. However, Premier Ford made it very clear during last Monday’s leader’s debate that he wouldn’t be happy until Ontario’s grid was 100% clean. With Ontario’s electricity emissions on track to skyrocket with an increase in natural-gas-fired power generation, let’s hope the next administration (whichever party comes out on top) takes swift action.

Burning the bridge

Increasing reliance on natural gas is a step backward in more ways than one. A new study has found that “it is now cheaper to switch from coal to clean energy, compared to switching from coal to gas.” The research, from analytics firm TransitionZero, found that current high gas prices mean it’s cheaper to move from existing coal to renewables with battery storage, challenging the narrative of natural gas as a “bridge fuel.”

The giant power plant in the sea

Europe appears to have gotten the memo. Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark have all pledged a tenfold increase in offshore wind generation capacity to create a “green power plant” for Europe in the North Sea. The almost 150 gigawatts of capacity could be used to power millions of homes and “make hydrogen and green fuels for heavy industries and transportation which cannot easily be directly electrified.” For the latest updates on Europe’s accelerated shift away from (largely Russian controlled) oil and gas, head to this Bloomberg “quick take.”

Renewables rising

The winds of change are blowing into Canada too as another Canadian wind project nears completion. The Burchill Wind Project in New Brunswick, a partnership between the Tobique First Nation and an independent power producer, will be up and running by Christmas. Meanwhile, the Travers Solar Project in Southern Alberta, the largest solar project of its kind in Canada, is also nearing completion with construction of the 1.3-million-solar-panel facility expected to finish this fall. And in related news, the first floating in-stream tidal power has been delivered to Nova Scotia’s grid from a project in the Bay of Fundy, “positioning Nova Scotia as a global player in the tidal energy sector.”

Extreme energy

This longer read from Nature explores how the community of Qaanaaq, the northernmost in Greenland, has partnered with researchers to test renewable solutions in some of the harshest conditions on Earth. Toku Oshima, a hunter from Greenland, and Mary Albert, a snow physicist at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, have teamed up to design technology “that can work in places where the sun might not shine for months and temperatures stay decidedly below freezing for most of the year.” 

Where the dollars are at

The growing number of EVs on the road is a huge opportunity for Canada’s auto sector, and this year has seen a flurry of new investments. For a rundown of the latest EV dollars allocated by major Canada-based automakers, head to this Postmedia summary.

Growing power

A partnership of universities, vegetable growers, and power developers is hoping to launch a pilot project that would use existing wind power to provide clean electricity and hydrogen to local greenhouses. The project is described as “an example of the micro-generation needed to meet the region’s growing demand for power.” The general manager of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers told the Windsor Star that electricity capacity in Southwestern Ontario has been a growing concern for a decade—this project would help address the issue while reducing emissions.

Zero-emissions emergencies

America’s first electric fire truck will soon be hitting the streets of L.A., becoming the fourth of its kind in use in the world. And with Vancouver and Brampton also both placing orders for the Rosenbauer RT e-truck, one could soon be coming to a street near you.

A space station for the ocean

Scientists at the Halifax-based Ocean Frontier Institute are calling for an ocean version of the International Space Station in the North Atlantic. The ocean is one of the largest carbon sinks on the planet, and such a station would “allow nations to invest in ocean observation as a consortium.”

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