Community Spotlight on Zero Emission Vehicles
Photo credit: William York
EVAA accelerates electric vehicle adoption in Alberta
The Electric Vehicle Association of Alberta (EVAA) was founded on Earth Day in 2014 with the vision to accelerate electric vehicle ownership and raise Albertans’ awareness of their benefits. Their reach has grown since then, with a strong membership base and over 2.5K members of the EVAA Facebook group, where people from across the province are active in posting advice and resources on electric vehicle ownership.
“Our mission is to remove barriers that exist for people to buy electric vehicles,” says William York, EVAA board member. “Our belief is that the predominant barrier to electric vehicle adoption, aside from vehicle supply, is psychological.” One of those psychological barriers is the false belief that electric vehicles produce the same or more greenhouse gas emissions as gas-powered cars because of Alberta’s so-called “dirty grid.”
To address this, the EVAA created a tool on their website that calculates how “clean” an electric vehicle is to drive in Alberta using real-time data on the fuel source mix of Alberta’s electricity grid; it also compares this to the emissions of different gas-powered vehicles. Regardless of the fuel source mix, powering an electric vehicle off Alberta’s grid produces less emissions than gas powered cars. What’s more, Alberta’s grid is becoming increasingly clean, with the phasing out of coal powered plants by as early as 2023 and the introduction of more renewable energy. This means electric vehicles will become less carbon intensive over time while gas-powered vehicles will continue to produce harmful carbon emissions.
The tool also compares the annual cost of an electric vehicle to a gas-powered vehicle based on an input of annual distance driven, electricity rates, and fuel cost per litre. When the Biosphere Institute tested it out, we were impressed to find how affordable electric vehicles are to run when you don’t need to purchase gas.
When asked what surprised him the most in his role at the EVAA, York recalled learning that the EVAA team knew more about electric vehicles than dealerships did – so they got to work developing a training program for dealerships to improve their knowledge of EVs so they can more effectively sell them. “We kicked off the program in 2021, and are expanding it as rapidly as we can,” he says. The EVAA hopes there will be so much electric vehicle ownership in Alberta that the organization won’t need to exist at all by 2030 – an aspiration that seems more likely to come true each day.
How to get involved:
Join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/618536188222577
Follow the community on social media:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PluginAlberta
Twitter: https://twitter.com/pluginalberta
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pluginalberta/
Become an official EVAA member: http://www.albertaev.ca/join-us/
Donate: by e-transfer at donate@albertaev.ca
If you know of a community organization or project you think we should feature in an upcoming Shift newsletter, reach out to us at resource@biosphereinstitute.org
Zero Emission Transportation in the News
"How much does it really cost to charge that electric vehicle?" - via AutoTrader
"Conservationists call for environmental assessments for Banff-Calgary passenger train" - via Rocky Mountain Outlook
"Town of Banff offers residents rebates on e-bike purchases" - via CBC
Local Events
March 16, 7:30-8:30pm: Community Innovation Panel: How can we reduce building emissions together? Bow Valley Climate Action Society, Webinar, Free
March 19, 2:00-3:00pm: Nature + Climate + Community Series: Bow Valley Food Charter & Me, Canmore Museum, Webinar, Free
March 22, 7:30-8:30pm, Leroy Little Bear: Environment and Sustainability from a Metaphysical Blackfoot Perspective, Whyte Museum, In-person and on Zoom, Free
March 22 and April 7, 7pm: Intro to Bike Maintenance for Women, LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities - Bicycle Cafe Canmore, Free
March 29, 6:30-7:30pm: Get connected: What you need to succeed as an EV owner in Alberta, Biosphere Institute, Webinar, Free
Town of Canmore Solar Incentive Open Now!
The Town of Canmore offers a solar incentive rebate program for residents and businesses to help offset the cost of purchasing and installing a solar photovoltaic system in Canmore. Applications for the 2022 solar incentive rebate program will be accepted until March 25, 2022 - more details here: https://canmore.ca/latest-articles/canmore-solar-initiative
Interested in doing more? Check out:
Town of Canmore's Environmental Sustainability Action Plan
Town of Canmore's Climate Action Plan
Town of Banff's Environmental Master Plan
Lead the way: become a Zero Waste Trailblazer
Or save money with Banff's Environmental Rebates!
