The Future Is Now – Solar Citizens Sausage Sizzle Political Protest

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Solar Citizens is a renewable vitality foyer group with ardour and mind! With a federal election simply days away in Australia, they coud not resist staging an occasion selling renewable vitality and electrical automobiles. The “Future is Now” occasion was held within the seat of Dickson, at present held by a small margin by the opposition chief, Peter Dutton.

Mr Dutton is selling the constructing of nuclear reactors all through Australia and likewise rolling again the lately launched gasoline effectivity requirements. He’s silent on any assist for dwelling batteries. If his social gathering wins the election, it can create a serious slowdown within the present progress of renewable vitality and the uptake of EVs. His social gathering has brazenly admitted that their nuclear proposal is definitely a proposal to assist growing older coal-fired energy stations to proceed. A glow-in-the-dark smoke screen.

The significance of this election can’t be underestimated, one social gathering is selling clear air and clear vitality by way of renewables coupled with dwelling batteries and fuel-efficient vehicles, the opposite will extend using fuel and coal with nuclear energy on the by no means, by no means. They’re even providing a petroleum low cost to assist folks stick with their fossil-fueled vehicles.

The occasion was attended by visitor audio system who’re specialists of their respective fields. One in all these gave his response to Mr Dutton’s low cost. Thanks, Adjunct Professor Jake Whitehead, chief scientist on the Electrical Car Council. With EVs, you pay even much less to gasoline your automobile. Twenty-five cents of electrical energy can drive your automobile so far as $1.50 value of petrol. You may watch the video here.

Peter Kilby, senior grid transformation engineer for Energex, touched on Queensland’s success integrating among the many world’s highest penetrations of rooftop photo voltaic, the approaching availability of bidirectional EV charging and its potential to construct on our photo voltaic success, and the numerous thrilling profession alternatives within the electrical and renewables sector. Regardless of the distraction of the BYD cooking onions, Peter managed to carry the group together with his ardour and honesty concerning the alternative that EVs and batteries and photo voltaic supply to the neighborhood.

Mr Eddie Springer, Director of Springer Photo voltaic, additionally offered. I had the pleasure of assembly with the Springer household for an interview just a few years again once they put in a high-speed charger at an area servo. Since then, they’ve gone from power to power. You may examine Springer’s latest initiatives here.

Ellie Smith, impartial candidate for Dickson, was there to unfold the phrase and have some enjoyable. Here she is being interviewed by Heidi Douglas, Nationwide Director and CEO of Photo voltaic Residents, about inexpensive dwelling batteries. Ellie factors out that over 64% of households in Dickson have photo voltaic on the roof. They’re in a tough place, the place they’re promoting their photo voltaic electrical energy cheaply to the grid in the midst of day and having to purchase electrical energy within the evenings when it’s costly (and prone to be generated by fossil fuels). A house battery would clear up that drawback and likewise give resilience in storm season. Ellie is supporting a house battery subsidy for that motive.

I used to be interviewed by Heidi concerning the BYD shark, and I hope to share that video with you in future. In the meantime, right here is a photograph Majella took displaying the Shark in firm with Ford’s F150 Lightning! Audio system shared details about vitality effectivity and the best way to cut back your family payments, specialists answered questions on all issues electrical.

Scores of locals wandered by way of the 26 parked electrical automobiles. The MG membership truly confirmed up with their basic automobiles. Altogether there have been 8 BYDs, 6 Teslas, 3 MG 4s, 2 Konas, 2 ORAs, 2 Volvos, a Polestar, an Ioniq 5, an Ioniq 6, a Renault Megane eTech, a Shark, and a Ford F 150 Lightning. And let’s not neglect the veterans, 2 Mitsubishi iMievs.

Native organizer Phillipa England intrigued us along with her e-mail teaser: “Want to know what’s coming onto the market and how much money batteries – on wheels and in your home – can save you? Still got questions about EVs? Then, join us to talk with industry professionals about what’s trending in electric vehicles; tips and traps when buying a household battery; how Energex is transforming the grid to accommodate household energy and how you can get in on the action.”

Because the BYDs powered the BBQ, EV house owners answered questions from the general public milling about our vehicles, networked with different EV drivers and loved a sausage on a blanket. Sadly, we bought some damaging blowback from a latest Channel 7 documentary about poor working circumstances in a nickel mine in Indonesia. Investigation confirmed that the nickel was not battery-grade and so was used to make stainless-steel. Nonetheless, the message that reduce by way of was that electrical automobile house owners ought to be ashamed of themselves for getting an EV. The rebuttals haven’t reduce by way of the media FUD.

One nice dialog was with a pair who mentioned that that they had AU$46k to spend, so what may they afford to purchase? After explaining that we weren’t sellers, we then talked to them concerning the MG 4, the Dolphin, and the Nice Wall ORA which had been sitting there on show. There have been the same old questions on when and the place we cost, significantly on street journeys. And the same old solutions about needing to cease to go the toilet and to eat. “Oh, you time your charging to the rest breaks!” What appears apparent to us comes as a revelation to the uninitiated. Majella was in her component, displaying the teams by way of the Plugshare app.

I wandered about in my CleanTechnica t-shirt, handing out enterprise playing cards and amassing tales for future articles.

With foyer teams like Photo voltaic Residents difficult all politicians to step in, the vitality future for Australians appears to be like vibrant, powered by batteries full of photo voltaic and transported by electrical automobiles.