BC clean energy vehicle program good idea…but smells funny

Who among us would not like to have the cash to buy a clean-burning  vehicle, do our part to save the environment and get more bang for our gas buck? I’d say most of us. But who among us can afford a $100,000 vehicle?

It’s a good question, especially if you would like to get in on the clean-vehicle revolution and park a spanking-new hydrogen fuel cell vehicle in your driveway.  Unfortunately, that’s what your basic hydrogen vehicle costs these days. As a reporter, I attended a high profile news conference with prime minister Stephen Harper and former B.C. premier Gordon Campbell pre-2010 Olympics. Both were extolling the virtues of hydrogen vehicles and the proposed hydrogen highway from California to Whistler. After a technician at the conference pointed out to me the basic sedan on display would set you back 100k, I asked the politicians who could afford this outrageous price. Neither had a satisfactory answer.

This past Saturday (November 5) B.C.’s Minister of Environment Terry Lake and Minister of Mines and Energy Rich Coleman announced $17 million in funding to help British Columbians park some of these vehicles in your driveway. You can read the news release here. It is a laudable effort. As of December 1, money will be available to help build electrical charging infrastructure and to offset the cost of buying clean energy vehicles such as electric cars and natural gas powered vehicles.  I would love to buy a natural gas powered vehicle. I recognize the benefits (and torque) of natural gas over electricity. (Try using an electric drill when the juice is running low?) Unfortunately there are no natural gas cars for sale in this province, or any province for that matter. They aren’t even approved to operate in Canada.  Terasen Gas (now Fortis BC) has two natural gas powered Honda GX sedans but the company needed a special permit to import them into Canada. Conversion of existing gas-powered vehicles to natural gas is available but it’s unregulated, there’s no oversight of the safety aspects and refueling infrastructure is almost non existent.

The government is on the right path with its push to get British Columbians to participate in a clean energy future. With a litre of gas hovering around $1.32 in the Lower Mainland, anyone who drives a gas vehicle is interested in getting more clicks out of a tank of gas. But this rebate program veers off the path with strategies that are too little, too hasty and ill conceived. The government appears to be rushing the program out the door to score points for the “Jobs First” strategy than actually trying to make a difference in the environment or how B.C. residents can  benefit from such a program.

Instead of announcing (on a Saturday?) rebates and incentives for clean energy programs hardly anyone in BC will hear or take advantage of, why not build demand first? Our government should have thought this out, and launched a campaign to talk about the benefits of reducing our carbon footprints and the tools that will soon be available to help people do just that…while saving every household money it contributes to big-oil’s sky rocketing profits. Insure you have an infrastructure program well underway before encouraging British Columbians to jump on-board. With demand, there will be more work in British Columbia’s green energy sector.  Without demand, this program is a tough sell and appears to be a half-baked “Jobs First” program that smells of political opportunism.

Honda GX Nat. Gas vehicle

This was posted to an online forum for drivers of natural gas vehicles: “I dropped in to a Honda Dealership out here (B.C.) to inquire about the GX, and the 2 Salesmen didn’t really know much about the GX, or Natural gas as a vehicle fuel. These 2 Gentlemen kept telling me that I was getting Propane and Natural Gas mixed up.”

These are the B.C. salesmen of the manufacturer of the natural gas vehicle – Honda. It’s a good indication of the tough sell ahead of the government. The clean-energy incentive program was attempted once in the late 1980′s and early 90′s, but failed due to a lack of support from the public and the elimination of rebate programs. It will be interesting to see how long this program lasts? Unfortunately, the odds and hurdles are stacked against it.

MC

Advertisement