Electric cars need connected thinking

Piece by piece, on a city-wide level, dependence can be reduced on fossil fuels, while still keeping the city moving

The news that electric cars will soon be whispering along Dubai’s roads is surely a positive step towards reducing the city’s vehicle emissions. But it will require joined-up thinking, and planning that begins now. As The National reported yesterday, Dewa, Dubai’s Electricity and Water Authority, is in talks to build a network of charging stations in hotels and shopping malls.

But this is a first step and in only one city. Attempting to remove dependence on petrol is a long-term goal nationwide and that will require changes across the country.

Other revisions will be needed, which is why a holistic approach is essential. Consider the country’s transition to nuclear power. Nuclear energy is cleaner than plants powered by fossil fuels but it also has one big disadvantage: the power output cannot easily be varied.

That is a problem for a city because, naturally, the amount of power required changes at different times of the day.

But this presents an opportunity. As the change to nuclear power comes, it should be possible for charging bays to be created near homes, so that people could park their cars for the night and have them charged by the morning. A virtuous circle would thus be created, using the excess capacity of nuclear power plants in the early morning to charge electric cars.

As nuclear power enters the energy mix, electric vehicles would reduce harmful emissions by cars and mean less of the country’s oil reserves would be consumed domestically, thereby freeing them up for sale overseas. That would also give the economy a boost.

All of this will require UAE-wide planning, which is why Dewa’s proposal to enter discussions with stakeholders such as Dubai Municipality and the Roads and Transport Authority is so important, particularly if it spurs greater use of electric cars throughout the UAE.

By setting up the infrastructure, while at the same time car companies build hybrid and fully electric models, will mean that, in time, owning an electric car can be a real choice.

Piece by piece, dependence can also be reduced on fossil fuels, while still keeping the country moving, cutting emissions and providing a stimulus to the economy.