Pat on the back for council over green vehicle usage
Ryan TaylorShetland Islands Council is one of the top local authorities in Scotland when it comes to using electric cars.
Figures obtained from a freedom of information request show 22.4 per cent of the SIC’s vehicles are electric or hybrid.
That is only slightly behind the top-ranking local authority, the Scottish Borders, which stands at 22.8 per cent.
Overall, fewer than one in 20 council vehicles across the country are electric.
Nationwide just 4.6 per cent of vehicles owned by local authorities in Scotland are electric or hybrid.
A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Liberal Democrats to all 32 local authorities showed that, of 17,140 vehicles, just 613 were electric (3.6 per cent) and 181 were hybrid (one per cent).
Separate findings revealed that Shetland motorists were slow on the uptake of electric cars compared with their Orkney counterparts.
Figures released from the Department of Transport revealing a total number of ultra-low emission vehicles (Ulevs) showed Shetland only had 46 compared with 217 in Orkney.
That equates to 27 Ulevs per 10,000 vehicles in the isles, some way behind Orkney’s 128.
• For full story see The Shetland Times on Friday.
Ian Tinkler
Well, what an achievement of total stupidity. Lunatic Greens at their very best. Has anyone stopped to think where the power is coming from to move these vehicles? Riverhead power station’s diesel generators. Now that is an incredibly inefficient way to power vehicles; they would be more carbon friendly if the were a diesel only fleet. As most of our Green Councilor people are scientifically ignorant, I will explain as simplistic as I can. Firstly a car battery (Lithium) has to be made. That has a massive carbon footprint and very expensive. Then that battery when charged with loses energy. The power has to be generated, Riverhead diesel generators do that, highly polluting and not efficient. (Natural gas ten times less polluting). Further energy losses, heat, noise, transformers, transmission Sadly our electric vehicle fleet is causing more CO2 generation than convention vehicles ever would and is grossly expensive. If we had reasonable functioning renewable generation and battery power was more efficient and carbon friendly, this electric fleet would be rational. We do not, so this is expensive, inefficient and not carbon friendly, so typical of the Green ignoramuses. Just aiding global warming!!!
Ian Tinkler
Roverhead, not Riverhead. I hate predictive text!!!
James J Paton
Now back a public Shetland Electricity Company powered by wind, tidal and solar to power them.
Michael Inkster
All the way to Sevenoaks for a battery charge! In a Landrova perhaps?