A 2008 thread & article said that Israel planned to transition to electric vehicles. Many see that going electric with long electric range as the mature state of hybrids -- with hybrids and an ICE for countries where things are spread out as much as they are in the U.S. Here's an update article on the introduction of those electric cars and charging stations. Their goal is to be 100% electric by 2020. Israel sees freedom from world oil production as a major goal. They may help blaze the way for others. Israel going electric | freep.com | Detroit Free Press
It's gotta start somewhere. There was nothing in the article about where all the electricity will come from.
You're right ... that's the huge underlying issue. One article I ran into was entitled "Could Drought Kill Israel's Electric Car?" -- because water use is such a big part of their power generation. And, to me, that means that hybrids will still have to play a major part in their electric car program -- their version of the Volt, perhaps. Here's an excerpt from the article, which is at Could Drought Kill Israel's Electric Car? : TreeHugger "The researchers behind the study on electric cars and water consumption, Carey W. King and Michael E. Webber of the University of Texas at Austin, offer these words of caution to policy-makers: Overall, we conclude that the impact on water resources from a widespread shift to grid-based transportation would be substantial enough to warrant consideration for relevant public policy decision-making. That is not to say that the negative impacts on water resources make such a shift undesirable, but rather this increase in water usage presents a significant potential impact on regional water resources and should be considered when planning for a plugged-in automotive economy. The best solution to the dilemma may be a wholesale shift to renewable energy. While Israel currently gets most of its energy from fossil fuels, King points out that, in an energy economy based on wind or solar energy, the electric car's additional contribution to water consumption would be "essentially zero." Israel is well-positioned to take advantage of one of its only major natural resources, the sun, with considerable academic, technical, and business prowess in the solar field. The solar economy is just beginning to take off, with new regulations allowing private citizens to sell power produced by their solar panels to the national grid and new solar power plants planned in the southern Negev and Arava regions."
I think "go for it Israel". What a poke in the eye that would be for their (and ours?) enemies. They're small and compact enough as a country to do it well and it would certainly be an incentive for other countries to follow.
Solar? There is a lot of sun in that part of the world. Wind could also contribute. And then there is nuclear. Since Iran is allegedly wanting to develop a nuclear-based electricity generation capacity, the Israelis could be expected to want to do the same....
I agree! And please remeber that fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 terrorists were from Saudi Arabia. Israel could be the perfect place to go all EV. Plenty of sun and wind for renewables a modern electrical infrastructure. And a small enough country that most (90%+?) of drives will be within EV range.
