Words :: Celeste Pomerantz.
As a lifelong devourer of science fiction books and films, I grew up picturing a future society where technology and nature were so intertwined, we would all be living in a beautiful, clean, energy-rich utopia of perfection powered by some form of alternative energy source.
Obviously, we have a long way to go to achieve that goal. However, my first glimpse of the future I’d imagined occurred, unexpectedly, the first time I saw a Tesla electric car. I was a relatively new driver at the time, navigating the Sea to Sky Highway, when a white, unseamed, bullet of a vehicle blasted past me in silence. I did a full double take.
A decade later, and Tesla is no longer the most common electric vehicle (EV) on the road. Nowadays, nearly every global car manufacturer is producing some form of EV or zero-emission vehicle (ZEV). But I find myself asking more questions than I thought I would. What’s the range? Cost? What about those who need a truck for all-days shuttle laps with the pals, or carrying sleds? And are these all really the “vehicles of the future” I used to daydream about?
The Government of British Columbia seems to think so. They’ve announced that, by 2030, 90 per cent of all new car and truck sales will be ZEVs, with a goal of 100 per cent by 2040. Is it hype, or hope? What’s the catch? What even qualifies as a ZEV?
Money talks, so—depending on your income, valid driver’s license validity and chosen ZEV—you could receive anywhere from $500 to $5,000 or more in rebates after purchasing one of these vehicles. (That much money saved could mean anything from a new pair of snowboard boots or a trad climbing rack, all the way up to a mountain bike.) Switching to electric can also cut annual fuel costs by as much as 75 per cent, which averages out to be nearly $3,000 every year. (That’s an entire new backcountry touring setup.)
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But what if you require a truck for work and or play? The all-electric Rivian and the Ford F-150 Lightning trucks are becoming common around the Sea to Sky, but they have some drawbacks. The biggest (aside from the price) being their range limit on a single charge. Comparing the F-150 Lightning to the standard F-150 with a full tank of gas, the electric truck goes about half as far.
One interesting point, and perhaps a loophole, is that not all ZEVs are all-electric, or battery-electric vehicles (BEV). “ZEV” is an all-encompassing term that includes plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), which run on both battery and traditional combustion. PHEV trucks will offer essentially the same range as a full tank of gas, with an added rechargeable battery for short distances or to take you even farther than a conventional truck. The problem is, there are no PHEV trucks on the market yet anywhere in the world. However, Ford recently announced a PHEV Ranger, set to arrive in Canada sometime in the next two years.
Regardless of the timeline, any new tech comes with limitations and, digging deeper, going green is truly a double-edged endeavour. The biggest drawback of going electric is the battery itself, specifically its lifecycle.
A typical EV utilizes a lithium-ion battery (LIB), which is made of a combination of either lithium and cobalt, nickel and/or graphite. The problem is these minerals are a finite resource much like our fossil fuels, so we are bound to run out of them eventually. With a major shift toward electrified transportation (and our continued use of LIBs in laptops, headlamps, phones, and every other life “necessity” that requires charging) these minerals are being mined en masse. The ecological issues around mining are significant: Increased erosion and deforestation are obvious concerns, but the social issues are more ambiguous.
In Canada, mining often results in harmed water quality and water access for remote Indigenous communities; in other countries it can be even worse. And producing a battery comes with a massive carbon footprint: approximately 3,000 kg of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per battery. For context, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates a typical gas-powered passenger vehicle emits 4,600 kg per year. To put that into perspective, 3,000 kg of GHG emissions is roughly equivalent to driving a gas-powered vehicle about 12,000 kms on a flat road. That’s around 130 trips from the Squamish Tacofino to the Pemberton skatepark (if the Sea to Sky Highway were flat).
Producing a battery comes with a massive carbon footprint: approximately 3,000 kg of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per battery.
With the entire manufacturing process of an EV taken into consideration, it turns out that, on average, producing an electric vehicle is 30 per cent more carbon intensive than an internal-combustion-engine vehicle (ICEV). Of course, this excess is balanced by the fact that EVs produce no fossil fuel emissions once they hit the road.
However, any emission reductions are entirely dependent on what powers your grid. Here in BC, 87 per cent of our grid is powered by hydroelectricity, which is considered a renewable energy source (take this statement with a grain of salt, as hydroelectricity can be ecologically, socially and environmentally catastrophic). In Alberta, on the other hand, 89 per cent of their grid is powered by coal and natural gas, aka fossil fuels that create emissions. So where you live heavily affects how many carbon emissions you are producing by owning a ZEV. on average, producing an electric vehicle is 30 per cent more carbon intensive than an internal-combustion-engine vehicle (ICEV).
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Of course, this excess is balanced by the fact that EVs produce no fossil fuel emissions once they hit the road. However, any emission reductions are entirely dependent on what powers your grid. Here in BC, 87 per cent of our grid is powered by hydroelectricity, which is considered a renewable energy source (take this statement with a grain of salt, as hydroelectricity can be ecologically, socially and environmentally catastrophic). In Alberta, on the other hand, 89 per cent of their grid is powered by coal and natural gas, aka fossil fuels that create emissions. So where you live heavily affects how many carbon emissions you are producing by owning a ZEV.
One solution in mitigating some of the issues with electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles would be to repurpose or recycle batteries as they reach their end of life. For an EV, once a battery hits around 80 per cent capacity (approximately eight to 10 years in age), legally it must be replaced. The problem with recycling batteries is that, currently, the most common options include melting down the battery to its key components using heat (extremely energy intensive), chemically (extremely expensive) or mechanically (a slow and non-established method).
Repurposing the spent EV battery to help power homes has proven to be a more promising short-term solution. In 2022, the provincial government approved the Advanced Research and Commercialization (ARC) program, one component of which is to use spent EV batteries to help power diesel-dependent remote communities and homes. The project, however, is still being tested with no definitive date of activation.
In any case, these vehicles need to be charged, and most of the drivers in the Sea to Sky are on vacation or away from home. Squamish already has 41 charging stations; Whistler sports just over 100 and Pemberton nearly a dozen, far surpassing the number of gas pumps on the Sea to Sky. (Though not every EV is compatible with every charger, and availability is an issue—it takes much longer to charge a vehicle than fill a gas tank. Will every spot in the skier day lots come with a charger by 2030?)
Converting to ZEVs is a complicated puzzle, but it’s only a single piece in the much larger, more complicated one of tackling climate change. Is it a step in the right direction? Are we slowly achieving the Utopia described by the sci-fi of my youth? Converting to ZEVs feels like just a single drop in the ocean of a much larger issue, but what is an ocean if not a multitude of drops?
Based out of Squamish, Celeste Pomerantz is currently finishing a master’s degree focusing on energy storage for remote communities while pursuing a professional career in both skiing and mountain biking.
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