SC |agenda
BY THE NUMBERS
A matter of trust
In a recent poll, electric cooperative members across the country say they are increasingly satisfied with the performance of their local co-ops and see them as trusted sources for information on keeping energy costs low. Here are some of the key findings from the survey commissioned by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
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84%
Say their electric co-op keeps them informed about its actions.
83%
Report that their co-op is a trusted source of information about energy use and devices, including solar energy.
95%
Agree their co-op provides reliable electric service.
92%
Say their co-op quickly restores power after outages.
88%
Agree their local electric cooperative plays a “crucial role” in the local economy.
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“We hear a lot of stories about
how Americans are losing faith in institutions like big companies and government, but that’s clearly not the case with electric cooperatives,” says NRECA Communications Senior Vice President Scott Peterson. “The positive view that members have of [electric] co-ops is a testament to their reputation as honest brokers and entities who truly care about their communities.”
How electric vehicles will shape the future of driving
 6 SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | FEBRUARY 2020 | SCLIVING.COOP
While electric vehicles (EVs) currently account for less than 2% of
the overall vehicle market, energy and auto analysts are predicting that
by the end of
the decade, they could account
for half of auto sales in the world.
EV sales jumped
an incredible 75%
from 2017 to 2018,
according to the
Alliance of Auto
Manufacturers,
and manufactur-
ers see even more
opportunity for
growth. Around
the globe, they
are investing $225 billion over the next three years to develop more EVs. Industry groups report that manufacturers are now offer-
ing more than 40 different models of EVs, a number expected to grow to more than 200 over the next two years. An analysis by the J.P. Morgan investment fifirm sees traditional internal combustion engine vehicles falling from a 70% share of the market in 2025 to just 40% by 2030.
What’s powering those predictions is global interest in less pollution, higher effifi- ciency and greater economy. A study by the American Council for an Energy Effificient Economy (ACEEE) concludes that electricity produces less greenhouse gases than other forms of energy, especially with the increas- ing use of renewable power sources to gener- ate electricity.
It also helps that electric cars are getting cheaper. One of the biggest costs of an EV is the battery, and fifierce competition among battery manufacturers is driving down prices— about 15% a year for the past 20
years. As a result, the cost of the battery has dropped
from more than half the cost of an EV
four years ago, to one-third the price
today. Research fifirm BloombergNEF pre- dicts that fifigure will fall to about one- fififth the cost of a vehicle by 2025.
Experts expect the strongest growth of electric transpor- tation to come in specialized vehicles. Bloomberg predicts that by 2040, 81% of municipal bus sales will be electric. Ridesharing services like Lyft and Uber
are another expected market. More than a billion people around the world use these services, and the stop-and-go nature of ride- share driving could make the greater effifi- ciency of EVs attractive to drivers. New technology also brings unexpected uses. One industry writer says a new electric scooter with a range of 75 miles and a top speed
of 15 miles per hour could change what we think of as a vehicle.
As the Bloomberg study concludes, “Electrifification will still take time because the global flfleet changes over slowly, but once it gets rolling in the 2020s, it starts to spread to many other areas of road transport. We see a real possibility that global sales of con- ventional passenger cars have already passed their peak.” — PAUL WESSLUND
PAUL WESSLUND writes on consumer and coop- erative affairs for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the national trade association representing more than 900 local electric cooperatives.
EV sales jumped an incredible 75% from 2017 to 2018.