Electrical: one step forward and three back. Long live hypocrisy!

photo credit: AZRainman

It has been talking so much about electric: new awareness of consumers, opportunities to not miss…untill those who (like me) recalls it as “naif stuff” of the century are branded like heretics payed by oil companies…being heartless with our future generations!

After the battles between Inter and Milan, Juventus and AS Roma, Naples and Verona (all Italian Footclubs)…here there is a new era fight between endothermic engine cars and electric ones.

I several times remarked my clear position on this website (as well as few months ago I have highlighted this) because I belong to the category of those who do not like to stay on the window, watching and waiting to jump on the winner wagon!

This is a very crystal statement. If the state of the art is the current one of today June the 1st 2011, my conclusions will be reconfirmed at 100%.

Today I wish to put more petrol on fire (what a bon-fire then!)

I read from RIA Novosti of May the 4th 2011, the following news:

“Rolf Import, the official Mitsubishi distributor in Russia has plans to start the sales of i-MIEV model electric cars in the country as from mid-May. On the other hand, due to the lack of electrical filling stations in Russia, the company had been in the process of negotiations with a number of companies in order to set up a network of filling stations. According to RIA, these negotiations became successful. Moscow energy company MOESK and Rolf have agreed on establishing a network of stations throughout the city and have started the construction of the project under the name of MOESK-EV”.

Well, being reflective on the statement above, it looks like I just made a big mistake and my analysis is going to be without foundations with the undoubted risk of loosing credibility with anyone I meet and the whole Web.

However few days later (because of my friendship with the Web) I found an article of Auto.Lenta.Ru dated on May the 3rd 2011:

“Russian PM Vladimir Putin has proposed the postponement of the shift to Euro-3 environmental standard in fuel. In Putin’s opinion, it’s necessary to renew negotiations Belarus and Kazakhstan -the other two members of the Customs Union- and the operations must be coordinated with the maintenance process being conducted at the main oil facilities in Russia. Putin has also shared the information he received from Sergei Kudryashov, Russian Deputy Minister of Energy, about Kazakhstan’s not being able to reach Euro-3 standard before 2014 and Euro-4 standard before 2015, with the member of press.
In Russia, the petrol standards are determined by regulations, which took effect in September 2008. These regulations have forbidden the production of Euro-2 standard petrol (Ai-92) in Russia as from 01.01.2011. However, due to protests by petrol companies, the ministry had to make some amends in the regulations and had to permit the production and sale of Ai-92 petrol until 2015. In addition to this, certain limitations had been brought to the usage of octane enhancing additives in petrol. Furthermore, usage of such additives in Euro-5 standard petrol had been completely prohibited”.

It is really necessary to add additional comments at this point?

Indeed rather than to invest billions of euros for projects so inefficient and, in some cases, absolutely pollution inefficient (thinking about the industrial infrastructure restructuring with related charging points). Would not be more wise to support the transition to Euro-5, or even Euro-6, in faster timing and manners?

I remind you (pro electric-car gentlemen) that one car Euro-5 pollutes like 40 cars Euro-0 and introduting the Euro-6 this ratio becomes of 1/80. Amazing improvement eh?

Can you explain me where is the catch point? Why shall I buy a technology, a network and an infrastructure support (by the way…still to build) to incur in such high costs (including environmental issues) that I cannot budget? Perhaps also requiring to justify the huge amount of money that absorb nearly 60 French Nuclear Power Plants that have to be converted to the IV Generation?

…. I always hated that phrase, but at this moment, I think the most appropriate one would be… THINK about men, THINK about (this is a famous claim of 80’s italian beer advertising)!

(Translated by Matteo Ceronetti)