Many Maritimers make switch to electric vehicles

First at Five: Power Trip First at five we look at whether there is enough infrastructure in the Maritimes to support a surge in electric vehicles.

High fuel prices and environmental concerns have led to many Maritimers making the switch to electric vehicles.

It's been almost two years since Big Spruce Brewing in Cape Breton switched to electric vehicles for some of their deliveries.

Owner Jeremy White saw an opportunity to be one of the early adopters and it has turned out to be good business decision.

“For us, because we're using them as delivery vehicles, the savings is between $8,000 to $10,000 a year. It's really, really substantial,” said White

White and his drivers travel more than 30,000 kilometers a year.

One of his main routes is between Cape Breton and Halifax and although the savings are good, the infrastructure to charge the vehicles is not.

“August is a really tough month because there are so many people with EVs travelling around the North East and further abroad, the demand on single fast charger stations in this province far exceeds the availability,” said White

Sales for electric vehicles in Canada have increased by nearly three per cent compared to a year ago.

At a dealership in Sydney, N.S., another popular option is a hybrid, combining at least one electric motor with a gasoline engine.

“Hybrid is seemingly the transition or the plug in hybrid is the transition right now and it's extremely popular, especially with the price of gas,” said Mike Duhamel, MacDonald Auto Group general sales manager

By 2035, the federal government's goal is for all light-duty car and passenger truck sales to fall under the zero-emission category.

The clean foundation feels Nova Scotia is moving in the right direction, when it comes to providing more infrastructures.

“Most folks who are purchasing them are usually charging at home and then we’re seeing more work places, businesses, and public spaces having level two chargers,” said Sarah Balloch, Clean Transportation manager

Currently Nissan and Kia dealerships in Sydney are under construction to accommodate electric vehicles in the coming months.

For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.