Challenges of alternative fuels

In enthusiasm for new power sources, we forget how much infrastructure has to be developed

Jun 13, 2009

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Deep in the Star's archives, there's a photo taken at Yonge and Front Sts. in 1945. Alongside trucks and electric streetcars, there's a horse-drawn wagon.

Although it wasn't commonplace, this seemingly obsolete transit mode still had its followers, some 60 years after the gasoline automobile was invented, and 18 years after Henry Ford had churned out more than 15 million Model Ts.

I thought about that photo when someone asked me if we'll still be driving conventional petroleum vehicles 15 years from now, given the high profile of alternative-fuel automobiles.

And just as the horse was viable in 1945, I firmly believe we'll still have gasoline cars in 2024 – not due to lack of technology, but lack of infrastructure.

The problems aren't insurmountable. But they do mean that a massive switch to a new method of propulsion isn't going to happen anytime soon, no matter how loudly environmentalists say it has to be right now. We still rely on gasoline because most of us don't have to go very far to find a refuelling station. And when people extol the virtues of alternative methods, many of them underplay how essential that easy access is.

The fact of the matter is this: people who firmly believe that we're going to switch entirely to electric or plug-in or hybrid or hydrogen or ethanol or natural gas vehicles within the next few years are only looking at the vehicles themselves. Few have stopped to think about what happens after you get that brand-new alternative home.

I've driven electric cars, and I like them. They're quiet, peppy and emission-free. I also live in a single-family house, with an electrical outlet next to my driveway. Recharging one would not be a major issue for me.

But far too many myopic electric-vehicle advocates think the whole world lives at my house. Electricity may be all around us, but not necessarily where we need it. If you live in an apartment or have on-street parking, you're not going to be running extension cords to your car. When I point that out, said supporters then tell me the cars can be charged when the driver's at work.

Perhaps, if it's a very small company and only one or two employees have electric cars, but not if you park in a huge lot, far away from any power source. And quick-charge or battery swap stations are a consideration, but don't expect to see a major network of those within 15 years, if that.

This doesn't mean electric vehicles aren't viable. But it does mean they're going to only be a small part of the solution in the short term, and maybe in the long term as well. Unless every dollar spent on alternative vehicle technology is matched with many more dollars spent on the specific infrastructure for massive numbers of drivers to refuel or recharge their vehicles, it will be a long time before those vehicles ever move beyond a niche market.

Every alternative to petroleum has its good points, but each one also has its challenges, and the major one is being able to confidently drive without worrying about running out of fuel.

It would make the most sense to sell alternative fuels through our existing network of petroleum stations, but that's a slow process, and one that's chicken-and-egg. Consumers don't want to buy a car they can't easily refuel, and retailers don't want to carry fuel that no one buys.

Even ethanol, which can be dispensed from existing pumps, has its shortcomings. It can't be transported in pipelines like gasoline, and must be more expensively shipped by trucks or trains. It also gets lousy mileage compared with gasoline, so you'll need to fill up more often.

We need to think about environmentally sensitive alternatives to gasoline. But before we demand that automakers switch the assembly lines over to produce them exclusively, we've got to consider the guy in the 10th-floor apartment who parks a block away from his workplace.

If we don't mandate infrastructure when we mandate vehicles, then 60 years from now, the auto equivalent of a horse and wagon will still be chugging away on our streets.

Jil@ca.inter.net

Toronto Star