Electric Vehicle Week Coming to Vancouver

I’ll take good news anywhere I can find it these days, and one of the brighter lights now visible on the low-carbon horizon is the electric car. With the looming launches of the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt (check out my Volt test-drive report from earlier this year), I’m convinced we’re on the cusp of a transportation and mobility revolution.

To that end, I’d like to draw your attention to a few key events coming to Vancouver in the weeks ahead.

First, on Sunday, September 12, The Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association (VEVA) and Concord Pacific are co-hosting ElectraFest 2010 – A Celebration of Electric Transportation. If you’re curious about how you can boost your mobility beyond your bike without benefiting our friends in the petroleum industry, then make a point of checking out this free public event. Expect a showcase of battery-powered cars, trucks, buses, conversions, plug-in hybrids, bicycles, scooters, off-road vehicles… even skateboards! The organizers are even mooring a few electric boats at the nearby False Creek dock. Located at Concord Place, 88 Pacific Boulevard in Vancouver’s North East False Creek. 10am – 4pm. Free.

The following day marks the start of EV2010 — more properly known as EV 2010 VÉ Electric Vehicles/Véhicules Électriques Conference & Trade Show. This one is “Canada’s premier electric mobility event,” and it’s for transportation planners, elected officials, sustainability consultants, and policy wonks—and those lucky enough to find a career in the budding electric-vehicles industry.

Attendees will hash out the political, technical, and business challenges of the electric revolution and I’ll be there with them, tweeting the opening plenary. On hand: Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, British Columbia Minister of State for Climate Action John Yap, and Green Party of Canada deputy leader Adrianne Carr, and many others who are working to bring this dream to life. If you’re there, too, use the hashtag #EV2010VE.

Finally, the organizers of EV2010 are throwing open the doors to the public at the Sheraton Wall Centre, on September 15. Catch the premiere of the new short video “The Life Electric,” and say hello to Chelsea Sexton, former GM EV1 Specialist and one of the key players in Who Killed the Electric Car? (Heads-up: The sequel, Revenge of the Electric Car, is now in production.) Check out the most advanced electric vehicles, and learn more about home and fast-charging options. 6pm to 9pm.

Be there, or be a can of BP Premium Unleaded.