Electric vehicles

In 2022 Australia's petrol cars were responsible for most of the 18.7 per cent of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions attributable to transport. Zero electric vehicles (ZEVs) — which include battery electric vehicles (BEVs) — are an alternative to petrol or internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs). Transitioning to ZEVs is not the perfect panacea, however, as many ZEVs use energy from fossil fuel-generated electricity. In 2022, non-renewable electricity contributed to 32.8 per cent of Australia’s carbon emissions. In order to balance this concern, it is worth considering ZEVs as both a transport and an energy product, as the energy stored in BEV batteries can also be used to power a home. Thus, ZEVs are considered a key element in distributed energy resources (DERs), ie. the name given to renewable energy units or systems that are commonly located at houses or businesses to provide them with power. Another way of describing DERs is ‘behind the meter’ energy, for that electricity is generated or managed behind the electricity meter in a home or business. According to the Australian Energy Regulator, DERs include small-scale rooftop solar, large-storage batteries, and energy management systems such as smart meters.