Saturday 25 April 2020

Self-driving EVs powered with renewable energy hit the streets of California

Cruise, the self-driving subsidiary of General Motors, has committed to using 100% renewable energy to power its self-driving electric vehicles (EVs).

The company, which provides self-driven, electric and shared transportation vehicles, hopes to reduce the carbon footprint of its fleet in San Fransisco by sourcing clean power from 12 onsite solar projects at schools in Southern California.

The project was driven by California's goal to deploy five million zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2030 - the state's transportation alone currently accounts for more than 40% of its total emissions, 70% of which come from light-duty passenger vehicles.

In a statement, the firm added: "We hope that powering our San Francisco fleet with 100% renewable energy is only a stepping stone as we explore ways to move our fleet beyond carbon-free to carbon-negative power sources.

"We are excited about emerging technologies that can provide new sources of electricity that power how we move. For example, we’re learning more about projects that capture methane from landfills and dairy farms and then harness those harmful gases that would otherwise contribute to global warming to create carbon negative, renewable electricity."