Hawaii Chamber of Commerce Transportation Summit: Electric Vehicles

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawai’i hosted a Transportation Summit today focusing on fossil fuel consumption for ground transportation.

There are more than one million gasoline and diesel passenger vehicles in Hawai’i.  That, according to the Blue Planet Foundation.  Chief of Staff, Melissa Miyashiro, says that number adds up to a lot of miles and fuel.

“We drive about 26 million miles daily in Hawai’i.  And, that’s approximately enough for 55 round trips to the moon and that’s every single day.  That translates to over one gallon per person per day.”

Miyashiro says electric vehicles or EVs would dramatically decrease the use of fossil fuels.  Hawaiian Electric Company general manager for electrification of transportation, Brennon Morioka, says EVs already save money, even with Hawai’i’s high electricity rates.

“There are some studies that show if you look at an average car, which gets about 25 miles per gallon in terms of fuel efficiency, if you drive an EV in Hawai’i, in order to find an equivalent gasoline car that gasoline car has to have a fuel efficiency of 38 miles per gallon or more.”

Link to full article: Hawaii Public Radio: Hawaii Chamber of Commerce Transportation Summit: Electric Vehicles