The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE

Tribune Business Reporter

nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net

WHILE electric and hybrid cars are still a "niche" market in the Bahamas, according to one leading auto dealer, the One Eleuthera Foundation yesterday said it was "pushing the envelope very hard" towards a transition from fossil fuel dependency.

The Foundation recently received a $25,000 electric car donated by the Nassau Motor Company (NMC) for test purposes as its continues its push for a "Green" Eleuthera.

The Foundation's chief executive, Shaun Ingraham, told Tribune Business it was looking at reducing carbon emissions and lessening the dependence on fossil fuels.

"The car really starts the conversation around one of the biggest consumers of fossil fuels, which is transport on this island, and which is probably one of the biggest polluters to the environment," he explained.

"What we are trying to do at least is get people thinking about it. It might not be the end-all, but at least people will be talking abut it and it shows we will be making a hard step in that direction. I think we need to focus on our consumption trends. We want to push this envelope very hard. I know it's going to be unpopular, but it's going to have to start at the grass roots level."

Mr Ingraham added: "Right now it's [hybrid vehicles] not perfect and it's so much easier to jump in your gas guzzler, but what it does do is make you more conscious of your consumption on so many different levels - not just fossil fuel, but time and electricity. Everything sort of comes into focus."

Rick Lowe, operations manager at Nassau Motor Company told Tribune Business: "We are only hopeful that we will be able to get into the market in a more substantial way with the electric cars.

"I think at this point this is still a niche market because it's still developing. The technology is changing almost daily as people get better at making batteries. It's not a short-term solution. It may be in the long-term, or maybe something will be developed in the medium-term, and a lot of this technology is new, so it's not cheap. There are trade-offs along the way."