Oh how the years have flown!

Here’s Rachel in the original control room of Ardnacrusha. Imagine monitoring all those buttons, switches, and dials! Must have been hard to resist pushing all the buttons at once…

Thanks to the incredibly kind and generous folks at the ESB, the E-car ambassadors had the unique privilege of touring the impressive, historic Ardnacrusha power plant recently. As the ESB’s first ever power station, Ardnacrusha once harnessed enough energy from the River Shannon to power the entire country. Now it represents only about 2% of the Electricity Supply Board’s installed capacity! Glenisk’s Rachel was struck by just how much our energy needs as a country have grown.

Technology and energy generation is improving by leaps and bounds to keep up with this growing demand, and electric cars are no exception. When Glenisk first went electric in 2010 with our little MEGA van, we were delighted to be able to deliver yogurt and attend events in our zero-emissions wheels. Our MEGA van has a range of about 50kms, and top speeds of about the same! Other than the basic safety features, it has no power steering, no heat, no radio, no nothing.

Needless to say, when we received our flashy new 2012 Renault Kangoo Z.E. van from the ESB e-cars programme this Autumn we were bowled over by just how far the technology has come in a few short years. Not only is Rachel cosy warm in the winter while rocking out to One Direction (sorry Rachel!) on the radio, the Kangoo steers beautifully, regularly makes it over 100km on a single charge, and zips down the M7 motorway at top speeds no problem. With new cars making their debut all the time, we can’t wait to see what the next wave of e-car technology will bring. In the meantime, keep an eye out for us on the road!