ESB announces 32 new Great Electric Drive ambassadors from 20 counties

Here’s a look at the 26 members of the public and six commercial organisations that have been chosen to take part in this year’s Great Electric Drive.

The new Great Electric Drive ambassadors were announced at an event held in Dublin earlier this week, which was attended by Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte. Over the course of the Great Electric Drive, the ambassadors will drive a wide range of electric vehicles and get first-hand experience of the benefits of electric driving. The electric vehicles are being provided by major car companies and include the BMW i3 (pictured below), Citroen C-Zero, Mitsubishi iMiev, Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in Hybrid, Nissan Euro LEAF and Nissan e-NV200 commercial van, Renault ZOE the Renault Twizy and the Renault Kangoo ZE commercial van.

The participants have a wide variety of commuting patterns and daily routines. They will share their experiences on the ESB ecars blog throughout their ecar trial. Six organisations have also been selected as commercial ecar ambassadors, including: Inland Fisheries Ireland; Parcel Zone (Dublin); Verve, the Live Agency; the Spelt Bakery (Kilkenny); Cork City Fire Brigade; and Mercury Engineering. All will drive an electric commercial vehicle during the trial. So, how does it work? Each ecar ambassador will have a charge point installed in their home or workplace and will also be able to access a nationwide network of public charge points that have been rolled out by ESB across the country. This includes the installation of fast chargers along the main inter urban routes, which is being co-funded by the EU. Cross border compatibility will allow electric vehicle drivers access the public charging infrastructure in Northern Ireland. John McSweeney, head of Innovation, ESB said: “We are delighted to have 32 new ambassadors to take part in the second Great Electric Drive. We have chosen people from all over the country and all walks of life. People in Ireland are really starting to realise the benefits of electric cars and their suitability for everyone, no matter what their driving patterns are.” Here’s a look at those who were chosen to drive the ecars for the next few months:

Great Electric Drive ambassadors

Fiona Dillion, Co. Carlow Niall McHugo, Co. Cavan Patrick Talty, Co. Clare Cork Fire Brigade, Cork City Emmet Murphy, Cork City Darren Tapley, Co. Cork Farrah Deane, Co. Cork Inland Fisheries, Co. Dublin Steve Kelly, Dublin 9 Peter Clinch, Dublin 14 Holly Murphy, Dublin 14 Mercury Engineering, Dublin 18 Parcel Zone, Dublin 18 Amanda Meehan, Dublin 22 Ed Sadler, Dublin 24 Martin O’Driscoll, Co. Galway John Breslin, Co. Galway Sean Murphy, Co. Kerry Stephen O’Brien, Co. Kildare Susan Boyle, Co. Kildare Spelt Bakers, Co. Kilkenny Ray Harte, Co. Laois Sean Brady, Limerick City Jana McGrath, Co. Mayo Noel O’Reilly, Co. Meath Guy Atkinson, Co. Offaly James McNamara, Co. Roscommon Annie West, Co. Sligo Sean Nugent, Co. Tipperary Lorraine Flanagan, Co. Westmeath Moria O’Gorman, Co. Wexford Lisa Domican, Co. Wicklow You can find out more about the different ecar ambassadors by clicking here.