EV Day Electrify Everything Expo coming to Eurobodalla

The EV Day Electrify Everything Expo is run by the South Coast Health and Sustainability Alliance (SHASA) who are trying to lead the way to creating a low-carbon Eurobodalla.

SHASA president Kathryn Maxwell said the day was the perfect opportunity for the community to come and try for themselves the latest in electric-powered products such as cars but also electric motor bikes, electric bikes, electric mowers and other gardening tools and portable induction stoves.

"You can do all the things you do now with about 25 to 30 per cent of the energy you would use using gas or petrol or diesel," Ms Maxwell said.

SHASA has owned an electric Nissan Leaf which has been taken for more than 120 test drives by community members.

Ms Maxwell said the opportunity to test drive an EV was what had convinced many people going electric could work for them.

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She loves using the EV, and said it was 10 times cheaper than running a similar-sized petrol car. She also loves that the EV requires less maintenance, is more powerful, quieter and produces less emissions than petrol-powered cars.

"In your petrol car, you're accessing about 25 per cent of the energy of the fuel. In your electric car it is between 85 to 90 per cent of the energy," she said.

"You've got full power the minute you put your foot down."

She uses the Nissan Leaf for trips around the Eurobodalla, and said it was crucial to decide how you wanted to use the car before making a purchase.

Some SHASA members drive their Teslas to Sydney or the Snowy Mountains, while Ms Maxwell's Leaf has a smaller range of about 270 kilometres.

"It depends what you want," she said. "Get one with longer range to avoid range-anxiety."

Ms Maxwell said EVs were cheaper in the long run compared to petrol cars, and better for the environment. She said a continual reliance upon petrol shipped - using fuel - to Australia from foreign economies was expensive and bad for the environment and affected by global market fluctuations.

"Your car, how you drive your car and what fuel you use has your biggest carbon footprint," she said.

"There is never going to be a car with no environmental impact.

"The easiest single way to cut your carbon footprint is to go electric."

The Expo will also feature at least nine local EV owners with their cars on display. They will be answering questions about what they love and don't like about their car, and what factors they considered when making the purchase.

The EV Day Electrify Everything Expo is at Hanging Rock Batemans Bay, on March 12 from 10am to 3pm.