Jennifer Rennicks, former Senior Director of Policy & Communications at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, contributed to this post.

With nearly one third of climate pollution now coming from our transportation system, the opportunity is ripe to transition to cleaner vehicle technology. Last week during the 9th annual National Drive Electric Week, electric vehicle enthusiasts hosted hundreds of events – including nearly a dozen in the Sunshine State – to highlight the widespread availability and benefits of electric vehicles of all kinds.

To aid the transition to electric transportation in the Sunshine State, SACE recently launched Driving on Sunshine: an electric vehicle roadshow in Florida providing hands-on driving experiences to demonstrate the ease and benefits of driving electric! SACE staff brought the Driving on Sunshine EV Roadshow from one end of Florida to the other to offer test drives (and rides) in several different makes and models of electric vehicles.

In partnership with Sustainable Tallahassee, we joined the Tallahassee National Drive Electric Week event on Saturday, September 14th, held at the at the Village Commons. We completed 30 test drives in a Model 3 Tesla to provide a hands-on driving experience for car lovers of all ages while engaging with 100 more who were interested in learning about going electric. In addition to a variety of makes and models – including a Tesla that towed two stand-up paddleboards! – this event also boasted an all-electric transit bus brought by Florida State University.

The same weekend, SACE staff joined partners at the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society for another drive electric event in West Palm Beach where a dozen people took drives in our wrapped and branded Model X Tesla and our Nissan Leaf. Then a week later, on the final weekend of National Drive Electric Week, we attended two more events: this time in Destin and the Tampa Bay area. Like the previous events, we spoke with dozens of attendees who all took the opportunity to test drive one of three electric vehicles who all expressed how much they enjoyed driving the cars – especially how quiet they are and how (surprisingly!) fast the acceleration is!

Here at SACE, and particularly through our Driving on Sunshine campaign, we talk about the benefits of driving electric pretty frequently, but to hear firsthand why drivers like you want to see the rapid transition to electric transportation was inspiring! Drivers or interested drivers we talked with around the state discussed the importance of cost savings, their desires to embrace the latest technology, the importance of protecting the environment, and the necessity of decreasing our dependence on domestic and foreign fossil fuels.

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