Power to the EV people

By Rob Cooling

My name is Rob and I’m an enthusiastic driving instructor in Nottingham. I specialise in teaching pupils with special or specific needs. I teach in an electric car powered by renewable energy supplied by Ecotricity.

I’m an Ecotricity customer because as a family we have a strong passion for environmental concerns. We’ve been inspired by the rise in renewable energy and electric cars (which are amazing). We also like Ecotricity as a company; they present themselves very well and we love the easy-going lack of contract - it’s a good vibe.

We’ve been customers for a year or more now and have no plans to leave: we’re very happy.

I’ve been a driving instructor since 2004. From 2011, I began focusing on teaching pupils with diverse special needs.

I switched to automatic last year and this led me to my first electric car, which has been a brilliant experience. It made sense to find an energy company that invested in renewable energy so Ecotricity became our choice to power our electric cars. We have one for business use and one for family use. Between lessons I occasionally use the Ecotricity rapid chargers to top up and find myself constantly talking to curious passers-by who are fascinated by the new technology.

At home, sustainability is playing an ever-increasing role in our family. The kids learn about it at school too. We try to minimise waste, maximise recycling and are increasingly conscious of how we spend our money. We don’t necessarily buy the cheapest, but are more interested in the ethics of the places we visit and purchase from.

I am very passionate about encouraging others to become sustainable. Through driver training magazine articles, conferences and podcasts, I’ve been pushing the benefits of renewable energy and electric cars. I think the best way is to lead through example and hopefully everyone else sees how awesome it is! It seems to be working.

I think the simplest step to becoming sustainable is to change energy provider to one that supplies from a renewable source. It’s such an easy thing to do and the more of us who do it, the more it dilutes the fossil fuel industry. Beyond that, it becomes an addictive mindset and makes its way through to everything else you do, including how you spend your money and the kinds of foods you buy.

It’s with people like Rob on board that we continue to be a driving force for green energy. Our customers’ bills enable us to build new sources of green energy, further helping to combat climate change by moving away from fossil fuels. You too can become one of the people powering the green revolution – take the wheel and switch today.