Kelsey Grentzer, former Florida Communications Coordinator at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, contributed to this blog.

Have you ever been behind the wheel of an electric vehicle? We talked to drivers across the Sunshine State and were surprised to discover that many Floridians never have — despite the many benefits electric cars offer for drivers, the environment and public health. We also found that Floridians had a ton of questions and a variety of misconceptions about driving electric.

That’s why we’ve just launched the Driving on Sunshine electric vehicle roadshow, which will tour the Sunshine State and give Floridians the chance to experience firsthand what it’s like to drive electric. Attendees at Driving on Sunshine roadshow events will have the opportunity to test drive a Nissan LEAF hatchback, a Tesla Model 3 sedan or a custom-wrapped Tesla Model X for free. What better way to see how fun, easy and practical an electric vehicle can be than to drive one for yourself?

The roadshow’s first official event was held Saturday, July 20, and offered test drives as part of the e4 Life: Green Health & Wellness Expo at the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium in partnership with the West Palm Beach Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. About 40 people got behind the wheel to test drive an electric vehicle on Saturday! Take a look at the photo album here.

Through the Driving on Sunshine roadshow, we hope to show Floridians how electric cars save drivers money in lower fuel cost and significantly less maintenance costs, and also offer better overall safety and performance.

More importantly, electric vehicles are a key solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, and protecting our coasts by reducing the need for offshore drilling. Florida is one of the most vulnerable states to the dangers of offshore drilling and the impacts of a changing climate, such as sea level rise and intensifying hurricanes. As the third most populous state in the U.S. and one of the largest markets for electric vehicles, we hope to see Florida lead the way in the transition to clean transportation.

Why Driving on Sunshine? As we advocate for utilities to bring more renewable energy like solar online, the power grid that charges electric vehicles continues to become cleaner. We hope to accelerate this transition in the Sunshine State with the installation of more solar power and more drivers fueling their cars with our most abundant natural resource: sunshine.

We’re beginning to schedule electric vehicle roadshow events around the state — with many more to come! If you’d like to see a Driving on Sunshine roadshow event in your area, let us know here. You can stay tuned about upcoming events near you by joining our Electrify the South mailing list. And if you support our work to educate the public about the need for a clean energy future to power electric vehicles, please consider chipping in to help us fund our efforts to Electrify the South!