Rapidly electrifying cars and trucks in Maine is the fastest way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and meet the state’s climate goals, but the path will be uphill, according to a new state-commissioned report.
There is a lack of public funding for incentives for new vehicles and charging points valued at more than $ 100 million, many drivers in Maine either want or cannot afford the EVs currently on the market, and supply chain disruptions are on offer the car dealer is reducing their lots, the report said.
The transportation sector is responsible for more than half of the state’s carbon emissions, mainly from the exhaust pipes of more than a million commercial and residential vehicles on state roads. Reducing this pollution is necessary to cut emissions by 45 percent over the next eight years and by 80 percent by 2050, as required by the state’s climate protection plan.
Moving these vehicles to zero-emission models “appears to be the most important, technologically advanced strategy for all modes of transport because of the relatively low fuel costs, high powertrain efficiency and persistently falling battery costs,” according to the Maine Clean Transportation Roadmap, a report published by Governor Janet Mills and published last week by Cadmus Group, a Waltham, Massachusetts consulting firm.
His recommendations include a range of subsidies for the purchase of electric vehicles, especially for low and middle income households, paying for new public charging points, and requiring car dealers to sell an increasing number of zero-emission vehicles in the state over the next decade. .
No immediate policy changes or legislation emerged from the report, said Anthony Ronzio, deputy director of the governor’s office for political innovation and future.
“The consultant’s work, with input from the public and industry stakeholders, resulted in a thorough, data-driven analysis of the options and an assessment of various efforts in other states,” Ronzio said in an email. “The administration reviews and evaluates the advisor’s recommendations and decides which, if any, are appropriate for Maine. The administration has not yet proposed any measures based on the report. “
AN AGGRESSIVE GOAL
The main objective of the report is to get more electric vehicles onto the streets of Maine, but other means are recommended to reduce the number of people. More public transport, improved bike lanes, sidewalks and sidewalks, a community design that makes it easier to get out of the car, and the expansion of teleworking opportunities all contribute to reducing greenhouse gases.
But the massive expansion of zero-emission vehicles on Maine’s roads is still the clearest way to meet the state’s ambitious climate goals, the report said.
“It’s going to be a really aggressive target and it’s not going to be easy, but I think it’s doable,” said Michael Stoddard, executive director of Efficiency Maine, an agency that offers discounts on electric cars and is responsible for expanding the state charging network.
Right now, the new vehicle market is generally grappling with a pandemic-induced shortage of microchips and other components, which is slowing the adoption of all-electric cars, but that will pass, he said.
The number of battery electric and plug-in hybrid cars registered in Maine has increased by 90 percent in the past two years to nearly 5,780 vehicles, according to the report. Charging stations increased by 60 percent to 265 nationwide over the same period. Last year, zero-emission vehicles made up about 0.5 percent of regular passenger vehicles in Maine.
In 2020, about 980 electric vehicles were sold in Maine, about 1.5 percent of all light trucks sold and slightly below the national average.
Maine is slated to have more than 40,000 electric cars on the streets in the next three years and more than 200,000 by 2030, according to the Maine State’s Won’t Wait Climate Action Plan. But right now, EVs don’t offer the variety that Maine consumers want like SUVs and pickups. The state’s best-selling vehicles are the Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150, and GMC Sierra, pickups that are not currently available in an electric version. Seven percent of the electric vehicles in the market will be pickup trucks by 2024, when the auto companies hit their targets, the report said.
“It’s frustrating right now as we were starting to build momentum and see real growth in the Maine electric vehicle market,” said Stoddard of the setbacks caused by the pandemic. “Everything has just slowed to glacier pace – we just have to be patient. We will get back on track and do our best. “
TWO MILLION NEEDED
According to the report’s analysis, it would take tens of millions of dollars more than is currently available to make the necessary investments in charging and buying incentives for electric vehicles.
Maine has approximately $ 27 million, a combination of funds from the state’s employment and recovery plan and the federal infrastructure bill, to expand public charging stations by 2026.
Efficiency Maine has about $ 3.8 million in rebates for electric vehicles to be issued through next June and $ 1.3 million in low-income rebates, the report said. People buying a new battery-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle can make $ 1,000 to $ 5,000, depending on the vehicle and income.
Expanding this program and investing in public charging stations to encourage electric vehicle purchases could cost anywhere from $ 25 to $ 43.7 million a year, according to the report. These expenses do not include subsidies for commercial electric vehicles, charging stations for apartment buildings or a “Cash for Clunkers” incentive program for low-consumption vehicles recommended in the report.
Potential funding sources include competitive federal grants of $ 2.5 billion to expand electric vehicles in the federal infrastructure law. The state could also consider raising gasoline taxes or introducing a mileage tax, proposals that have proven politically unpopular, or introducing a clean fuel standard and other revenue models, the report suggests.
The cost analysis in the report is an estimate that could fall significantly, said Barry Woods, director of electric vehicle innovation at ReVision Energy, a solar energy company. As more vehicles hit the roads, charging will attract private investment and people will find they spend more time charging them at home, he said.
“I don’t think anyone in the industry is very confident about what exactly the need will be as the number of plug-in vehicles continues to grow,” said Woods. “I think we’ve identified a pretty robust amount of funding right now. The reality is that it becomes easier to attract private investment as there are more vehicles. “
FUTURE CHALLENGES
The city of Portland plans to install four fast charging stations and 44 smaller charging stations in dense residential areas over the next year. People want to charge their car at home overnight, but that’s difficult when you live on the third floor of an apartment building without a garage or your own parking space.
“Our goal is to create charging stations in the neighborhood,” said Troy Moon, Portland’s sustainability director. “So that a large number of condominiums or apartments can be reached on foot.”
The obligation to sell electric vehicles along with an expanded infrastructure is another recommendation in the report. It suggests Maine is following California’s lead, requiring an increasing proportion of vehicles sold in the state to be emission-free and to achieve 100 percent of all new cars by 2035.
The Maine Board of Environmental Protection is considering a similar regulation for commercial vehicles. According to the rule, 5-9 percent of trucks sold in Maine, depending on their size, would have to be emission-free by 2024 and increase to 55-75 percent of sales by 2035.
This proposal is opposed by a number of pro-business groups, including the Maine Motor Transport Association, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, and other trade groups.
In a letter to regulators in November, the group said the regulation had not been thoroughly scrutinized, may not scale to Maine’s economy, and would have unintended consequences for businesses in the state.
“For these reasons, we support market-driven decisions for the voluntary commercial introduction of zero-emission vehicles when the application warrants it, rather than an arbitrary sales threshold that affects the equipment available in Maine and available to Maine businesses, regardless of whether it is is intentional or not. ”Group said. “If the cost of owning zero-emission vehicles is really as rosy as the picture, then truck owners will turn to the technology once the infrastructure investments are made and the technology is proven to be effective.”
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