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By DCB Editorial, December 16, 2022
California’s goal of improving state electric vehicle infrastructure was recently boosted by the announcement of a $2.9BN investment strategy to install more EV charging stations and hydrogen refueling gas pumps. The measure aligns with that of the California Energy Commission which has set a deadline of 2025 to install 90,000 new EV chargers state-wide. California already has installed 80,000 EV chargers, the total number will easily outnumber the number of gas stations in California which currently sits at 10,000 forecourts.
The U.S. Transportation Department, September, approved a plan to increase EV charging stations for all 50 states. The rollout will cover over 75,000 miles of America’s road network. In August California state legislators approved a $10BN investment zero-emissions plan requiring 100 percent of new car sales to be ZEV (zero-emissions vehicles) by 2035.
The plan targets 35 percent ZEV sales by 2026, 68 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035. ZEVs include battery electric cars and plugin-in electric hybrids, so combustion engine/fossil fuel cars will still play an awkward factor. By its own logic, how can California definitively say it is zero-emission compliant.
The fact is that in U.S. politics, key decisions are made by lobbying groups with the most capital to spend. It may well be the case that the state of California is seeking to retain existing relations with the fossil fuel industry and legacy car manufacturers. Otherwise why go for a zero-emissions policy and then decide to include plugin hybrids?
By definition, a plug-in hybrid is not zero-emission compliant. So, something isn’t quite right about California’s 2035 zero-emissions target.
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