Fuel Efficiency Standards

 

Oil Sector Engages In 'Stealth' Push For Vehicle GHG Plan. According to Inside EPA, “As the Trump administration advances its controversial plan to roll back vehicle greenhouse gas and fuel economy standards, the oil sector stands to benefit from the increased gasoline use it would spur, even as directly regulated automakers balk at the scope of the proposal. Now, the New York Times is outlining a ‘stealth’ campaign from oil refiners and their allies to promote the rollback in Congress, state legislatures and the broader public. ‘With oil scarcity no longer a concern,’ Americans should get a ‘choice of vehicles that best fit their needs,’ reads a letter from the country’s largest refiner, Marathon Petroleum, to lawmakers this summer, according to the article. The refiner also joined with the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council to draft resolutions for state lawmakers to support the administration’s plan, which would freeze standards at model year 2020 levels through MY26, while preempting California and other states from enforcing strict rules. Further, the Times cites a ‘covert’ oil industry-funded campaign on Facebook that connects the rollback to former President Barack Obama. ‘Would YOU buy a used car from this man?’ the ads say, with the Times story noting it drove significant numbers of comments to the Transportation Department’s (DOT) regulatory docket.” [Inside EPA, 12/13/18 (=)]

 

Oil Company Played Major Role In Influencing Car Emissions Rollback: Report. According to The Hill, “The Trump administration’s decision to roll back auto emission standards this past summer was in part influenced by the country’s largest oil refiner, according to a New York Times report Thursday. A covert lobbying campaign launched by Marathon Petroleum sent dozens of letters to members of Congress promoting the need to weaken the Obama-era emissions standards, all based largely on the premise that energy conservation was no longer needed due to the country’s recent surge in oil production, the Times reports. The company successfully launched its information campaign with the help of powerful oil-industry groups and a conservative policy network financed by Charles Koch, according to the report. The letters sent to lawmakers over the summer on behalf of Marathon Petroleum included the argument: ‘With oil scarcity no longer a concern,’ Americans should be given a ‘choice in vehicles that best fit their needs,’ according to a draft obtained by the Times. A review of correspondence later sent between a dozen members of Congress and regulators included exact phrases and sentences from the industry group’s talking points. In August, the Trump administration formally submitted a proposal to weaken the vehicle emission rules first established by Obama in 2012, following months of anticipation on the issue.” [The Hill, 12/13/18 (=)]

 

Why Trump Can’t Kill The Electric Car. According to Politico, “The electric vehicle revolution, after years of hype that outpaced reality, finally seems to be taking off in the United States. The best five months for plug-in sales in American history have been the past five months. Tesla’s Model 3 has been one of America’s top five selling passenger cars this fall, surging ahead of fossil-fueled mainstays like the Ford Fusion and Nissan Sentra. The U.S. put its 1 millionth electric vehicle on the road in September, not a large chunk of the nation’s 260 million vehicles, but not too shabby considering production started only in 2010. The question is: Can President Donald Trump stop this trend? The Trump administration is already trying to roll back strict fuel-efficiency rules that have helped encourage automakers to produce electric cars. Now the president, angry at General Motors for closing U.S. plants, is vowing to eliminate tax credits that have helped encourage consumers to buy electric cars. And his protectionist trade policies could create additional burdens for EV manufacturers. The electrification of transportation was a key element of President Barack Obama’s strategy to cut U.S. carbon emissions and fight climate change, but Trump doesn’t care about cutting emissions, and he doesn’t like things associated with Obama. So far, Trump’s incendiary rhetoric and fossil-fuel-friendly policies have failed to even slow down America’s transition to a clean-energy economy.” [Politico, 12/13/18 (+)]

 

Other News

 

EV Tax Credit A Win-Win, Utilities Tell Congress. According to E&E News, “A coalition largely composed of electric utilities is urging Congress to keep alive the federal tax credit for electric vehicles, despite President Trump’s threat to end it. In a letter sent yesterday to top members of the Senate and House tax committees, the groups said the credit gives manufacturers ‘the necessary certainty to effectively plan future development and marketing strategies around EVs.’ ‘The globe is witnessing a rapidly-shifting automotive industry and many countries are preparing for EVs to be the bedrock of future mobility,’ the letter said. ‘The U.S. can choose to continue to be a leader in this space, or risk irrelevance to the market, with enormous economic consequences.’ Once electric cars become widespread, they wrote, they will benefit consumers, industry and the environment, but that growth depends on ongoing support. The $7,500 tax credit for EV buyers currently phases out once the manufacturer hits the 200,000-sales mark. Tesla Inc. has already reached it, with General Motors Co. and Nissan Motor Co. fast approaching, and the three have undertaken a lobbying blitz in the hope of extending the credit. Free-market and oil industry groups have waged their own influence campaigns on the other side of the issue. The contest may have tilted in their favor in late November, after Trump tweeted that his administration would look into cutting the EV credit in retribution for GM’s announcement of plant closures and layoffs. The president’s top economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, doubled down, promising the EV credit would end along with other Obama-era subsidies for renewables, all of which were passed by Congress.” [E&E News, 12/14/18 (=)]

 

As More Cars Plug In, Utilities And Makers Juggle Ways To Power Them. According to The New York Times, “Thus, automakers and utilities are again working hand in hand to ensure a good supply of clean, inexpensive electricity — while developing strategies for charging that don’t overload circuits at peak periods — through improved efficiency, strategic charging and a greater reliance on renewable energy sources. Honda and Southern California Edison have taken a step in that direction. They have developed a program, Honda SmartCharge, that helps owners charge electric vehicles when the greatest amount of renewable energy is available on the grid and when electricity prices, which can fluctuate significantly, are lowest. The system relies on the vehicle’s built-in communication ability and a software platform developed by eMotorWerks, a subsidiary of Enel, a multinational public utility that operates a diverse group of renewable energy power plants. Henry Ford, left, with Thomas Edison in 1925.CreditHenry Ford Museum SmartCharge is in beta testing with Honda Fit owners in Southern California Edison’s service area. Car owners download the free app and select preferred charging times. The software computes the best time to charge, considering the car owner’s preference, how the electricity is being generated and pricing signals from the electric grid. Push notifications remind the car owner to plug in when the time is right. Should the wholesale cost of electricity spike while the car is charging, the software can interrupt the process until the price drops. Car owners can opt out of a charging time if it doesn’t suit their schedule, and they can opt out of the program at any time.” [The New York Times, 12/13/18 (+)]

 

U.S. Auto Sales Expected To Dip In 2019, Says NADA. According to Reuters, “New vehicle sales in the United States are expected to drop next year as higher interest rates and rising prices could prompt customers to hold off their car-buying plans, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) said on Thursday. The dealer lobby estimated sales of 16.8 million units for 2019, saying this would be the first time since 2014 that U.S. new vehicle sales could fall below the 17-million mark. ‘If incentives continue to go down and interest rates go up, it will put tremendous pressure on consumers with rising monthly payments,’ NADA Chairman Wes Lutz said in a statement. ‘The level of interest rates moving forward will be a wild card.’ Auto sales in 2018 benefited from President Donald Trump’s overhaul of the U.S. tax code that put more money in the hands of the consumers. ‘We’re not going to have that again in 2019,’ NADA senior economist Patrick Manzi said. ‘That’s one of the main reasons we’re expecting new vehicle sales to fall off slightly.’” [Reuters, 12/13/18 (=)]

 

Sales Of Electric Vehicles Growing Steadily In California. According to The Detroit Bureau, “Electric cars accounted for 7.1% of California car sales in the first three quarters of 2019 with fully electric, zero-emission car sales outrunning the plug-in hybrid sales. EVs accounted for 4.1% of the vehicles sold in California while plug-in hybrids accounted for 3%, according to Veloz, which tracks the development of EV sales in the state. ‘It’s no longer a matter of whether electric vehicles will take off, but how soon,’ said Josh Boone, executive director of Veloz, public-private coalition of major electric car industry stakeholders, told TheDetroitBureau.com. California hit the 500,000 electric-car sales milestone in November. Veloz’s monthly ‘Sales Dashboard’ shows total sales of electric cars in the state was up 30% from the month before and 164% from a year ago.” [The Detroit Bureau, 12/11/18 (=)]

 

For Your Radar. According to Politico, “California could today become the first state to commit to an all-electric bus fleet. The California Air Resources Board is expected to vote on the Innovative Clean Transit measure, requiring transit agencies move toward 100 percent zero-emission buses by 2040 statewide.” [Politico, 12/14/18 (=)]

 

Calif. Board OKs Electrify America's $200M Spending Plan. According to E&E News, “The California Air Resources Board yesterday gave the green light to a plan by a Volkswagen AG subsidiary, Electrify America, to spend $200 million on charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. The funding springs from VW’s diesel-emissions cheating scandal. The automaker formed Electrify America in 2017 to spend $2 billion over a decade to support zero-emissions vehicles, a part of a nearly $16 billion settlement overseen by California and federal officials. The vote, though nearly unanimous, did have some controversy. Dean Florez, a board member and former majority leader in the state Senate, voted ‘no’ after penning an op-ed in The Sacramento Bee objecting to the plan’s scant plans for rural roads. Of the $2 billion settlement, $1.2 billion is meant to be used across the country and is overseen by EPA, while $800 million is targeted at California. CARB, which uncovered VW’s wrongdoing, is in charge of the state’s enforcement. The blueprint calls for Electrify America to devote as much as $115 million to building chargers in metropolitan areas; up to $30 million on highway routes; and up to $24 million on pilot projects, including building chargers for homes, buses and autonomous cars and in rural areas. A further $17 million is meant to promote the driving of EVs and $10 million to drive customers to Electrify America’s stations.” [E&E News, 12/14/18 (=)]

 

Minn. PUC Outlines Next Steps To Help Accelerate EV Growth. According to E&E News, “Minnesota utility regulators yesterday said transportation electrification has consumer and environmental benefits for the state and utilities have a key role in helping enable more electric vehicles on state roadways. In an order, the Public Utilities Commission directed the state’s three investor-owned utilities to take steps to encourage EV adoption by helping educate consumers and proposing rate designs, policies and investments that benefits all consumers, whether or not they own an EV. The action comes a year after the PUC initiated a case to look at the utility industry’s role in transportation electrification. It was a broad proceeding that included dozens of filings and several meetings among state agencies, utilities, automakers, charging equipment providers, environmental groups and consumer advocates. For all the work so far, ‘this process is just getting started,’ Commissioner Dan Lipschultz said. ‘It’s a process intended to make sure Minnesota’s electric utilities fulfill their essential role in harnessing the benefits of EVs — promoting them, encouraging them and making sure we bring them into the system in the right way to bring benefits not just to EV owners but to ratepayers and to society in general,’ he said.” [E&E News, 12/14/18 (=)]

 

Greens Urge Cuomo To Drive Down Car Emissions. According to E&E News, “When it comes to the electric power sector, greens are big fans of Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his ambitious carbon-cutting policies. But on transportation? Not so much. In a letter sent to Cuomo yesterday afternoon, a coalition of 63 green groups urged his administration to tackle planet-warming emissions from cars and trucks after concentrating on pollution from power plants. ‘While you and your administration have made tremendous strides in clean energy generation and energy efficiency ... the State must make a significant commitment to transform its transportation sector, New York’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and a significant contributor of air pollutants,’ the letter says. The letter contains a big ask: It urges Cuomo to commit to slashing transportation-sector emissions 50 percent by 2030 compared with 2005 levels. Achieving this benchmark, the groups say, would help New York meet its goal of reducing emissions 40 percent economywide by 2030. The groups signing the letter include the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, Union of Concerned Scientists and Alliance for Clean Energy New York. Lisa Dix, senior New York representative with the Sierra Club, said that Cuomo has already been a clean energy champion. The governor has played a leading role in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program for the power sector in nine Northeastern states, Dix said. He’s also committed to powering the state’s electric grid with 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, and he’s announced plans to close the state’s few remaining coal plants by around 2020.” [E&E News, 12/14/18 (=)]

 

BMW, Porsche Boast 3-Minute Charging Jolt. According to E&E News, “BMW AG and Porsche unveiled a charging station that can jolt electric vehicles with enough power to drive 100 kilometers (62 miles) in less than three minutes, pushing ahead of Tesla Inc. in the race to make battery-powered cars more convenient. The ultra-fast prototype charger has a capacity of 450 kilowatts, more than triple Tesla’s Superchargers. Test vehicles developed to take that much power were recharged to 80 percent capacity in 15 minutes. Tesla’s stations need about 30 minutes for a similar charge, according to its website. Carmakers, developing a wave of electric models to keep up with tightening carbon emissions regulation, are under pressure to overcome consumer turnoffs like slow charging times and patchy infrastructure. With demand remaining tepid, BMW, Daimler AG and Porsche parent Volkswagen AG are also building a fast-charging network along major highways in Europe. The super-powered charging point was developed by a consortium comprising the two German car brands, engineering giant Siemens AG, and charging specialists Allego GmbH and Phoenix Contact E-Mobility GmbH. The station in Bavaria was opened to the public on Wednesday. It’s free to use for existing models, BMW said yesterday in a statement. One drawback — the charger offers more power than current models can take on. The BMW i3 limits its power intake to 50 kilowatts, while the battery-powered iX3 will triple that to 150 kilowatts when it rolls out in 2020.” [E&E News, 12/14/18 (=)]

 

Other Opinion Pieces

 

Op-Ed: Volkswagen’s Obligation Is To All Californians, Not Just The Rich. According to Sacramento Bee, “California needs electric car-charging infrastructure all across our state to achieve ambitious climate targets and to meet the growing consumer demand for electric vehicles. Unfortunately, Volkswagen’s latest Zero Emissions Vehicle investment plan may be a missed opportunity to clean up our transportation sector and improve access in communities that still have significant infrastructure gaps, particularly in rural areas and disadvantaged communities. We cannot forget how we got here. VW secretly installed ‘defeat device’ software on its diesel cars, and then covered it up. These vehicles spewed up to 40 times the legally allowed amount of nitrogen oxide into California’s air. To make amends, VW pleaded guilty to criminal charges and agreed to pay billions of dollars in fines, penalties, and other spending. This settlement was designed not only as a penalty, but also to mitigate the pollution caused by this fraud statewide. But instead of putting together a balanced plan that serves the interests of the state, VW – through Electrify America – is laser focused on the sustainability of their own profits. They plan to invest $95 million to $115 million in places like San Francisco, Beverly Hills, or La Jolla, where projected demand is high for electric vehicles, rather than building charging stations in lower-income communities where the market will take longer to grow. Electrify America also proposes to spend millions on infrastructure for Lyft and Uber, and on charging stations built for autonomous vehicles.” [Sacramento Bee, 12/13/18 (~)]

 

 

 

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