William Dahl
Fri, January 20, 2023
A group of lawmakers in Wyoming has introduced a bill to ban sales of electric vehicles in the state by 2035, claiming the move will boost the state’s oil and gas industry while ensuring its ability to trade with other states.
Wyoming’s proposed phaseout of electric vehicles (EVs) would be timed for 2035 — the same year that California has pledged to phase out gas-powered cars. The proposal is mostly being viewed as a tongue-in-cheek response to progressive overreach in California.
Even if Wyoming manages to stamp out the EV revolution within its borders, it would be little consolation to the anti-EV lawmakers. California has a population over 52 times greater than Wyoming’s, and in late 2022, the Golden State surpassed Germany as the world’s fourth-largest economy.
If California were a country, only three nations would have a higher gross domestic product. They are, in order, the remaining 49 U.S. states, China and Japan. France, Italy, Brazil and the United Kingdom all have smaller economies than the $3.63 trillion in economic activity California achieved in 2022.
This dynamic is consequential to the clean energy transition because, in many ways, as California goes, so goes the nation. For example, the Trump administration sued California over its clean energy standards in 2018 because it knew that the biggest car manufacturers — from Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) to Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) — would manufacture vehicles to comply with California’s energy regulations over the looser ones of the Trump White House rather than forgo such a massive market.
Of course, President Joe Biden’s rise to the White House made that legal conflict moot. Today, the White House and California’s state government are working in tandem to hasten the transition to electric vehicles — including the federal initiative to spend $7.5 billion building America’s first-ever national network of EV charging stations.
But even this historic network of chargers pales in comparison to the $369 billion the federal government is spending to boost solar, wind, thermal and new battery technologies. This $369 billion package is not just the largest single sum the U.S. government has ever spent to boost clean energy, it’s the largest by far. Among numerous clean energy carveouts, it allows taxpayers to claim a 30% deduction on solar installation costs on their homes or businesses through 2032.
That’s great news for YouSolar, a startup company that’s helping customers transition to the electric grid. It’s doing so with the help of a nano-grid technology that delivers clean, reliable power with next to no involvement from the traditional energy grid. And given what you’ve just read on California’s vow to transition to clean energy, you won’t be surprised to learn that the company is already seeing more demand in Northern California than it can keep up with.
This article originally appeared on Benzinga.com
Wyoming Lawmaker Admits EV Ban Proposal Was Just a Stupid Stunt
Andy Kalmowitz
Fri, January 20, 2023
A Tesla car recharges its battery at a Supercharger on March 10, 2022 in San Bruno, California.
It’s a shock for absolutely no one, that the Wyoming Republican State Senator who sponsored a bill that would phase out electric vehicle sales in the state by 2035 said he never intended it to pass, and it was really just a stunt. According to Automotive News, State Senator Jim Anderson added that he doesn’t begrudge anyone for buying EVs.
What a guy.
Basically, the bill only existed as a dumb middle finger to other states that were moving in the opposite direction, i.e. phasing out internal combustion-powered vehicles. It specifically takes aim at new rules from the California Air Resources Board which aims to push zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
Anderson says this is all being done in an effort to preserve customer choice. “It’s not good to dictate to the citizens what kind of vehicles they’re gonna buy, because of all the problems with [electric vehicles],” Anderson told Automotive News. He went on to say that the bill is meant to “make a statement.”
“If we pass it or don’t pass it, it doesn’t matter,” he said. So yeah, it was all just a big stunt to drum up outrage.
Part of the bill says that as EVs become the norm it will have “deleterious impacts” on Wyoming since the oil and gas industry has “long been one of Wyoming’s proud and valued industries.”
Anderson said that despite the fact the bill encourages industries and citizens to limit sales and purchase of new electric vehicles, folks in Wyoming can still buy any type of vehicle they want.
The bill also contains a number of inaccuracies including the idea that battery materials are not “easily recyclable or disposable.” It adds that Wyoming’s landfills are incapable of handling “all the batteries that are hazardous material.”
A spokesperson for the Zero Emissison Transportation Association told AutoNews that the idea of EV batteries not being recyclable is “clearly not the case.” They added that most battery components are “infinitely reusable” as long as critical minerals maintain their purity.
The bill is functionally dead in committee, but if by some weird miracle it does make its way though and passes, it won’t really have much of an impact on vehicle sales. The outlet reports that car buyers in Wyoming only purchased 228 electric vehicles in the first 11 months of last year. Somehow that wasn’t the lowest total, though, as only 213 BEVs were purchased by North Dakota residents last year.
So, what have we learned here? Well, other than the fact some lawmakers will waste everyone’s time with pointless, dead-end, self-serving bills, nothing really. But, I suppose we already knew that.
More from Jalopnik
Basically, the bill only existed as a dumb middle finger to other states that were moving in the opposite direction, i.e. phasing out internal combustion-powered vehicles. It specifically takes aim at new rules from the California Air Resources Board which aims to push zero-emission vehicles by 2035.
Anderson says this is all being done in an effort to preserve customer choice. “It’s not good to dictate to the citizens what kind of vehicles they’re gonna buy, because of all the problems with [electric vehicles],” Anderson told Automotive News. He went on to say that the bill is meant to “make a statement.”
“If we pass it or don’t pass it, it doesn’t matter,” he said. So yeah, it was all just a big stunt to drum up outrage.
Part of the bill says that as EVs become the norm it will have “deleterious impacts” on Wyoming since the oil and gas industry has “long been one of Wyoming’s proud and valued industries.”
Anderson said that despite the fact the bill encourages industries and citizens to limit sales and purchase of new electric vehicles, folks in Wyoming can still buy any type of vehicle they want.
The bill also contains a number of inaccuracies including the idea that battery materials are not “easily recyclable or disposable.” It adds that Wyoming’s landfills are incapable of handling “all the batteries that are hazardous material.”
A spokesperson for the Zero Emissison Transportation Association told AutoNews that the idea of EV batteries not being recyclable is “clearly not the case.” They added that most battery components are “infinitely reusable” as long as critical minerals maintain their purity.
The bill is functionally dead in committee, but if by some weird miracle it does make its way though and passes, it won’t really have much of an impact on vehicle sales. The outlet reports that car buyers in Wyoming only purchased 228 electric vehicles in the first 11 months of last year. Somehow that wasn’t the lowest total, though, as only 213 BEVs were purchased by North Dakota residents last year.
So, what have we learned here? Well, other than the fact some lawmakers will waste everyone’s time with pointless, dead-end, self-serving bills, nothing really. But, I suppose we already knew that.
More from Jalopnik
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