Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Tuesday, August 30, 2022
This Remote Mine Could Foretell the Future of America’s Electric Car Industry - The New York Times
Hiding a thousand feet below the earth’s surface in this patch of northern Minnesota wetlands are ancient mineral deposits that some view as critical to fueling America’s clean energy future.
A company called Talon Metals is drilling here around the clock, extracting samples of rock rich with nickel in a bid to become the country’s sole source of a material used to power zero-emission vehicles.
But some locals are fighting the mine, for fear it could pollute their environment. The pushback hints at how difficult it may be to build an all-American supply chain that powers the country’s transition to electric vehicles.
This Remote Mine Could Foretell the Future of America’s Electric Car Industry
TAMARACK, Minn. — In this isolated town of about 100 people, dozens of employees are at work for Talon Metals, drawing long cylinders of rock from deep in the earth and analyzing their contents. They liken their work to a game of Battleship — each hole drilled allows them to better map out where a massive and long-hidden mineral deposit is lurking below.
The company is proposing to build an underground mine near Tamarack that would produce nickel, a highly sought-after mineral that is used to power electric vehicles. It would be a profitable venture for Talon, which has a contract to supply nickel for Tesla’s car batteries, and a step forward in the country’s race to develop domestic supply chains to feed the growing demand for electric vehicles.
But mines that extract metal from sulfide ore, as this one would, have a poor environmental record in the United States, and an even more checkered footprint globally. While some in the area argue the mine could bring good jobs to a sparsely populated region, others are deeply fearful that it could spoil local lakes and streams that feed into the Mississippi River. There is also concern that it could endanger the livelihoods and culture of Ojibwe tribes whose members live just over a mile from Talon’s land and have gathered wild rice here for generations.
Talon says it will invest heavily to design the world’s greenest and most responsible mine yet, one that they say “Joe Biden can love.” But some people in the community remain skeptical, including about the company’s promises to respect Indigenous rights, like the tribes’ authority over lands where their members hunt and gather food. Part of that mistrust stems from the fact that Talon’s minority partner, Rio Tinto, provoked outrage in 2020 by blowing up a 46,000-year-old system of Aboriginal caves in Australia in a search for iron ore.
Kelly Applegate, the commissioner of natural resources for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, said he was “very concerned” about how the mine might damage the environment. “This again is an assault on Native culture, a disturbance of our way of being, another trauma that could potentially happen to our people,” he said.
He described it as a “huge environmental justice issue” to mine local resources for electric cars that the tribe’s members would be unable to afford. Except for some wealthy homeowners who spend their summers around the lakes, the area is one of the poorest parts of Minnesota. Native Americans in Minnesota experience poverty at higher rates than any other racial or ethnic group in the state. Locals say the only Tesla for miles is Talon’s company car.
“Talon and Rio Tinto will come and go — greatly enriched by their mining operation. But we, and the remnants of the Tamarack mine, will be here forever,” Mr. Applegate said.
The project, which lies 50 miles west of Lake Superior, highlights some of the challenges that are emerging as the Biden administration tries to transition America to electric vehicles. The administration has said it wants to make the supply chains for batteries more resilient by sourcing minerals inside North America. But that desire could bring its own potential for environmental damage and infringement of the rights of Indigenous Americans. Much of the nation’s supply of battery materials is near tribal land.
The world urgently needs to switch to cleaner cars to limit the global damage from climate change, many climate activists say. Last week, California approved a plan to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035.
But current supply chains for electric vehicle batteries — and the batteries that would be needed for the electric grid that would charge that fleet of vehicles — rely on some adversarial and heavily polluting foreign nations. Much of the nickel that goes into car batteries is produced by strip mines that have decimated rainforests in Indonesia and the Philippines, releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide before being refined in Chinese factories powered by coal.
Another source of nickel is a massive mining operation north of the Arctic Circle in Norilsk, Russia, which has produced so much sulfur dioxide that a plume of the toxic gas is big enough to be seen from space. Other minerals used in electric vehicle batteries, such as lithium and cobalt, appear to have been mined or refined with the use of child or forced labor.
With global demand for electric vehicles projected to grow sixfold by 2030, the dirty origins of this otherwise promising green industry have become a looming crisis. The Democrats’ new tax and climate bill devotes nearly $400 billion to clean energy initiatives over the next decade, including electric vehicle tax credits and financing for companies that manufacture clean cars in the United States.
New domestic high-tech mines and factories could make this supply chain more secure, and potentially less damaging to the global environment. But skeptics say those facilities may still pose a risk to the air, soil and water that surrounds them, and spark a fierce debate about which communities might bear those costs.
The potential risks to plants and wildlife come from the sulfide ores; the ores, in which materials like copper and nickel are lodged, can leach out sulfuric acid and heavy metals. More than a dozen former copper mines in the United States are now Superfund sites, contaminated locations where taxpayers can end up on the hook for cleanup.
In January, the Biden administration canceled leases for another copper-nickel mine near a Minnesota wilderness area, saying the Trump administration had improperly renewed them.
Talon Metals insists that it will have no such problems. “We can produce the battery materials that are necessary for the energy transition and also protect the environment,” said Todd Malan, the company’s chief external affairs officer and head of climate strategy. “It’s not a choice.”
The company is using high-tech equipment to map underground flows of water in the area and create a 3-D model of the ore, so it can mine “surgically” while leaving other parts of the earth undisturbed, Mr. Malan said. Talon is also promising to use technology that will safely store the mine’s toxic byproducts and do its mining far underground, in deep bedrock where groundwater doesn’t typically penetrate.
Talon has teamed up with the United Steelworkers union on work force development. And Rio Tinto has won a $2.2 million Department of Energy grant to explore capturing carbon near the site, which may allow the mine to market its products as zero emission.
In a statement, Talon said it was committed to “meaningful consultations with tribal sovereign governments and tribal people” and producing a mine plan that addressed their concerns, as well as working with tribal governments interested in economic benefit sharing.
The company has held several informational meetings with tribal staff and members, but some tribal members say they still need far more details from Talon about its plans.
If the mine comes online in 2026 as scheduled, it will be positioned to feed a hungry market. The United States currently has one operating nickel mine, in Michigan, but its resources will be exhausted by 2026.
In Washington, a bipartisan consensus is growing that the country should reduce its reliance on risky overseas minerals. To limit global warming to the levels that advanced countries have agreed on, the International Energy Agency estimates, the world will need roughly 20 times as much nickel and cobalt by 2040 as it had in 2020 and 40 times as much lithium.
Recycling could play a bigger role in supplying these materials by the end of the decade, and some new car batteries do not use any nickel. Yet nickel is still highly sought after for electric trucks and higher-end cars, because it increases a vehicle’s range.
The infrastructure law passed last year devoted $7 billion to developing the domestic supply chain for critical minerals. The climate and tax law also sets ambitious thresholds for ensuring that electric vehicles that receive tax incentives are partly U.S.-made.
Talon’s proposed mine could help Tesla meet those thresholds. Tesla gets its nickel from China, Australia, New Caledonia and Canada, and its chief executive, Elon Musk, has begged miners to produce more.
Some environmental and left-leaning groups that have long been skeptical of domestic mining are adjusting those positions, arguing that resources are needed for the energy transition.
Collin O’Mara, the chief executive of the National Wildlife Federation, said that there was a growing need for battery materials that were mined responsibly, and that Talon was promising to use state-of-the-art techniques to minimize the mine’s footprint.
But he acknowledged that for local residents it would still take a leap of faith in new technologies and Talon’s ability to apply them. “There still isn’t an example of an existing mine that has had no impacts,” he said.
The economic potential — and the environmental risks — may go far beyond a single mine. The entire region is home to deposits of nickel, copper and cobalt, which were formed 1.1 billion years ago from a volcano that spewed out miles of liquid magma.
Talon has leased 31,000 acres of land in the area, covering an 11-mile geological feature deep under the swamp. The company has zealously drilled and examined the underground resources along one of those 11 miles, and discovered several other potential satellite deposits.
In August, the company announced that it had also acquired land in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to explore for more nickel.
Talon will start Minnesota’s environmental review process within a few months, and the company says it anticipates a straightforward review. But legal challenges for proposed mines can regularly stretch to a decade or more, and some living near the project say they will do what they can to fight the mine.
Elizabeth Skinaway and her sister, Jean Skinaway-Lawrence, members of the Sandy Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa, are especially concerned about damage to the wild rice, which Ms. Skinaway has been gathering in lakes several miles from the proposed mine for 43 years.
Ms. Skinaway acknowledges the need to combat climate change, which also threatens the rice. But she sees little justice in using the same kind of profit-driven, extractive industry that she said had long plundered native lands and damaged the global environment.
“The wild rice, the gift from the creator, that’s going to be gone, from the sulfide that’s going to leach into the river and the lakes,” she said. “It’s just a really scary thought.”
“We were here first,” said her sister. “We should be heard.”
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August 30, 2022 at 02:58PM
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This Remote Mine Could Foretell the Future of America’s Electric Car Industry - The New York Times
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Governor Ron DeSantis Awards More Than $68 Million for Electric Transit Buses - Governor Ron DeSantis
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis celebrated another step in the state’s efforts to modernize public transit and reduce air pollutants caused by diesel emissions. Through the Volkswagen settlement, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is awarding more than $68 million that will secure 227 electric transit buses in 13 counties statewide that will replace existing diesel transit buses in Alachua, Broward, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Leon, Marion, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Orange, Palm Beach, Pasco, and Pinellas counties.
“This funding will help lower emissions while also bringing our transit bus fleets to more modern standards,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “This is a win-win for air quality and advancing the state’s efforts to bolster growing electric vehicle usage.”
In addition to today’s announced electric transit bus grant awards, DEP has also awarded grants to seven school districts to purchase a total of 218 electric school buses in Broward, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Pinellas, and Sarasota counties. Introducing electric buses is an important and effective way to reduce harmful emissions, especially in highly populated areas where mobile sources are the largest sources of air pollution. As more and more electric vehicles are deployed, emissions of air pollutants will be reduced, which will continue to improve Florida’s air quality.
“Florida continues to be a national leader in air quality and is proud to be the most populous state in the nation to have met all of EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards,” said DEP Secretary Shawn Hamilton. “Through collaboration with partner agencies and the private sector, we are able to implement projects to protect air quality and support the needs of our communities.”
These projects and others are a result of DEP’s Florida Beneficiary Mitigation Plan, which was created to outline how the state would spend its allotted $166 million from the Volkswagen settlement. The plan focused on constructing new electric vehicle charging stations, procuring electric buses for select school districts and transit agencies, and providing funding for Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) projects.
Through Florida’s settlement allotment, DEP has awarded grants to install 150 electric vehicle charging stations along the state highway system and several DERA grants to reduce emissions in and around the state’s ports. These projects include marine engine replacements, an electric freight switch, and port cargo handling equipment.
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Governor Ron DeSantis Awards More Than $68 Million for Electric Transit Buses - Governor Ron DeSantis
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Monday, August 29, 2022
Court places Tampa Electric on probation, orders $500K fine for fatal 2017 coal furnace accident - Utility Dive
Dive Brief:
- A federal court has ordered Tampa Electric to pay a $500,000 fine in connection with a 2017 accident that resulted in five fatalities at the Big Bend River Station coal-fired power plant located in Apollo Beach, Florida.
- According to the U.S. Department of Labor, an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined that a blockage within a coal-fired furnace spewed molten slag into the work area when it was removed. Five workers died and a sixth sustained serious burns in the incident.
- The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida ordered Tampa Electric to serve 36 months probation and implement a safety compliance plan designed by an independent third-party auditor, in addition to the fine.
Dive Insight:
Proceedings related to a fatal 2017 accident at Big Bend River Station are drawing to a close after a federal court issued its ruling in the case last week.
Tampa Electric pleaded guilty to willfully violating an OSHA standard for employee training, an action investigators determined contributed to the incident. According to the Department of Labor, investigators found that after two similar accidents at the plant in 1997 and 2011, Tampa Electric modified its slag tank water blasting procedures. However, OSHA determined that the company failed to train employees or and on-site contractors on the new procedures, according to the Department of Labor.
In addition to the $500,000 fine and the 36-month probation, Tampa Electric Co. will be required to make restitution payments to the families of the workers killed or injured by the incident. The company has already reached private settlements with the victims, according to the Department of Labor.
Tampa Electric has already paid $139,424 in penalties to OSHA for failing to follow energy control procedures while performing maintenance on equipment as part of a settlement agreement.
“We reaffirm our commitment to hold ourselves accountable for this tragedy, and to ensure our people are safe as part of the world-class safety culture all of us at Tampa Electric are working together to build,” Archie Collins, president and CEO of Tampa Electric, said in a statement to Utility Dive.
The company noted that it hit a significant milestone — 365 days without an employee missing work due to an injury — on Aug. 9, a little over a week before the court ruling. The company has already identified an auditor to begin the process of developing a safety compliance plan, according to the Department of Labor.
OSHA also fined a contractor, Gaffin Industrial Services for failing to develop safety procedures. A third contractor with staff present during the incident, Brace Integrated Services, was not cited by OSHA.
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August 29, 2022 at 10:14PM
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Court places Tampa Electric on probation, orders $500K fine for fatal 2017 coal furnace accident - Utility Dive
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Review: 28 mph Maxfind FF AT all-terrain electric skateboard rides better than the expensive boards - Electrek.co
This is the first time I’ve had a chance to test one of Maxfind’s electric skateboards, but the budget e-skateboard maker has seriously impressed me. Having previously tested much more expensive name-brand boards, I can immediately tell you that the Maxfind FF AT rides just as well, if not better, than some of the bigger names out there. It may not have quite as much power (though it’s close), but it makes up for it in the ride quality.
Maxfind FF AT board tech specs
- Motors: Dual rear 1,500W hub motors (3,000W total)
- Battery: 12s 3p (376 Wh) battery
- Range: 17 miles (27 km)
- Top speed: 28 mph (45 km/h)
- Max hill climb gradient: Up to 35%
- Max load: 440 lb. (200 kg)
- Weight: 27 lb. (12.5 kg)
- Price: $1,048 (with coupon code ELECTREK)
Maxfind FF AT video review
Of course you’ll want to see this board in action, right? Check out my skating video below, then keep reading for my full review!
High-end ride, mid-level price
When it comes to all terrain electric skateboards, I tend to default to comparisons against the high-end boards. Pricey competitors like those from Evolve or Backfire are great options, but you’ve got to have deep pockets to get taken for a ride on those boards.
By comparison, the Maxfind FF AT offers high speeds and off-road riding for just $1,048 when you use the 5% coupon code ELECTREK. Is that a lot of money? Yes. But is it a lot compared to other all-terrain boards? Not really. This is an expensive industry, and barely breaking the four-digit threshold for an AT board is quite reasonable, by comparison.
Of course whenever I see a board at a discount price, I instinctively question how good it can be. But in this case, the Maxfind FF AT has quickly become one of my favorite electric longboards ever, street or all-terrain.
Of course the large all-terrain wheels make it great for trails, and I love the hub motors since there are not belts to cause alignment or debris-jamming issues when riding off-road. But the board is just so nimble and easy to ride that I find it great for street and city riding as well. Check out my video above to see what I mean.
In fact, one of the first things to blow me away was just how maneuverable the Maxfind FF AT truly is. The double kingpin trucks and included bushings feel like they’re made out of some alien material that somehow offers nimble steering and stable cruising at the same time.
Usually its hard for me to make 90-degree turns on a sidewalk while riding my electric longboards. Smooth turns are fine when I have a larger turning radius to run out, but tight right angles can be tricky. The Maxfind FF AT though — it can turn on a freakin’ dime. Right angle sidewalk turns are no problem. Though to be fair, even if you cut the corner and took on some grass, you’d basically be fine anyways since the wheels can ride over just about anything. It’s the Jeep of the skateboard world, without the snobbery.
The board is just weirdly maneuverable in a way I don’t normally experience on my other skateboards, especially my all-terrain boards.
In the beginning, that fact meant that the board took some getting used to. The first hour or so saw me still getting my bearings. I even flew off once or twice while on some mulched nature trails because I just wasn’t expecting the board to turn so sharply. But after getting used to the new characteristics, the board and I became one and I was cruising to my heart’s content.
There are other nice things too in addition to just a super maneuverable setup.
The deck has some good spring to it, absorbing the shock that can come with off-road riding.
The front carry handle is built right into the board, meaning you don’t need to get any accessories or bolt-on any protrusions.
And the swappable battery is an awesome feature that allows you to prolong your ride with an extra battery in your backpack. There are “long range” versions of the Maxfind FF AT that you’ll find on the company’s site, but they’re the same board with an extra battery or two. As it stands, a good 10-12 miles (16-20) km of range is reasonable if you’re riding hard, or even farther if you’re going easy.
I rarely took the Maxfind FF AT up above 20-25 mph (32-40 km/h) as that’s pretty much my sweet spot. The board can hit 28 mph (45 km/h), but that’s faster than I usually like to ride. For those that prefer to push the limits, the board will take you there.
The braking is what I would call pretty darn good, but not as strong as some of the other belt-driven boards on the market. Their extreme torque allows those powerful belt-driven boards to basically drop an anchor when using the electronic braking, but the Maxfind FF AT always stopped as quickly as I needed. I never once worried that I didn’t have enough braking power, and it seems to be able to stop quicker than I can really use as I don’t generally like to lean as far back as it is capable of letting you lean in hard braking.
The only major downside in the board that I can see is the theft issue related to the removable battery. It’s not a lockable compartment, but rather a simple thumb-screw for easy opening without a tool. That’s great for when you want to swap your battery, but not great if you plan to lock your board outside for a few minutes. The nice thing is that the board is easy to bring into a store or into class with you, since it only weighs 27 lb. (12.5 kg). You can also roll it behind you with the built-in handle or carry it up stairs if you need to.
And despite the low weight, it has a max load capacity of a whopping 440 lb. (200 kg). I don’t even weigh half of that, so I can’t vouch for whether that figure is realistic.
But considering the board seems to hold up to its other specs, this one definitely seems a good option to consider.
If you’re on the hunt for an all-terrain electric skateboard that offers good performance and good bang for your buck, the Maxfind FF AT very well could be it.
You can get more power, speed, and torque from the more expensive name brands. But you can’t get a deal like this.
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Review: 28 mph Maxfind FF AT all-terrain electric skateboard rides better than the expensive boards - Electrek.co
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Saturday, August 27, 2022
A smarter transition to electric vehicles - The New York Times
E.V.s will bring down emissions, but the materials needed to build them have other environmental costs. We explain why, and talk about ways to limit the harm.
We got some big news from California this week: Officials there set into motion a plan that’ll ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. The decision is expected to accelerate the global transition to electric vehicles.
That’s because California is the largest auto market in the United States, and more than a dozen other states typically follow its lead when setting their own auto emissions standards.
That’s good news for the climate. But what about the environmental footprint of all those electric vehicles? While E.V.s are definitely better than cars that run on fossil fuels, they do have their own problems.
Today, I’ll take a look at those issues by focusing on a crucial part of the batteries that power electric cars: lithium. It’s a soft, white metal and, because of its physical and chemical properties, lithium is very good at storing energy.
Demand for the stuff, sometimes called “white petroleum,” is expected to grow more sharply than demand for any of the other key metals needed for car batteries. The International Energy Agency, for instance, has projected that demand will grow by over 40 times by 2040 if the countries of the world stick to their Paris Agreement targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Where lithium comes from
Today, most lithium comes from one of two sources: rocks and brine. The extraction methods are quite different.
The first method generally involves digging for an ore called spodumene that contains high levels of lithium. Australia, the world’s largest single produce of lithium, relies mainly on this technique.
Spodumene is mined much like gold or iron ore, in open pits. And it has many of the same problems. There are big risks to the environment, both from digging up the land and from the processes used to extract the ore. Mines in Tasmania, for example, have been leaking contaminated water for the past five years, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
That kind of pollution is a big concern for Indigenous Americans. According to research from MSCI, an investment research firm based in New York, 79 percent of extractable lithium in the United States is found within 35 miles of Native reservations.
In the other method, brine is mixed with freshwater and left to sit in ponds for up to 18 months. The water eventually evaporates and leaves behind minerals. Then, with a bit more processing, you can extract lithium for use in batteries. My colleague Somini Sengupta described the process and the scene in an article from the Atacama Desert in Chile. Check it out. The photos are stunning.
As Somini pointed out, the Atacama is great for lithium production in one sense: It has the highest solar radiation levels on Earth, so water evaporates astonishingly fast. But it’s also one of the driest places on Earth, and the brine method relies heavily on water. So the industry makes the region even more susceptible to drought. The same is true of many other places, like Argentina and Bolivia, where lithium is extracted from brine.
How to limit the damage
Responsible extraction involves investigating local biodiversity, water flows and the concerns of local communities to figure out how to reduce harm, said Aimee Boulanger, executive director of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, a group that certifies mines for big companies.
But that can be expensive and can cut into profits. So most companies do just what the law requires. And laws, Boulanger said, are often not strict enough to really protect the environment.
“It doesn’t take a lot of new technology,” she told me. Rather, it just requires producers to invest in responsible practices.
Some countries are moving in the right direction. Chile is working on new rules and institutions to tighten lithium mining standards. And the United States is studying ways to reform its 1872 mining law. An overhaul could create protocols to consult communities before any mining starts.
Cleaner technologies are now being tested by universities and start-ups. Many involve what’s known as direct extraction, which means pulling lithium straight from brine rather than evaporating water and using chemicals to remove impurities. For now, that process is not commercially viable.
Chong Liu, a scientist who researches lithium extraction technologies at the University of Chicago, told me a lot of the world’s lithium is actually inaccessible without developing more efficient methods to extract it.
Using current methods, we can only access “maybe a quarter” of the world’s known reserves, she said.
The way we get lithium, and the other inputs for electric vehicles, will play a big role in determining whether the planet ends up with a new, different set of environmental problems in the not-too-distant future.
Boulanger, from the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, told me she quite often hears the argument that the urgency of the climate crisis means the world doesn’t have time to extract these metals in a meticulous way.
“Maybe we would not live in the climate-stressed world we live in right now if we had looked at the impacts of sourcing oil and gas,” she said. “We don’t have time to make more messes as we try to solve this problem.”
Related: Automakers are hurrying to close deals with mining companies and other suppliers that can meet the escalating demand for battery materials.
Essential news from The Times
Drought feeds China’s coal demand: Dry weather has crippled some hydroelectric dams, forcing cities to impose rolling blackouts and driving up the country’s use of coal.
Hurricane Harvey’s unequal legacy: A study found that Latino neighborhoods experienced disproportionate damage when the storm hit the Houston area five years ago.
A cryptocurrency shift: A planned upgrade to Ethereum, the most popular crypto platform, is meant to make the system more sustainable. But it comes with risks.
Where economists went wrong: They underestimated the impact of global warming, and their preferred policy solution floundered in the United States.
Billionaires beware: Some politicians in France are proposing regulating or banning flights by private planes because of their outsize contribution to climate change.
Sustainable TV: A Spanish director has set up a company to try to cut emissions from the television industry.
From the Opinion section
It costs nothing to leave our trees as they are: President Biden should take all steps available to stop commercial logging on federal land, the singer Carole King writes.
From outside The Times
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Cities with lots of permeable surfaces are more resistant to extreme rainfall. The BBC reported on how planners in Auckland, New Zealand, are making the city spongier.
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From the Washington Post: What it’s like to work outside in India’s unrelenting heat.
-
National Geographic looked at how extreme heat is hurting pregnant women.
-
Experts say the area around Big Bear Lake, Calif., risks a catastrophic wildfire. It needs controlled burns, California Public Radio reported, but it’s not getting them.
Before you go: How to be financially prepared
With the cost and frequency of weather disasters on the rise, it’s more important than ever to have your finances and paperwork in order. Here are some safeguards that almost anyone can put in place, even if you don’t have a lot of spare cash.
Thanks for being a subscriber. We’ll be back on Tuesday.
Claire O’Neill and Douglas Alteen contributed to Climate Forward. Read past editions of the newsletter here.
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August 26, 2022 at 09:46PM
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Thursday, August 25, 2022
Wednesday, August 24, 2022
California to Ban the Sale of New Gasoline Cars - The New York Times
The decision, to take effect by 2035, will very likely speed a wider transition to electric vehicles because many other states follow California’s standards.
California regulators on Thursday will vote to put in place a sweeping plan to restrict and ultimately ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars, state officials said, a move that the state’s governor described as the beginning of the end for the internal combustion engine.
The new policy, detailed Wednesday morning in a news conference, is widely expected to accelerate the global transition toward electric vehicles. Not only is California the largest auto market in the United States, but more than a dozen other states typically follow California’s lead when setting their own auto emissions standards.
If those states follow through, and most are expected to adopt similar rules, the restrictions would apply to about a third of the United States auto market.
“This is huge,” said Margo Oge, an electric vehicles expert who headed the Environmental Protection Agency’s transportation emissions program under Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. As additional states put in place their own versions of these policies, “they will drive the market, and drive innovation,” she said.
The rule, issued by the California Air Resources Board, will require that all new cars sold in the state by 2035 be free of greenhouse gas emissions like carbon dioxide. The rule also sets interim targets, requiring that 35 percent of new passenger vehicles sold by 2026 produce zero emissions. That requirement climbs to 68 percent by 2030.
Transportation is the nation’s top source of planet-warming greenhouse-gas emissions.
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, called the new rule “one of the most significant steps to the elimination of the tailpipe as we know it.”
“Our kids are going to act like it’s a rotary phone, or changing the channel on a television,” Governor Newsom said in an interview.
John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents large U.S. and foreign automakers, said that automakers wanted to see more electric vehicles on the roads, but that California’s mandates would be “extremely challenging” to meet.
“Whether or not these requirements are realistic or achievable is directly linked to external factors like inflation, charging and fuel infrastructure, supply chains, labor, critical mineral availability and pricing, and the ongoing semiconductor shortage,” Mr. Bozzella said by email.
President Trump had fought California’s authority under the Clean Air Act to set its own rules regulating automobile pollution, and there remains the possibility that a future president might fight full implementation of the new rules. In addition, a group of attorneys general from Republican states have filed a lawsuit challenging California’s ability to set its own pollution rules.
Critics of policies that encourage the rapid adoption of electric vehicles point out that sticker prices for electrics are still much higher than for similar gasoline powered cars. And Ann Bluntzer, the executive director of the Ralph Lowe Energy Institute at Texas Christian University, said in a statement that the conversion to electric vehicles could put a strain on electricity grids.
“Where is that increased power being sourced from?” Ms. Bluntzer said. “Fossil fuels? Wind? Solar? Hydro?”
California’s ban comes as gasoline prices continue to fall, this week dropping to a national average of $3.90 a gallon. Still, Mr. Newsom said, the fact that prices shot up after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underscored the urgency to “transition away from petro-dictators and dependency on the oil markets.”
The new policy in California follows an expansive new climate law signed by President Biden last week. The law will invest $370 billion in spending and tax credits on clean energy programs, the largest action taken by the federal government to combat climate change. The legislation is projected to help the United States cut its emissions 40 percent below 2005 levels by the end of this decade.
Still, that law alone won’t be enough to eliminate U.S. emissions by 2050, the target that climate scientists say nations must reach if the world is to avoid the most catastrophic and deadly effects of climate change.
To help close the gap, White House officials have vowed additional policies, such as new regulations on tailpipe emissions, but they have also said that individual states must take further action.
Experts said the new California rule, given its potential reach, could stand alongside the law signed by Mr. Biden last week as one of the world’s most important climate change policies.
In California, the new rule will cut greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles by more than 50 percent in 2040 from the levels that were expected without the policy, according to state regulators. That amounts to eliminating 395 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over that time period, or the equivalent of burning 915 million barrels of oil, said Liane Randolph, chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board.
That effect could potentially also spread to 16 other states, big and small. That’s because those states have traditionally followed California’s lead.
California will now send its final rule to the Environmental Protection Agency to request the waiver, which the Biden administration has signaled that it is likely to grant. A spokesman for the agency didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Because of the way the waiver works, California must first get approval from the E.P.A. for its own rules before other states can enforce similar restrictions, Ms. Oge said. A few states — including New York, Washington and Massachusetts — already had similar legislation in the works, and many of the other states that follow California’s lead are expected to consider similar rules over the next year or so.
The governments of Canada, Britain and at least nine other European countries — including France, Spain and Denmark — have set goals of phasing out the sale of new gasoline-powered vehicles between 2030 and 2040. But none have concrete mandates or regulations like the California rule.
“This regulation will set the global high-water mark for the accelerated transition to electric vehicles,” said Drew Kodjak, executive director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, a research organization.
In Washington, Mr. Biden last year signed an executive order calling for the government to try to ensure that half of all vehicles sold in the United States be electric by 2030, up from 6 percent today, although the order has no binding legal force.
Mr. Biden has also sought to enact federal policies that would further scale up the nation’s use of electric vehicles. The recent climate bill includes $7,500 in rebates for people who purchase new electric vehicles, although automakers will have to assemble their vehicles in North America and source their batteries from friendly countries to qualify for the full credit. California officials said that provision would combine with $10 billion in a state program to make automobiles more affordable and build charging stations and other electric-vehicle infrastructure, particularly in low-income communities.
Several automakers said their strategies were aligned with California’s goal of promoting emission-free vehicles.
General Motors said it was still reviewing the rule but that the company also had a goal of selling only electric vehicles by 2035. “General Motors and California have a shared vision of an all-electric future,” said Elizabeth Winter, a spokeswoman for G.M.
Ford’s chief sustainability officer, Bob Holycross, said the company planned to invest more than $50 billion in electric vehicles and batteries by 2026 and said the rule would “set an example for the United States.” A spokesman for Stellantis, which owns Chrysler, Fiat, Dodge and other brands, said the company intended to introduce 25 new electric models by 2030 to help support California’s goals.
In a statement, Honda called California’s rule “an ambitious but important milestone” but cautioned that reaching the goal would require several steps, including building out domestic supply chains so that more vehicles could qualify for the federal tax credit.
Toyota, one of the world’s largest automakers, didn’t comment on California’s new rule but this week said in a statement that it acknowledged California’s “leadership in climate policies and its authority to set vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air Act.” During the Trump administration, Toyota had sued to block California from setting stricter rules than the federal government.
To enforce its rule, Ms. Randolph said California would fine automakers up to $20,000 for every car that falls short of production targets. The state also could propose new amendments revising the sales targets if the market doesn’t react as state leaders hope, said Jennifer Gress, who leads the California air board’s sustainable transportation division.
State officials say about 16 percent of cars sold in California today are electric, up from 12.4 percent last year.
“We recognize that not everyone is going to be buying a very expensive, brand-new car,” Ms. Randolph said. “But we also know that prices will go down in the future.”
Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency restored and slightly strengthened an Obama-era fuel economy rule that had been set aside by the Trump administration. It requires passenger vehicles to get 55 miles per gallon by 2026, from just under 40 miles per gallon today.
That national regulation is much less ambitious than California’s new rule, but it was the Biden administration that allowed California to press forward with its ambitious policy: It restored California’s waiver under the Clean Air Act, which former President Donald J. Trump had halted.
The waiver dates from 1970, when Los Angeles was choking with smog and Congress was enacting the landmark Clean Air Act. California was allowed to set tougher emissions standards than the federal government, but had to provide a compelling reason to be granted a waiver. In 1977, other states were allowed to adopt California’s stricter standards.
The Biden administration’s reinstatement of the waiver is what enabled California to move forward with its new rule this week. Once in place, California’s regulations are expected to influence a new federal standard that the E.P.A. expects to introduce next year, further encouraging automakers to build and sell more electric vehicles.
There is already fierce legal pushback against those plans.
The attorneys general of 17 Republican-led states have sued to revoke the California waiver, which would undo the state’s new policy. Patrick Morrisey, the attorney general of West Virginia and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, called California’s waiver “favoritism” that “violates the states’ equal sovereignty.”
The lawsuit, which will be heard before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, considered the nation’s second most powerful bench after the Supreme Court. Oral arguments have not yet been scheduled.
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ROAM launches first electric mass-transit bus in Africa - Electrek.co
Swedish-Kenyan mobility company ROAM has followed up the launch of its first production-intent model of electric motorcycles with the launch of its first all-electric bus built for mass transit in Africa. The ROAM Rapid is an electric bus specifically designed to address the unique challenges of public transport in Nairobi and Africa as a whole. Check it out.
ROAM was founded in 2017 under its original monicker, Opibus before it saw a rebranding this past April. It remains headquartered in Kenya where it develops, designs, and manufactures electric vehicles to help transition the African continent toward a future of more sustainable transportation.
Its projects include EV conversions of mining SUVs and energy storage, plus ground-up builds of passenger buses and electric motorcycles. Following the largest funding round ever for an African electric mobility company ($7.5 million), ROAM partnered with Uber to deploy over 3,000 electric motorcycles throughout Africa this year.
That production-intent bike, called the ROAM Air, officially launched this past July and will now be joined by ROAM’s next EV launch, the all electric Rapid transit bus.
ROAM launches Rapid electric bus, the first of its kind in Kenya
ROAM shared news of its mass transit bus in a press release this evening (Wednesday morning in Africa). According to the company, the Rapid bus features priority seats for the elderly and people with limited mobility, extended legroom, and designated areas for wheelchairs, in addition to a low-floor entry for easier commuter access.
Previously, ROAM has offered EV-converted versions of combustion transit buses to routes in Africa, but it introduced the first iteration of this purpose-built electric bus this past January. Today’s latest version is a lot more polished and has its official model name.
The company stated that in addition to providing countries like Kenya with zero-emission mobility solutions, it hopes the Rapid electric bus can create a new perception of public transport vehicles by providing a solution that is “inclusive, modern, efficient, and sustainable.”
It offers much less noise pollution as well, an urban issue ROAM says it has been working to reduce since its inception. ROAM project coordinator Dennis Wakaba spoke about the new bus:
The solution Roam brings to the Kenyan market enables us to move people safely, comfortably and timely in both a sustainable and affordable way. The bus is designed not only to increase comforts and lower cost but more importantly focuses on the well- being of the population through reduced noise pollution and eliminating local emissions, improving air quality for the cities across Africa.
According to ROAM, its focus in designing the Rapid electric bus was to create a vehicle with best-in-class carrying capacity, range, and comfort in order to enable mass adoption of clean transport across all of Africa.
By going electric, operational costs can be lowered by up to 50%, enabling higher margins for the operator but also lower cost for the commuters. Here are some additional specs:
- Battery Capacity: 384 kWh
- Range: 360 km (~224 miles)
- Dimensions (LxHxW): 12,500 x 3,300 x 2,550 mm (41 x 10.8 x 8.4 ft)
- Top Speed: 70 km/h (~44 mph)
- Seat capacity: Up to 90 passengers
- Weight: 18,000 kg (39,683 lbs)
- Fastest Charging time: 2 hours
- Other features:
- Air conditioning and extra legroom
- Three wide doors and a wheelchair ramp
- Four priority seats for elderly/disabled
- DC fast charging capabilities
ROAM says it has a strong group of local partners to ensure the electric buses are assembled locally, but also partly manufactured in the region. This can provide more local jobs and help to tackle the rising unemployment rate in Kenya.
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Oregonians can soon qualify for up to $15,000 in rebates on new electric vehicles - Oregon Public Broadcasting
Oregonians looking to buy a new electric vehicle could qualify for up to $7,500 in federal rebates after passage of a climate bill, on top of the $7,500 in rebates the state already offers for some buyers.
The landmark Inflation Reduction Act recently signed into law is being celebrated as one of the biggest climate investments in U.S. history. It’s slated to invest $369 billion in clean energy and climate action. The bill allows households with low-to-moderate income to get up to $7,500 in federal tax credits for a new electric vehicle or $4,000 for a used one.
Electric vehicles can be seen charging at a shopping center in Emeryville, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022.
Godofredo A. Vásquez / AP
“One of the great things about this bill is that it does give everyone through both new vehicle purchases and through credits towards used vehicles the opportunity to participate in this process,” Chair of the Council on the Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory said.
Mallory and her team advise President Joe Biden on environmental and natural resource policy, with a focus on environmental justice and climate change.
There are some caveats to qualify for the full amount of the federal tax credits, including household income, where the electric car was made and a price cap. But overall, Mallory said the tax credits will allow more people with lower incomes a chance to buy an electric vehicle.
Oregonians can qualify for state rebates as well. The state already has two electric vehicle rebates. The Standard Rebate Program offers up to $2,500 back to anyone who purchases a new battery electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid under $50,000. The Charge Ahead Rebate program applies to households that make $51,000 to $251,000 a year depending on the household size. Those who qualify can get up to $5,000 in rebates for purchasing or leasing a new or used battery electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle. Combined, Oregonians who meet the qualifications could get up to an additional $7,500 back through the state.
“Oregon has one of the best comprehensive electric vehicle rebates out there,” Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Senior Air Quality Advisor Rachel Sakata said.
The program is designed to encourage residents to purchase or lease electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions statewide. A state report in 2020 found the transportation sector accounted for 40% of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions, making it the largest single source in the state.
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Sakata said having both the federal and state programs available for Oregonians is a game-changer. But people interested in buying a new or used electric vehicle will have to look at what they qualify for to receive rebates. Sakata said for Oregon, the state has a tool to help people determine how much they can get back and which car dealers can accept the voucher on the spot.
Also, Oregonians are not limited to one car per household. Anyone who qualifies can purchase as many electric vehicles per household as they want.
“We do have a requirement though that you must maintain ownership of the electric vehicle for at least two years, and you must maintain that registration in Oregon,” Sakata said. “We do want you to buy it, we do want you to use it here.”
Oregonians who buy electric vehicles need to apply for the rebates within six months of purchase. If they sell their electric vehicle prior to the two-year requirement, they have to return some of the rebate money.
$55.5 million awarded in Oregon so far
To date, $55.5 million has been awarded through the Oregon Clean Vehicle Program with $14 million awarded this year. The program is contributing to Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s goal of having at least 250,000 registered electric vehicles in the state by 2025. There are now more than 50,000.
Sakata said the federal tax credit could help the state reach its goal before the 2025 as there will be a range of models and prices as more car manufacturers begin to dip into the electric vehicle market
“You’re starting to see the electric pickup trucks coming online, you’re starting to see more SUVs that are very popular being electric,” she said. “There’s going to be momentum for the manufacturers to make lower priced EVs so then people can afford to purchase them who may not normally.”
Meanwhile, the Oregon Department of Transportation is pledging to invest $100 million to build out a charging infrastructure along the state’s major roadways with a focus on disadvantaged communities and rural communities over the next five years.
Matt Noble, an ODOT spokesman, said the agency plans to invest $65 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to build out fast-charging stations along Interstates 5, 84, 82, and U.S. 26, 101, 20 and 97. The agency plans to spend $36 million to fill the gaps beyond these major roadways with a focus on disadvantaged communities and rural communities.
“So, we’re leaving the federal money for the major roads and major corridors because they have a really solid federal plan for that,” he said. “But for us, we’re going to focus our state funding on our community charging as well.”
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