The high cost of electric vehicle subsidies

MTAC members may be interested in reading a recent report titled Short Circuit: The High Cost of Electric Vehicle Subsidies, which was written by Ph.D. author Jonathan Lesser, and published by the Manhattan Institute. Some key areas of focus in the report are the impact on ratepayers, emissions, and inequality. In light of news that…

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MTAC members may be interested in reading a recent report titled Short Circuit: The High Cost of Electric Vehicle Subsidies, which was written by Ph.D. author Jonathan Lesser, and published by the Manhattan Institute. Some key areas of focus in the report are the impact on ratepayers, emissions, and inequality. In light of news that Connecticut signed a Memorandum Of Understanding with 14 other states to indicate their intention to mandate that 100% of all new truck sales be electric trucks at some point in the future, this report should be considered by all businesses and policy makers.

The report states that broad-based adoption of “Zero-Emission” Vehicles (ZEVs) will result in higher emissions of air pollutants, particularly Sulfur Dioxides (SO2) and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), than Internal Combustion Vehicles (ICVs). This is due to the emissions from the power plants generating the electricity to power the ZEVs. To be consistent, the study also factors in emissions from oil refineries associated with the gasoline they produce to power ICVs.

The report demonstrates that an astounding number of charging stations would be required in order to provide the needed capacity to charge the ZEVs that would replace ICVs. In California alone, they are expected to cost tens of billions of dollars. The ZEV infrastructure (charging stations) will be “socialized” in the form of higher rates for all ratepayers, which the author says will exacerbate economic inequality.

Additionally, this report holds that there are “significant economic and engineering obstacles” to achieving a situation where ZEVs are actually charged with electricity that is generated through emissions-free means. This includes additional costs to ratepayers beyond the tens of billions of dollars that would be required to install charging stations that would be powered by existing power plants.

A copy of the complete report is available online.

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