Electric Vehicles

Allegra Stratton, British prime minister Boris Johnson’s climate spokesperson, says she won’t switch to an electric car yet because she has range anxiety. So she drives a “third-hand” diesel Volkswagen Golf instead.

After months of horse trading, a bipartisan group of US senators unveiled the legislative text of a 2,700-page, $1 trillion infrastructure bill last night. Here’s what’s in it for all things electric vehicle and clean energy – and what got the chop.

After taking its sweet time to get cracking in the first place, Audi is now off to a strong start on its long journey to 100% electrification.

If you’re a lover of stuff on wheels, there truly is no place like the UK’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Situated in the sprawling front garden of the Duke of Richmond’s house, complete with hillclimb route and rally stage, it truly is a glorious day out.

Highways England is considering imposing the UK’s first pollution-linked speed limits to help reduce smog in Sheffield. But why should electric vehicle drivers have to slow down too?

Clean energy may mean less mining for coal, but it also means more mining for minerals such as cobalt for use in alloys and batteries, tellurium for solar cells and semiconductors, and germanium for transistors in electronic devices.

Electric vehicle infrastructure is getting $15 billion in US government funding in a new bipartisan proposal. It’s less than originally planned, but it’s still a decent amount.

Some EV detractors are already suggesting that the proposed $10,000 EV rebate is being left behind, but it is apparently still in play.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• Tesla models make up more than half of US EV sales in 2021.
• A Michigan utility wants to be one of the first in the US to go coal-free.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• EV100 businesses call for strong US emissions standards and all new-vehicle sales to be net zero by 2030.
• Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA) introduces legislation to rapidly boost US solar manufacturing.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

Duke Energy has filed a $56 million proposal of Phase II programs to continue the advancement of transportation electrification in North Carolina.

The first driverless electric shuttle buses hit the roads in the city of Cambridge in the UK yesterday as part of ground-breaking trials.

New data from the UK’s Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) reflects which parts of the UK are adopting electric vehicles the quickest, and it’s not London or its southeastern suburbs. And while there’s been a big jump in just a year, the mountain Britain has to climb to reach its 2030 target is still high.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• South Korea has committed nearly $40 billion to build EV tech factories and expand R&D in the US.
• The UK will install 3,550 “ultra-rapid charging points” on motorways and in towns over two years.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

I have absolutely no idea what I’m looking at, and yet I already know I’m in love with this hilarious little electric car from Alibaba.

Last week’s entry in the Awesomely Weird Alibaba Electric Vehicle of the Week may have frightened me, but this week’s little electric car thing tickles that “why don’t I have this in my life?” part of my brain that my wife hasn’t been able to train out of me yet.

Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory published research on how the supply chains of rare earth minerals respond to disruptions. This could include natural disasters, labor or trade disputes, construction delays – and pandemics.

The team found that mineral supply chain disruptions have long-range impacts that affect the costs and availability of electric vehicles.

US President Joe Biden is making the case for his electric vehicle plan today during a visit to a Ford Motor electric vehicle plant in Dearborn, Michigan, this afternoon. It’s ahead of Ford’s big reveal on Wednesday of the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck. He is also likely to make note of the fact that United Auto Workers will build the F-150 Lightning.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• California governor Gavin Newsom’s new proposal devotes $3.2 billion to boost EV adoption goals.
• John Kerry says technology to reduce emissions hasn’t been invented yet. He’s wrong.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbines are awarded typhoon certification.
• United Auto Workers union says only US-made EVs should get tax incentives.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

In today’s Electrek Green Energy Brief (EGEB):

• GM says it plans to invest $1 billion in a plant in Mexico to build electric vehicles.
• SMUD, Sacramento’s electricity provider, is paying people to become certified solar PV installers.
• UnderstandSolar is a free service that links you to top-rated solar installers in your region for personalized solar estimates. Tesla now offers price matching, so it’s important to shop for the best quotes. Click here to learn more and get your quotes. — *ad.

A study has looked into why about 18% of electric car owners go back to gas-powered vehicles.

The reasons are mostly exactly what we expected.

New York will join the list of states signaling an end to new gas vehicle sales, as a bill banning their sale after 2035 has advanced through the state legislature. It now heads to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s desk where it is expected to be signed.

This bill makes New York State the second US state to pass a gas car ban legislatively, behind Washington State, which set a 2030 target. California and Massachusetts have also set 2035 targets for the end of gas car sales, though those states made their commitments through executive action by their respective governors, Gavin Newsom (D) and Charlie Baker (R).