
A presidential executive order going after electric vehicle regulations and policies is throwing a wrench in the works in states implementing Advanced Clean Trucks this year, with part of the order potentially exacerbating issues raised by the trucking industry and another part potentially solving all those problems.
This year, five states – Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington – will implement Advanced Clean Trucks, requiring manufacturers to sell increasing percentages of zero-direct-emission trucks through model year 2035. For model year 2025 trucks, 7% of new Class 7-8 truck sales must be zero-emission trucks.
Trucking stakeholders have sounded the alarm over Advanced Clean Trucks. Manufacturers are requiring dealerships to sell one electric truck before they can order about 13 diesel trucks. However, nobody is buying zero-emission trucks.
Stakeholders have been asking for at least a two-year delay in the implementation of Advanced Clean Trucks. They may get more than they asked for.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order “to eliminate the ‘electric vehicle (EV) mandate.’” In addition to rolling back the new federal truck emission standards introduced last year, Trump could also revoke California’s waiver for Advanced Clean Trucks. As of Monday, Jan. 27, it was not clear what regulations the Trump administration would target under the executive order or how it would go about executing it.
While the Trump administration is figuring out how to implement this order, five states are still feeling the heavy burden of Advanced Clean Trucks.
Another provision within the executive order could make that burden even heavier.
One of the biggest hurdles in electric truck adoption is the lack of a charging infrastructure. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act allocated billions of dollars in charging infrastructure funding to address the issue. However, Trump’s executive order calls for the pausing of that funding.
The lack of charging infrastructure is so bad in New York that the state Assembly held a hearing on it last week. During the hearing, Trucking Association of New York President Kendra Hems explained there is nowhere in the state for truckers to charge.
“Currently, the lack of charging infrastructure in New York for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles is a significant hurdle to the adoption of battery-electric trucks,” Hems said. “In fact, there is not a single, publicly available on-highway charging station built for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. For regional and over-the-road operations, the lack of charging stations makes it impossible for trucking fleets to transition to battery-electric vehicles.”
Trucking Association of Massachusetts Executive Director Kevin Weeks told Land Line there is not a single public heavy-duty charging station in his state, either. Although he is optimistic about the Trump administration pulling the Advanced Clean Trucks waiver, Weeks said trucking companies are suffering from the effects of the regulation until then.
“I think we’re all assuming we’ll ultimately pull (the waiver), but we haven’t pulled it yet,” he added. “Since we haven’t pulled it yet, Massachusetts is still stuck. Here we are with (Advanced Clean Trucks) in place, and here we are with no relief, no response from the (Massachusetts Gov. Maura) Healey administration.”
Last year, more than 40 trade associations urged Healey to delay implementation of Advanced Clean Trucks, and nearly 40 state lawmakers did the same.
Regarding charging-infrastructure funding, Weeks said it does not matter in Massachusetts whether funding resumes, because the state isn’t using the money anyway. The Boston Globe recently reported that the state Department of Transportation has not issued a single dollar of the $63 million it has already received for electric vehicle charging.
The situation is similar in Washington state, another state starting Advanced Clean Trucks this year. Washington Trucking Association President Sheri Call told Land Line that state funding for charging stations will likely be inadequate without supplemental federal support. Currently, the charging infrastructure in the state cannot support widespread electric adoption. However, reversing certain California regulations adopted by the state would provide relief and time needed to move toward cleaner truck technology.
“If our state clings to (Advanced Clean Trucks) as currently appears, the infrastructure problem is exacerbated by funding constraints,” Call told Land Line in an email. “On the other hand, if ACT is rolled back, the industry is optimistic that we can revisit near-term initiatives to promote lower emissions such as lower-emitting alternative and renewable fuels combined with incentivizing (the) latest generation (of) clean diesel engine technology to continue progress toward carbon neutrality.”
In New Jersey, the state has received $90 million in federal funding to charge all electric heavy-duty trucks on Interstates 78 and 95. New Jersey Motor Truck Association President Helder Rebelo told Land Line that is far less than the $100 million the state received for just one state transit bus depot.
“EV trucks are three times the cost of a new clean diesel truck, they hold less payload, range is impacted by weather, etc.,” Rebelo said. “The NJ Motor Truck Association supports the most cost-effective and convenient method of moving our nation’s freight. As soon as that method is electric, the industry will be fully on board.”
While Trump’s executive order is putting Advanced Clean Trucks states in limbo, some relief could come from state governments. New York lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressed interest in providing some kind of relief during last week’s charging infrastructure hearing. Standing Committee on Transportation Chair William Magnarelli, D-Syracuse, repeatedly asked what the state legislature could do to address the many issues expressed by a variety of stakeholders.
“I want to know why the manufacturers aren’t providing the trucks, because this doesn’t sound to me like a very plausible thing to happen,” Magnarelli said. “If there’s no trucks to sell that are electric, you can’t ask for the impossible.”
Meanwhile, a bill in New Jersey would delay Advanced Clean Trucks in the state by at least two years. In Washington state, a new governor, Bob Ferguson, was elected. However, it is not clear where Ferguson stands on the issue. And in Oregon, at least one lawmaker is urging the state to delay new rules.
Trump’s executive order cannot and does not automatically reverse any regulation, including federal emission standards or the federal waiver for Advanced Clean Trucks. However, it does instruct the Environmental Protection Agency to look into it. Trucking companies in at least five states are hoping the EPA moves quickly on that order, as adopted CARB rules remain intact. LL
Credit: Source link