EPA Approves California’s Electric Vehicle Mandate Amid Grid Overload Concerns

The EPA has approved a California plan to mandate 100% of new car sales in 2035 to be zero-emission vehicles, which is a waiver to exceed the authority of the Clean Air Act. The California plan requires 35% of all new car sales to be electric in 2026 and 68% of all new car sales in 2030. In December 2021, President Biden set a federal goal of reaching an “ambitious target” of 50% of all new car sales in 2030 to be electric vehicles.

An Edmunds sales data report found that 6.8% of new car sales were electric vehicles in the United States. California has the country’s highest rate of electric vehicle usage, and 25% of new car sales were electric in 2023. California is implementing a $1.9 billion plan to install 40,000 public charging stations in the state.

Opponents of the measure have expressed concerns regarding the electric vehicle mandate, including challenges with the infrastructure. First, there needs to be enough charging stations to handle the increased demand. Second, the electric grid needs to handle the substantial increase in electricity usage.

In a House hearing with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg two years ago, Rep Thomas Massie said an electric car uses an average of 25 times the amount of electricity as a refrigerator. “Do you think it would strain the grid if everybody plugged in 25 refrigerators in every household?,” Massie asked. Buttigieg answered, “If we have yesterday’s grid with tomorrow’s cars, it’s not gonna work.”

Massie asked, “Do you think by 2030, do you think the grid will be capable of handling electric cars?” Buttigieg said, “It’s going to need to be.” Jefferey Jaxen reported that the electric grid was being pushed “to the brink,” as mentioned in the Washington Post. As electric usage doubled from 2022 to 2023, it is creating a challenge requiring significant infrastructure improvements that could be passed down to the consumer.

“I’m not saying we shouldn’t prepare,” Massie said. “I’m bullish on this technology. But the numbers and the rate of adoption has been developed using political science, not engineering. They’re impractical. If we blindly follow these goals that Biden has set out, it will cause pain and suffering for the middle class.”

Electric car sales are not working for manufacturers or the vast majority of consumers based on the latest information. Manufacturers are losing billions of dollars to sell electric vehicles, so it is cutting into the profit margins they have from Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles. A March report determined that U.S. manufacturers lose an average of $6,000 per electric vehicle sold. California-based manufacturer Lucid lost $433,000 on each electric vehicle sold in the third quarter of 2023. The sale price of the car is $77,400.

These losses are subsidized by the federal government with up to $7,500 in tax credits for consumers who purchase new electric vehicles. An in-depth analysis examined the average cost of running a gas-powered Honda Civic vs. an electric Tesla Model Y, the most popular cars in their respective classes. The average cost to run an electric vehicle in the United States is $4,856 vs $4,107 for the ICE vehicle; this includes insurance, taxes, gas, charging, and maintenance costs.

When the purchase price is also included in the analysis, the electric vehicle costs $11,746 per year vs. $8,281 per year for the ICE vehicle over six years. The Tesla Model Y becomes more cost-effective for the consumer after 11 years of ownership. 

Governor Newsom and California, in their press releases, call electric vehicles “zero-emission vehicles.” The classification only refers to tailpipe emissions because electricity still largely relies upon coal power plants to generate energy. Electric vehicles have lower emissions overall, but they have other environmental and safety issues.

Jaxen reported the dangers of lithium batteries that have been causing explosions and massive fires. The HighWire showed a video of an electric bike plugged inside that exploded and caused a house fire in the U.K. These risks are part of the reason car insurance for electric vehicles is significantly higher.

Tracy Beans and Michelle Edwards reported for The HighWire about high levels of PFAS toxic forever chemicals that come from lithium batteries in electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are branded as a clean-energy approach to reduce carbon emissions and prevent climate change, but the leaching of PFAS chemicals raises questions regarding the true cleanliness of the technology. The chemicals have been linked to “liver problems, kidney disease, prostate, ovarian, and testicular cancer, fertility, and a weakened immune system.”

The push for clean energy and electric cars continues while concerns mount regarding the infrastructure and safety of these new technologies. The incentive for car manufacturers to continue making electric cars is declining as they continue to lose thousands of dollars from each vehicle sold. Updating the electric grid to handle the substantial increases may be passed down to consumers.

While American consumers can save money at the gas pump with an electric vehicle, the numbers show that it is not enough to offset the increased costs of purchasing, insuring, and maintaining the vehicle. A faulty electric car battery costs between $5,000 and $20,000 to replace, which is cost-prohibitive for the majority of Americans.

President-elect Donald Trump has already called for the end of electric vehicle subsidies and to roll back the plans set forth by President Biden’s administration. The EPA’s approval of the waiver will create a longer administrative process to overturn, and it could ultimately end up in court.