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Thursday, September 15, 2011

$$$ / Green / Transportation Feds Support Oregon's Electric Cars. Do we?

Posted by Alex Zielinski on Thu, Sep 15, 2011 at 2:29 PM

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Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy dropped $485,000 on Oregon electric vehicle (EV) projects and proliferation. Labeled "Energize Oregon", the recently funded plan has three main objectives: integrating the plethora of in-state EV efforts, develop an EV plan to explain these projects and help boost U.S.' goal to put 1 million EVs on the road by 2015.

It's unsure whether this is the much-needed kick-start that Oregon's EV programs need. Currently there are less than 1,000 passenger vehicles that are plug-in hybrid or electric in Oregon. As of May, the national EV charging station provider Ecotality had yet to begin its spring installations of 1,100 stations across the state. This leaves the $100 million federally financed project about a year behind schedule. This goes in tandem with EV car sales, specifically the Portland-premiered Nissan Leaf, coming out lower than predicted. It looks like the federal funding could help consolidate these unfinished plans into one mega-EV project.

But I'm curious whether the boost in infrastructure will really ignite drivers to switch to electric. With EV prices still in the $20,000-$40,000 range (compare the Nissan Leaf at $32,000 to a $15,250 Toyota Corolla), despite possible $9,000 in state and federal tax incentives, the green driving method remains high-end. In addition, the Oregon House of Representatives is considering a new usage fee costing drivers 1.43 cents per mile driven in their electric car. This would leave EV drivers paying about $172 a year for a car driven 12,000 miles. Noncomplying drivers get their Priuses (Prii?) and Leafs (Leaves?) taken away and auctioned off. Ouch. It seems little contradictory that drivers are rewarded through incentives to buy the electric vehicle, but are then penalized on the road.

Either way, this new allocation of federal energy funds towards Oregon's EV infrastructure could be a deal breaker for the non-EV driver.

 

Comments (6) RSS

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1
The question shouldn't be "Do we?", but "Should we?".
So far electric cars are not a feasable choice more than 90% of us. That is why the sales have lagged.
The usage fee is fair. Why should the rest of us pay for the roads they want to drive on?
It's about time.
Posted by frankieb on September 15, 2011 at 3:53 PM · Report
2
Actually, the fee makes perfect sense. Electric cars still damage roads, just like gas-powered cars. Since a lot of road maintenance is paid for with the gas tax, they need to come up with a different way to charge EV users. Ultimately, the whole country should move towards a vehicle-miles-traveled fee rather than a gas tax to fund roads. Of course, I think there should also be a carbon tax to further discourage gas consumption. Anyway, the fee is perfectly appropriate.
Posted by zefwagner on September 15, 2011 at 6:46 PM · Report
3
It's a chicken vs egg situation, initially. If the infrastructure is not there, people won't buy and drive EVs. Infrastructure is catching up, too - PSU and PGE just opened up Electric Avenue, which features a number of different types of charging stations on SW Montgomery.

EVs that are priced lower than the LEAF are coming soon, too. Tthe Mitsubishi i will be available in Oregon later this year and is a more value-oriented car, and Ford, Smart, and GM will have electric cars coming onto the market soon, so competition should drive prices down a bit.

Also, GM killed the user fee last session, so that rate is a non-starter. The Road User Fee Task Force begins meeting in October to try to determine a rate that's acceptable to manufacturers, drivers, and the state.

For more info, check out the Citizens' Utility Board of Oregon's blog:

http://oregoncub.org/news/posts/electric-vehicles-continue-to-emerge-in-oregon
Posted by Oregon CUB on September 16, 2011 at 10:07 AM · Report
4
It's not the infrastructure for me - it's the actual cars themselves.
All the infrastructure can't solve that.
Posted by frankieb on September 16, 2011 at 2:24 PM · Report
5
Sales have not lagged because of lack of demand, they've lagged because of production delays.

Electric cars are perfectly feasible for any family with 2 cars, and viable for 90% of the rest - how often *do* you drive more than 75 miles in a day? The difference between $0.02/mile electricity and $0.15/mile ($3.75/gal in a 25mpg car) will pay for the occasional car rental.

For anyone in the market for a new mid-range car, the only reason not to get an EV is that you'd have to get on a waiting list to get one.
Posted by Alan on September 17, 2011 at 9:43 PM · Report
6
Mileage fees are reasonable, but have a lot of issues, and there won't be enough EVs on the road to make a difference in either road wear or in mileage income for several years, so the problem doesn't bear rushing into. A good solution should be worked out, not something half-cocked...
Posted by Alan on September 17, 2011 at 9:48 PM · Report

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