by Katy Grimes, E&E Legal Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor
As Appearing in the California Globe
As rolling blackouts become a way of life in California, how will EVs charge?
With California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mandated phase-out of gas-powered automobiles, we learn that one in five plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) owners switched back to owning gas-powered cars, because charging the batteries was a hassle, new research reports.
Business Insider reported on the research published in the journal Nature Energy by University of California Davis researchers Scott Hardman and Gil Tal that surveyed Californians who purchased an electric vehicle between 2012 and 2018, that 20% of EV car owners say charging the battery takes too long and is a hassle. They also discovered nearly two-thirds of PEV drivers in the survey said they didn’t use Public charging stations, the electric version of the gas station.
Gov. Newsom’s Executive Order requires sales of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035 and “additional measures to eliminate harmful emissions from the transportation sector.”
The Governor’s Executive Order also addresses “closure and remediation of former oil extraction sites.”
Newsom announced last fall he will aggressively move the state further away from its reliance on “climate change-causing” fossil fuels. Newsom plans to abolish the use of natural gas and propane appliances.
