Biden Administration Approves California Plan to Force Electric Vehicles on Truckers

The Biden administration has agreed to allow California to enforce a policy that makes the shift from conventional vehicles to electric ones mandatory for operators of heavy duty trucks. However, critics are of the view that this policy will add more strain on the power grid, which is already facing challenges, and also lead to an increase in food and energy prices.

The request sent by California Governor Gavin Newsom to ban diesel trucks and semi-tractors over a period of time, which requires heavy duty vehicles to be electric by 2045, was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. Experts have warned that this ban is a part of a strategy to shift appliances to the electric grid, and this will increase the cost of living in the state of California.

“The policy is not based on the current technology, but is more of a fantasy-type policy. It is irresponsible, as it will be economically burdensome for people, increase the prices of goods transportation in the state, and create further instability of the electric grid,” said Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute, when speaking to the Washington Free Beacon.

The prevalence of higher electricity rates creates an additional challenge as prices rose almost 15 percent last year alone and by nearly 80 percent since 2008 when the state initiated the move to renewable energy. Besides the escalating prices, the reliance on electricity has jeopardized the grid and resulted in the looming threat of blackouts, as has been reported recently.

Governor Newsom expressed his appreciation of the Biden administration’s approval, calling it a “major development in climate action.” He said in his statement that the state is leading the charge to remove pollution-emitting trucks and buses off the streets, which also causes rising demand in California as other states and countries are lining up to follow California’s lead worldwide. Nearly 20% of new vehicle sales in the state have been electric due to the state’s offering “billions” in subsidies to its residents for buying them.

However, as Newsom’s administration takes pride in its accelerated overhaul of the state’s energy systems, Californians brace themselves for the rising costs of daily life. Earlier this month, San Diego Gas & Electric asked for a rate increase of $3.6 billion over four years, while PG&E, the state’s biggest utility company, has filed for a 16% hike in energy bills.

Moreover, the greenhouse gas emissions from California’s power plants have spiked, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. The Energy Department has cautioned that we should not calculate the carbon footprint of electric vehicles based only on tailpipe emissions, but that mining and manufacturing batteries also have an environmental impact.

Wayne Winegarden urged caution regarding California’s rapid transition to renewable energy, pointing out that it is non-sustainable. He cited examples of European countries that rapidly adopted renewable energy, but later returned to coal and natural gas due to energy shortages. In fact, some of these countries have started burning what remains of their ancient forests for fuel.

California Democrats aim to ban all sales of non-electric trucks by 2040.