ATRI Questions California’s Readiness for Electric Fleets

By now you have probably heard that it will be illegal to operate a diesel-powered vehicle within the borders of the most populous state in 2042.

This means that, among other fuel sources, electricity will reign supreme. But the American Transportation Research Institute did its own studying to find out just how feasible the green energy revolution will be in the Golden State.

Details

Here are the most interesting details ATRI has found that may make an electric future a bit harder to obtain.

• Electricity, while cheaper than diesel on a per-mile basis, is much more expensive in California than it is in other states. The average nationwide cost per kilowatt-hour is 12.36 cents, while Californians on average pay the second highest rate in the nation at 22.33 cents. Hawaii is the only state that pays more for its electricity. All of this makes California one of the hardest states to make this a reality, compared to other states such as Washington.
• Electric batteries are heavy and will add a significant amount to vehicle weight. Unless regulations change to allow higher weight limits for electric trucks, ATRI estimates that the number of trucks in California will need to increase by 34.3% in order to ship the same amount of freight that it currently does with its mostly diesel fleet.
• Producing the new electric trucks will create a lot of emissions. This is mostly the result of the processes that purify important battery minerals such as lithium and nickel. There is also the question as to what fuel source power plants will use to generate the electricity that fuels the electric commercial vehicles.

Conclusion

The study conducted by the ATRI is a very interesting look into the world of how much pollution and monetary investment will be required before the planet starts seeing a net reduction of emissions when switching from diesel fuel to electricity.

If you would like to read it in full, ATRI simply asks for some basic information about yourself, and you can read it on the relevant webpage.

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