Chris Shimoda, senior vice president of government affairs for the California Trucking Association, recently penned an Op-Ed that levels criticism against the state’s air resource board for ignoring electric grid limitations and the impact its rules would have on working families.
The California Trucking Association (CTA) remains the country’s largest advocacy group of its kind. Shimoda and other CTA team members have been fighting something of an uphill battle in the Golden State. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the AB5 law that effectively bans independent trucking. The government prevailed after a lengthy court battle and owner-operators have had to rethink their ability to do business in-state.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has also been targeting the trucking industry over diesel engine emissions. Much like Rhode Island did to push through its unconstitutional truck-only tolling system, environmentalists cite truck emissions while ignoring the fact California has more than 14 million passenger vehicles, the most of any state.
“In some respects, CARB regulating the trucking industry is nothing new. Since 2008, California truckers have done their part to improve air quality, spending nearly $1 billion per year to upgrade their equipment to cleaner technology and comply with the country’s strictest environmental regulations,” Shimoda reportedly stated. “These changes include purchasing new engines and installing filters that have virtually eliminated diesel soot and reduced smog-forming emissions by more than 90 percent.”
Proposed CARB rules would task freight carriers and fleets to onboard more than 518,000 zero-emission, Class 8 trucks by 2040. Within the next 10 years, that figure would exceed 1.5 million. To say these mandates are unrealistic would be something of an understatement. As Shimoda points out, the state lacks the infrastructure or power grid capabilities to support the cart-ahead-of-the-mule mandate.
“California would need to install as many as 800 chargers per week to power truck fleets, representing anywhere from 64 to 158 megawatts of new charging capacity — enough energy to power 118,000 households,” Shimoda reportedly stated.
Opponents mocked CARB and state lawmakers over the summer, particularly during Labor Day Weekend. On the heels of pushing to ban the sale of gasoline-fueled automobiles, and proposing the same for diesel rigs, Gov. Newsom issued guidance to not recharge zero-emission cars because the state lacked the bandwidth to meet its electric needs.
Recent data indicates only 15 percent of California’s passenger vehicles are battery-electric. It’s precisely this type of impracticability that has the CTA official pointing out the obvious flaws in a plan that will negatively impact the livelihoods of blue-collar families.
“CARB’s proposed regulations contain unfair provisions, which will punish truckers for not purchasing trucks which have not been built, and require them to accept trucks that they cannot plug in. Some charging infrastructure projects take years to complete and require complex utility upgrades, but CARB only allows fleets a one-year extension when these delays occur,” Shimoda reportedly stated. “Even worse, many drivers, including an estimated 75 percent of port truckers, will have to rely on a network of publicly available retail charging stations, which are nowhere near the scale required to support an entire industry — let alone the public.”
The batteries needed to power semi-trucks over 300- to 500-mile runs would reduce load capacities by as much as 8,000 pounds, increase freight rates that are passed on to consumers, and force owner-operators who cannot afford electric semis to move their operation.
Source: calmatters.org
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