Category Archives: EV electric vehicles

Legal & Lege Trend. EV Fee Unconstitutional? 2 Points= you're informed.

  • Oklahoma Legislature passed Motor Fuels Tax Fee (HB 1449) to tax/impose a fee on EV ($100) and hybrid cars ($30)
  • The OK Supreme Court declared HB 1449 unconstitutional because:
    • HB 1449 was a revenue bill passed in the last five days of session
    • As such, HB 1449 needed three-fourths of the legislature’s support.

Oklahoma House Bill 1449 (2017 Regular Session)

News On 6 | Another OK Legislature ‘Fee’ Deemed Unconstitutional 

TREND. EV Truck Platooning. 4 Key Points.

  • Tesla is set to unviel its electric self driving truck in Novmeber 2017
  • The economics of truck driving has shown the greatest efficiency with a platoon of trucks
    • 7-8 trucks driving in close proximity
    • effectively reduces diesel costs for regular trucks and can reduce battery use
  • Long range (900 mile) EV trucks are thought to be cost prohibitive unless robotic battery changing (not charging) stations are available
  • Self driving electric trucks will focus on short range trips

MIT…

5 Issues that Legislators & Regulators will face with EV Charger Stations.

 

  • ​ Will regulators/legislators allow utilities to rate-base infrastructure costs?
  • Will regulators/legislators permit a shift in costs from private installers and owners onto the general rate base?
  • Can investments be recovered through performance-based regulations?
  • How to incentivize investments by rewarding social benefits without exposing ratepayers to undue risk?
  • Will regulators and utilities adopt the free and open-source Open Charge Point Protocol to support interoperable…

The Big Loophole in Self Driving Car Regulations and Legislation.

What’s missing from most state and federal self driving car regulations and legislation?  Big Trucks.

Self driving truck economuy is growing and the regulations and legislation are not keeping pace, or so say lawyer sin this field in California, the first state to implement self-driving car regulations.

The Recorder | We Asked California Lawyers for Views on the New Driverless Rules. Here’s What They Said.

Roads Dedicated to Self Driving Cars. 3 Points to Know.

By 2040, I-5 between Seattle and Vancouver is expected to be dedicated 100% to self driving cars. It’ll take 3 steps to get there:

  • 1st, selfin driving cars will be able to share HOV lanes
  • 2nd, dedicating 1 lane entirely to AVs (self dirving or autonomous vehicles)
  • 3rd, convert all lanes ot autonomous driving vehicles only 

GeekWire | Major stretch of I-5 will be devoted exclusively to self-driving cars by 2040, new study predicts

TREND. Banning Gas Powered Engines.

Business Trend: Volvo says by 2019 it will stop making gas combustion engine cars

Regulatory Trend: California’s chief air-pollution regulator says he’s talking to the California Governor about phasing out combustion engines sometime 10 years in the future. 

Can States phase out combustion engines? States can their own air pollution standards, but they need EPA approval

International Trend: 

  • China has called for combusion engine ban at some myster date in the future.
  • the UK and France set…

1 Man. North Texas Self Driving Car Rules. 5 Things to Know.

How is DFW handling self driving vehicles in North Texas? With an automated vehicles department within theNorth Central Texas Council of Governments. It’s a department of 1 man.

What has this Department of 1 employee accomplished for self driving car policy?

  • established an “automated vehicle program,” approved by the Regional Transportation Council
  • secured funding for low-speed automated vehicle pilot programs
  • secured funding to support the use of Interstate 30 between Dallas and Fort Worth…

3 Reasons State Legislators Abandoned EV Incentives.

California legislators pushing AB 1184 abandonded the $3 billion in EV incentives to pursue a study. So what happened?

  • Drafting issues. Opposition focused on a lack fo a plan for funding source
  • More information Needed.  The bill now calls for a report that:
    • suggests funding levels necessary to meet state emissions goals
    • the report should recommend changes to the existing rebate program to increase market penetration of such cars and trucks.
  • Procurement Opportunity. The bill calls for a…