Electric vehicles are cheaper to fuel and maintain than those with combustion engines. The opposite is increasingly true when it comes to vehicle registration fees.
Many states partially fund road upkeep with gasoline taxes, and it’s long been a popular line of attack by fossil fuel supporters to argue that EV drivers don’t pay their fair share. “The rest of us subsidize their use of our roads,” Pennsylvania state Rep. Ed Neilson recently told E&E News. Pennsylvania is home to the country’s second highest gasoline tax, and once it’s implemented, its $250 annual EV charge will be among the heftiest as well.
Supporters of steeper registration fees for EVs point to declining gas tax revenue as a reason to collect more. But here’s the thing: There just aren’t that many electric vehicles on U.S. roads yet. An Experian Automotive Market Trends report from the end of 2023 put the number at 3.3 million — a tiny piece of the estimated 280 million-plus cars in the country. The much bigger reason behind declines in gas tax revenue is the increasing fuel efficiency of combustion cars.
But 39 states — including many that have electric vehicle adoption goals and incentives — are still putting the blame on their small EV populations. As Minnesota state Rep. Frank Hornstein put it to E&E News, the fees are “more of an anti-electric vehicle policy than a road funding policy.”
“We’re not at a point where electric cars are in any way, shape or form quote-unquote ‘stealing’ from the gas tax,” Hornstein said.
And sure, EV registrations are growing, with the National Renewable Energy Lab forecasting 30-40 million could be on the road by 2030. But fees that cut into EV savings could discourage drivers from making the switch, and make it hard to actually hit that goal.
More clean energy news
💸 Efficiency incentives on hold: The Inflation Reduction Act included $8.8 billion in home energy rebates to help households install heat pumps and make efficient improvements, but the U.S. Energy Department hasn’t approved most states’ plans for rolling out the funding. (Canary Media)
👷 Unions break into clean energy: The United Steelworkers form a neutrality agreement with solar company Convalt Energy as it plans to build two U.S. factories, marking a “significant breakthrough” into unionizing the domestic solar industry, the White House’s climate adviser says. (Axios)
🏭 Calculating LNG risks: Air pollution from liquefied natural gas export terminals in the U.S. is responsible for an estimated 60 premature deaths and $957 million in health costs each year, environmental groups find. (The Guardian)
🌬️ Wind wins: Wind turbines for the first time produced more electricity than coal over two consecutive months, according to the Energy Information Administration. (New York Times)
☑️ Forecasting FERC: Experts weigh in on how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s newly adopted transmission rules might take shape under a Harris or Trump presidency, and how permitting legislation or a Supreme Court ruling could affect them. (E&E News)
🔌 Chargers’ next challenge: Experts say electric vehicle charger congestion poses the next challenge for deployment, as developers need to consider bursts of holiday and event travel once they’ve satisfied everyday charger needs. (Bloomberg)
🐑 Solar’s wooly good opportunity: A Texas farmer says demand for livestock to maintain vegetation around solar panels has provided “the greatest opportunity for the sheep industry in my lifetime.” (Canary Media)
🛢️ It’s hard to stop oil: The U.S. oil and gas industry’s boom under President Biden illustrates how difficult it is for a president to stop or even slow oil production because of legal, political and market factors. (Washington Post)
⚖️ Having second thoughts: Recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions weakening federal policymaking authority are already giving regulators and agencies pause about implementing strong climate rules, for fear that they’ll be quickly overturned in court. (Grist)
☀️ Solar resilience: Experts share how advancing technology has made solar panels resilient in wind, small hail, and other weather conditions. (Washington Post)
📢 We want to hear from you! Send us your questions, comments, and story tips by replying to this email.
💸 Support our work: The Energy News Network is powered by support from readers like you. If you like Energy News Weekly, share it with a friend! Or give today and help us keep our news open and accessible for all.
📧 Want more energy news? Sign up for our daily digests.