THE EV’S WORTHWHILE COST

Electric car bill an investment in the future
Editorial, June 28, 2011 (Knoxville News Sentinel)

"The Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt are slowly merging onto the nation's roadways, but electric vehicles need a boost to get up to economic speed.

"U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander is sponsoring a bi-partisan [$2.9 billion] bill that would establish an electric vehicle development program within the U.S. Department of Energy, require utilities to plan infrastructure for the vehicles' widespread use and start a research-and-development fund for the industry…[T]his bill would represent a wise investment in the future of electric vehicles and in…[the] growing green economy…[C]o-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., [it] would accelerate the development of electric vehicles and supporting infrastructure, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and bolster national security by helping to reduce dependency on foreign oil…"

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"Under the bill, DOE would develop a national deployment plan and give technical assistance to the states with an emphasis on helping public-private partnerships, establish grant programs and support workforce training. The bill also would begin a transition of the federal government vehicle fleet to electric vehicles. Incentives for consumers and research-and-development funding also are included. The largest chunk of the funding - $2 billion - would go to communities to speed up the deployment of electric vehicles."

"Electric cars won't replace gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles overnight, but the transition needs to begin. The environmental benefits of no-emission vehicles should be obvious. There are economic benefits, too…Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who leads the Pew clean-energy economy initiative…noted that despite doubling private investment in clean energy since 2009, the United States has fallen behind China and
Germany. Jobs, Granholm said, follow investment."

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"In addition to protecting the environment and creating jobs, the development of electric vehicles should be a national security priority…[T]he deployment of 700,000 plug-in electric vehicles would save about 10 million barrels of oil per year…Reducing our dependency on foreign oil - and the unreliable or hostile regimes that control its flow - would redefine our national interests. The oil-rich states of the Middle East would gradually lose their leverage…

"Promoting and subsidizing the development of electric vehicles is in the best interest of our nation, and the Alexander-Merkley bill offers a comprehensive approach to aiding a fledgling industry segment until it can compete on its own in the marketplace."