In June 2020, the California Air Resources Board adopted the final rule for new standards that require the sale of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks. Referred to as the California Advanced Clean Trucks regulation, the regulation requires 40% to 55% of all heavy trucks sold by 2035 in California to be electric. Now, the Maine Bureau of Environmental Protection is considering adopting portions of that California regulation after a petition was submitted by the Conservation Law Foundation, the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Council of Maine asking Maine to do so.
A Nicols Brothers logging forwarder unloads logs destined to become two-by-fours in the forest in Oquossoc in 2020. “It is not practicable for the construction or logging industries to invest in certain heavy-duty zero-emission trucks when those trucks have no way to recharge at their job sites in gravel pits and in the north Maine woods,” Tom Brown and Kelly Flagg write. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal, File
Under the proposed rule, sales requirements would be imposed on manufacturers; thus, dealers would incur deficits for each new gasoline or diesel engine vehicle sold, and those deficits must be made up with credits generated by selling new medium- and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles. Manufacturers will meet these sales targets by ensuring dealers purchase the zero-emission vehicles and put them on their lots.
The problems with this are numerous. Obviously, Maine and California are vastly different economically and geographically. Maine is the most rural state in the nation, and many of our heritage industries operate in remote areas of our state where charging stations are scarce. It is not practicable for the construction or logging industries to invest in certain heavy-duty zero-emission trucks when those trucks have no way to recharge at their job sites in gravel pits and in the north Maine woods.
Furthermore, the use of accessory equipment like snowplows, dump bodies, and cranes, reduces the already limited battery life of zero-emission vehicles. In New York City, the Department of Sanitation found that their electric garbage trucks are not capable of removing snow efficiently and only lasted approximately four hours. Maine winters are especially harsh, and four hours of battery life is obviously impracticable.
Despite the inefficiency of zero-emission heavy-duty trucks, their cost can be up to three times that of their diesel counterpart, making them that much more difficult to sell. For these reasons, and many more, selling zero-emission heavy trucks is extremely difficult for dealerships. While they sit on the lot taking up space, manufacturers will still be required to keep selling them. It is unreasonable to mandate their sale when the purchasing industries are not prepared to buy them, and the infrastructure isn’t there to support their use.
To be clear, we do not oppose the concept and use of zero-emission trucks. We see that they can work in certain circumstances, and strongly support voluntary adoption. Mandating their sale and punishing manufacturers when dealers can’t move them off the lot just doesn’t make sense. Instead, let the market evolve naturally, as it has been doing in recent years.
Many Maine school districts are starting to purchase zero-emission school buses, and Biddeford Saco Old Orchard Beach Transit received $2 million in federal funds for the purchase of two zero-emission electric buses. In these cases, the use of zero-emission makes perfect sense. The buses can hold a charge long enough to complete their routes and have plenty of time to charge before being needed again.
Zero-emission vehicles are part of the future of transportation, but we cannot rush their adoption. Doing so will hurt industries that support countless Maine families and do little to help our environment. Maine must embrace our state motto instead of following California.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
