• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About

Can the Valley Survive Without Gas-Powered Vehicles?

September 28, 2020 By Bruce Frohman 2 Comments

September 24, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California will eliminate the internal combustion engine from all new vehicles sold in the state by 2035.

The announcement was bold, gutsy, and appears doable. Due to fiscal considerations, the Valley will probably lag urban regions in effecting the change. However, the rules outlined by Governor Newsom will not create undue hardship if the transition is adequately planned.                   

The biggest barriers to an all-electric fleet of automobiles within the state are range and adequate recharging stations. In making his announcement, Governor Newsom appeared confident that these barriers can be overcome. 

Most of the current energy infrastructure in the state is geared toward the internal combustion engine. Gas stations are numerous and relatively closely spaced, configured to public demand.

Battery recharging stations are being added gradually. As infrastructure is added, the feasibility of an all-electric fleet improves.

People who buy electric cars receive guidance on where the charging stations are. A number of websites list charging stations, including  www.plugshare.com and driveclean.ca.gov. Tesla has its own network of charging stations. Adding to the network of charging stations, many electric car buyers are installing chargers in their homes.

In the future, new battery charging technologies will greatly expand recharging capabilities and extend driving range on a charge.  For example, charging units may be installed in roadbeds or beside roadways to recharge vehicles as they drive by. Some electric cars could extend driving range with solar panels on the exterior of the vehicle.

Lightyear One
Lightyear One, electric vehicle with solar panels

All of the technology is either in place or on the near future horizon. In mandating a total conversion to electric cars, Governor Newsom has signaled investors to charge ahead (pun intended) with investment in technology and the building of the needed charging infrastructure.

Transitional Challenges in the Valley

The Valley is a mix of rural and urban communities. Those who live in rural areas travel longer distances to urban destinations. Rural drivers will need cars with longer driving ranges, while urban dwellers will be able to get by using cars with even the shortest driving ranges.

Bay Area and Los Angeles-bound commuters from the Valley will either need longer range vehicles per charge or a charging station waiting at the urban destination. As battery technology improves driving range increases, the driving range will become less of a concern.

Electric companies will need to ramp up capacity. While more and more Valley homes are equipped with solar panels, the rate of purchases of new electric vehicles will probably exceed the increase in generating capacity by panels alone.

The Valley is blessed with many days of sunny weather, so it has tremendous solar potential. However, cloudy winter weather and shorter days will put pressure on the utilities’ supplies.  During the hot summers, the periodic rolling blackouts will need to be phased out or there will be a risk of transportation disruption.

Offsetting Challenges

Governor Newsom’s proclamation left an important loophole that many Valley citizens will need. Many people can’t afford a new car. Therefore, a provision that allows continued sale of used gas-powered vehicles will enable the less affluent to continue driving well beyond 2035. 

After 2035, the internal combustion engine will gradually disappear as older cars are retired and as gas stations discontinue selling petroleum products. How this aspect of the transition goes will depend on how long the oil companies can justify continued sales in the face of slumping demand.

The Governor’s decision to go all electric is feasible.  The time allotted to phase in electric vehicles is sufficient. Given the threat of global warming, the transition may not be fast enough.  Government probably should find ways to expedite the transition. Naysayers will resist.

 

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Bruce Frohman, electric vehicles in California

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. L. Valero says

    October 1, 2020 at 12:27 pm

    Before cheering heartily for Electric or Solar Powered gadgetry do your due diligence. Hardly anything is as it seems. Costs prevail, hidden and out the door.

    Look deeper, alot deeper, into who owns PG&E and at all the HIGHLY SUSPECT means by which electricity is being sourced. It is anything but affordable, ESPECIALLY over the long haul. In fact, it is downright diabolical.

    BEFORE YOU SCOFF, DO YOUR DUE DILIGENCE, THEN WRITE VALLEY CITIZENS ABOUT THE NAKED FACTS. IS IT AS FEASIBLE AS YOU SAY.

    Reply
    • Bruce Frohman says

      October 13, 2020 at 3:52 pm

      In September 2020, 81.6 percent of new vehicles sold in Norway were electric. Source: The Week Magazine, October 16, page 32.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

California faces catastrophic flood dangers ? and a need to invest billions in protection
California faces catastrophic flood dangers and a need to invest billions in protection
A new state plan for the Central Valley calls for spending as much as $30 billion over 30 years to prepare for the dangers.
www.latimes.com
Oakland will get millions for the ?inhumane? crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it?s not enough
Oakland will get millions for the “inhumane” crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it’s not enough
Gavin Newsom’s administration has awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to come up with…
www.sfchronicle.com
Alaska?s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Alaska’s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Mary Peltola won her election by campaigning on a platform to save the state’s prized fisheries. A powerful fishing lobby is standing in her way.
www.politico.com
Jimmy Carter's final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
Jimmy Carter’s final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
One of former President Carter’s biggest hopes is wiping out an infectious parasitic disease that’s plagued humans for millennia. How close is he?
www.latimes.com
Climate Extremes Threaten California?s Central Valley Songbirds - Eos
Climate Extremes Threaten California’s Central Valley Songbirds – Eos
A “nestbox highway” in California’s Central Valley is guiding songbirds to safe nesting sites and giving scientists a peek at fledgling success in a changing climate.
eos.org
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Republican David Eastman suggested the death of child abuse victims could be a “cost savings” to wider society.
www.newsweek.com
Editorial: Newsom's drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Editorial: Newsom’s drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Gov. Gavin Newsom has effectively ended environmental regulations protecting California rivers and migratory fish by extending drought-year waivers.
www.latimes.com
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
As of Thursday, just two of the more than 70 residents of McPherson Square had been placed in permanent D.C. housing.
www.washingtonpost.com
More Building Won?t Make Housing Affordable
More Building Won’t Make Housing Affordable
America’s housing crisis has reached unfathomable proportions. But new construction isn’t enough to solve it.
newrepublic.com
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Housing advocates are about to deliver a message to the Bay Area: Comply with state…
www.sfchronicle.com
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty 'Law of the River' holds sway
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ holds sway
At the heart of tensions over water allotments from the Colorado River is a complex set of agreements and decrees known as the ‘Law of the River.’
www.latimes.com
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America’s largest rainforest
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska, a focus of political battles over old-growth logging and road-building in forests for decades, has received new protection from the Biden administration.
theconversation.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design