Electric Vehicle Policy For the Midwest – A Scoping Document JOHN BAILEY DAVID MORRIS December 2009 Prepared for the RE-AMP Network www.reamp.org New Rules Project 612-379-3815 1313 5th St. SE, Suite 303 www.newrules.org Minneapolis, MN 55414 New Rules Project www.newrules.org i Acknowledgments We appreciate the support of RE-AMP's Global Warming Strategic Action Fund for allowing us to prepare this report. We also thank Clean Wisconsin for its support for this project. We’re very grateful to the many members of RE-AMP's Transportation, Clean Energy and Global Warming Solutions working groups for their input and insights. Among the other organizations and individuals (in no particular order) that offered ideas for this report: Project Get Ready (Rocky Mountain Institute), Sentech Inc., Chelsea Sexton (Lightning Rod Foundation), CalCars, Plug-In America, General Motors, University of Minnesota’s Center for Transportation Studies, University of Delaware, Argonne National Laboratory, Electric Power Research Institute, The Brookings Institution, Center for Neighborhood Technology, Electric Drive Transportation Association, Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, Center on Wisconsin Strategy, The Ecology Center, Fresh Energy, Plains Justice, Xcel Energy, Sierra Club, Jim Motovalli, Jim Peterson (Seeking Alpha), Southern Municipal Power Agency, Coulomb Technologies, The Brattle Group, Ford Motor Co., Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, National Wildlife Federation, Iowa Environmental Council, Intertribal Council On Utility Policy, Clean Fuels Ohio, Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest, Center for Automotive Research (Ohio State Univ.), American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, Citizen’s Utility Board of Wisconsin, Great Plains Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council, City of Minneapolis, Bright Automotive, Oregon Department of Transportation, Neighborhood Energy Connection. We thank our colleagues at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance for their input and comments on drafts of this report. We also thank our intern Simon Kassel for his work in pulling together background data and charts/graphs. All shortcomings and errors, of course, are the responsibility of the authors. Cover Photo Credit: Rainforest Action Network http://www.flickr.com/photos/rainforestactionnetwork Recent Energy Publications -www.newrules.org/publications Energy Self-Reliant States: Homegrown Renewable Power 2nd Edition By John Farrell and David Morris, October 2009 Feed-in Tariffs in America: Driving the Economy with Renewable Energy Policy that Works By John Farrell, April 2009 Meeting Minnesota's Renewable Energy Standard Using the Existing Transmission System By John Bailey, George Crocker (NAWO), John Farrell, Michael Michaud (Matrix Energy Solution), David Morris, November 2008 Rural Power: Community-Scaled Renewable Energy and Rural Economic Development By John Farrell and David Morris, August 2008 Concentrating Solar and Decentralized Power: Government Incentives Hinder Local Ownership, By John Farrell, May 2008 Driving Our Way to Energy Independence By David Morris, April 2008 Since 1974, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) has worked with citizen groups, governments and private businesses to extract the maximum value from local resources. A program of ILSR, the New Rules Project helps policy makers to design rules as if community matters. 2009 by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Permission is granted under a Creative Commons license to replicate and distribute this report freely for noncommercial purposes. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. New Rules Project www.newrules.org ii Table of Contents LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS ...........................................................................................iii BACKGROUND FOR THIS REPORT .....................................................................................iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1. A BRIEF RECENT HISTORY OF ELECTRIFIED VEHICLES: FROM RECEDING TIDE TO TSUNAMI ..............................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2. ELECTRIC VEHICLE POLICY AND RELATED ACTIVITIES IN RE-AMP STATES ............................................................................................................................................5 Summary of Activities in RE-AMP States .........................................................................................5 Michigan’s EV Activities in Detail ......................................................................................................8 Federal EV and Related Programs in RE-AMP States ..................................................................11 CHAPTER 3. THE IMPACT OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES AND OTHER TRANSPORTATION INITIATIVES ON GHG EMISSIONS .............................................12 Background ............................................................................................................................................12 Reducing GHG Emissions by Improving Vehicle Efficiency Standards .....................................13 Reducing GHG Emissions Through A Low Carbon Fuels Standard (LCFS) .............................15 Reducing GHG Emissions by Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled ..................................................16 Reducing GHG Emissions By Electrifying Vehicles ......................................................................18 The Relationship of Electric Vehicles to CAFE Standards and Low Carbon Fuel Standards 23 Conclusion on Transportation Emissions and GHG Reduction Strategies ..................................30 CHAPTER 4. ELECTRIC VEHICLE ECONOMICS ............................................................31 Electric Vehicle Economics – Costs and Benefits ...........................................................................31 A Note About EV Charging Equipment: Costs and Standards .....................................................35 CHAPTER 5. EV POLICY OPTIONS ......................................................................................39 Enhancing Consumer Acceptance ......................................................................................................39 EV Infrastructure and Integration ....................................................................................................42 Expanding EV and Related Industrial Manufacturing .................................................................48 CHAPTER 6. ILSR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RE-AMP ORGANIZATIONS AND FUNDERS .....................................................................................................................................50 APPENDIX A: DESCRIPTIONS OF EXISTING EV ACTIVITIES IN RE-AMP STATES ..........................................................................................................................................54 Illinois ....................................................................................................................................................54 Iowa ........................................................................................................................................................55 Minnesota ...............................................................................................................................................55 North Dakota .........................................................................................................................................57 Ohio ........................................................................................................................................................57 New Rules Project www.newrules.org iii South Dakota .........................................................................................................................................58 Wisconsin ..............................................................................................................................................58 APPENDIX B. SELECTED REPORTS & PRESENTATIONS ........................................60 REFERENCES .............................................................................................................................67 TABLES AND CHARTS Table 1: RE-AMP State-By-State Existing Electric Vehicle Related Policies ....................................5 Chart 1: GHG Emissions from Transportation Sector in 2005 by RE-AMP State ............................12 Table 2: Total Number Of Registered Vehicles in RE-AMP States .....................................................13 Table 3: 2007 Registered Vehicles By Category in RE-AMP States .....................................................13 Table 4: Average Required Fuel Economy under New CAFE Proposed Standards ..........................14 Table 5: Projected Fleet-Wide Emissions Compliance Levels under the Proposed Footprint-Based CO2 Standards (g/mi) ....................................................................................................14 Table 6: Potential GHG Emissions Reductions from CAFE in RE-AMP States-2020 ..................................................................................................................................14 Table 7: Impacts on GHG Emissions of LCFS and CAFE Policy in the RE-AMP Region ..............................................................................................................................16