I have mentioned (more than once, of course) that the regulatory authorities have been seeking new trucks for the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. In particular, they have been leaning towards electric duty trucks. (The new trucks are required to run on electric batteries or hydrogen fuel cells.)
After all, most of the trucks (typically called drayage trucks) servicing the ports idle for hours waiting for the opportunity to hook up to a container- or to deliver a container to a local destination. And, that idling- especially if these are the older drayage- use diesel fue means tons of air pollution and carbon dioxide emissions.
Now, choosing to make these rigs use electricity is less problematic than California’s other big plan- to outlaw sales of diesel trucks statewide by 2035. After all, the rigs servicing the ports travel about 50 to 100 miles from the port, where they drop off or pick up containers. So, it’s easy to provide EV chargers for their needs- and most of the rigs have sufficient capacity to handle a day’s travel.
But, the heavy duty rigs that will travel across the state- as well as other geographical destinations? These rigs are going to require major upgrades to the electric grid, not to mention the creation of a network of big-rig chargers. It also means that fleet owners will have to install chargers on their depots (most of which properties which they don’t own, but lease)- even if that network of chargers across the state develops.
(Actually, some fleet owners are considering the use of battery storage or generators to charge their electric trucks.)
And, you know that when California mandates vehicle standards, other states are forced to follow. But, it’s slightly different for automobiles than it is for big rigs. Right now, the major automobile suppliers are working together to develop and provision EV chargers. The issue is that automobiles will need considerably less power than a big rig- and charging times are shrorter.
Moreover, most big rigs will only have about a 200 mile range- not the 300 to 500 miles that cars will have. Hence big rigs are going to need a more extensive and thorough network of chargers. But, no one is really stepping up to the plate to provide them.
I’m concerned about the electric grid, period. We are going to have increasing demand for air conditioning for shear survival if this summer isn’t a one-off (and I don’t think it will be). Gas stoves going away for new construction. Electric vehicles. Big rigs. The list goes on. Can we provide enough electricity for this all in the required time frames?
Not at the rate at which we are proressing, Alana!