Maine has reached just 4 percent of its goal for electric vehicles

by Mehr Sher
May 2, 2023

EXCERPTS

Maine is far from reaching its electric vehicles goals, but the state is continuing to work to make the emissions-friendly vehicles more accessible to Mainers.

Maine currently has about 9,500 electric vehicles, according to state data. It would need to add 30,000 more electric vehicles each year for the next seven years to reach the goal laid out in its climate action plan.

Maine is far from reaching its electric vehicles goals, but the state is continuing to work to make the emissions-friendly vehicles more accessible to Mainers.

Maine currently has about 9,500 electric vehicles, according to state data. It would need to add 30,000 more electric vehicles each year for the next seven years to reach the goal laid out in its climate action plan.

The slow increase in electric vehicles is a result of supply chain issues, a lack of charging infrastructure and the high price of the vehicles, said Lynne Cayting, chief of the mobile services section in the Bureau of Air Quality at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

“Over time some of these issues will be addressed through more infrastructure development, more vehicle availability and costs coming down,” Cayting said.

On April 12, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed standards to significantly reduce harmful air emissions from cars and trucks, and ensure two-thirds of new passenger cars are electric by 2032.......................................

There are federal and state incentives to make electric vehicles more affordable. Efficiency Maine, a quasi-state agency, offers rebate programs, or partial refunds, for qualifying electric vehicles. Lower-income Mainers can get up to $7,500, and moderate-income Mainers can get up to $3,500, according to Amalia Siegel, the program manager of Electric Vehicle Initiatives at Efficiency Maine..............................

Efficiency Maine plans to add 51 fast-charging ports to existing 13 public charging stations this year, costing more than $10 million. Over the next five years, it expects to receive more than $36 million in federal funds to develop Maine’s public charging infrastructure.

“We’re still in the early stages of electric vehicle adoption,” Siegel said.

Mehr Sher is a Report for America corps member. Additional support for this reporting is provided by the Unity Foundation and donations by BDN readers.

https://www.bangordailynews.com/2023/05/02/mainefocus/maine-goal-el...

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Comment by Willem Post on May 3, 2023 at 7:27am

Some 35 years ago, I thought to move from Connecticut to Maine.

People talked me out of it

I did much worse, 

I moved to Vermont!!

 

Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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