No, Wyoming Isn't Looking to Ban Electric Vehicles...Yet

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 19:33:15 GMT

California turned heads in August when its lawmakers pushed and passed legislation to ban the sale of gas-powered vehicles state-wide by 2035. In Wyoming, similar legislation was recently proposed, but on the opposite side of the aisle.

Sen. Jim Anderson (R-Wyo.) introduced a resolution last Friday aimed at phasing out electric vehicle sales in Wyoming by 2035. According to the resolution, the concept is being considered in order to sustain the state’s oil and gas industry.

“The oil and gas industry in Wyoming has created countless jobs and contributed revenue to the state,” says Sen. Dan Dockstader (R-Wyo.). “Wyoming will be robbed of 12,000 to 16,000 jobs if we dismiss gas vehicles for the sake electric. It’s unacceptable.”

Tabled Until 2024

Following the proposal, the resolution was referred to Wyoming’s minerals committee, where it was discussed and tabled, “at least,” through the year, Dockstader says.

“The resolution won’t be heard on the Senate floor in 2023, but we will revisit it in 2024,” he says.

The resolution discussion follows the Biden administration’s federal ban on oil and gas leasing. According to Dockstader, the ban is costing Wyoming $304 million per year, from 2021 to 2025.

“At some point as a state we have to push back and say our people and our jobs are more important. Our mineral and gas industry, that’s what’s employing our families across the state, and we stand with them.”

Electric Outlook

Outside of electric vehicles, Dockstader says he and his fellow Wyoming legislators aren’t completely closed off to new technologies.

“We’re using hydroelectric power here in Wyoming as well as wind power and solar. We’re not saying we’re not interested in trying other energy outlets. But if you step away from our current energy sources, or step away from gas-powered vehicles, you can’t drive the economy,” he says.

Docskstader pointed to California, saying the state—and any others that choose to ban gas-powered vehicles—can expect “serious” economic consequences.

“The havoc the U.S. is experiencing now with rapid inflation will reach far beyond the economy if we take away oil and gas and continue this electric vehicle spending,” he says. “We didn’t need this before and we won’t need this in the future, at least not in Wyoming.”

Renewable Standards Help Drive Energy and Economic Development

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 05:08:13 GMT

States that require utilities to increase renewable energy see expansion of renewable energy facilities and generation -- including wind and other renewable sources, but especially solar -- according to new research from Indiana University and two other institutions.

IU’s Sanya Carley led a team of researchers including Nikolaos Zirogiannis, an assistant scientist at IU, and law professors Lincoln Davies of the University of Utah and David B. Spence of University of Texas at Austin. The group closely examined the history and evolution of state renewable portfolio standards and interviewed more than 40 experts about renewable portfolio standards implementation.

Their findings are newly published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Energy, in an article titled “Empirical evaluation of the stringency and design of renewable portfolio standards.”

The regulations, which require utilities to increase the percentage of energy they sell from renewable sources by a specified amount and date, have been adopted in varying forms by about 30 states. For example, New York requires 50 percent of all electricity sold in 2050 to come from solar.

“As the federal government moves away from climate mitigation policy, including abandoning the Paris Agreement, the role of state-level policy tools such as RPS take on increasing importance,” said Sanya Carley, an associate professor in the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

Most states have adopted such standards, except those in the Southeast and parts of the Great Plains and Interior West, where fossil fuel prices are low. Nevada and Massachusetts were the first to adopt a renewable portfolio standard in the 1990s, and Hawaii’s is considered the most stringent, a pivotal measuring stick.

Renewable mandates drive renewable energy development across the U.S., the researchers found. The design of the policy, however, is of fundamental importance. These are key findings:

When designing a renewable mandate, stringency is critical. The stronger the mandate, the more renewables a state develops.
Other important design features include frequent planning processes and regulations that are mandatory rather than voluntary.
States that allow utilities to count non-renewable energy, such as “clean coal” or other fossil fuels, to satisfy renewable mandates will develop significantly less renewables, particularly less solar energy.
In addition to the renewable portfolio standards, having a conducive economic climate and good resources (e.g., strong winds as in Iowa or abundant sun as in Arizona) is especially important.

Carley said teaming up with researchers from three universities gave the project unique and unusual depth, including through its quantitative analysis and the use of structured expert interviews. The team developed a unique score to measure the stringency of renewable portfolio standard policies, then reaffirmed their findings by interviewing experts from government agencies, including public utility commissions and state energy offices, and renewable energy firms and associations.

“Policymakers face tough trade-offs when designing their RPS policies, such as whether to force in-state renewable energy for local economic development purposes, or to purchase renewables from other states at a potentially lower cost,” said Davies of the University of Utah. “Our research also shows just how critical state energy laws are today, particularly as the Trump administration alters the national energy policy landscape. States are where the action is. They are driving the future of our electric grid.”

Solar

No, Wyoming Isn't Looking to Ban Electric Vehicles...Yet

Tabled Until 2024

Electric Outlook

Renewable Standards Help Drive Energy and Economic Development