Mike Nichols was behind the wheel of his diesel-fueled big rig hauling a load across Wisconsin as he pondered doing his job with an all-electric semitruck.
“The fact of the matter is it wouldn’t work,” he told The Washington Times. “It’s not ready for prime time.”
Truckers nationwide are expressing similar misgivings about what they say is a logistical nightmare: the Biden administration’s rules to start making heavy-duty trucks go electric.
The industry warns that President Biden is being too hasty and that his plans could upend the transportation sector and send consumer prices soaring.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s policies, announced last week, are part of Mr. Biden’s climate change agenda. The rules require roughly 25% of new semitrucks or similar heavy-duty vehicles to be electric by 2032. The administration had imposed more stringent rules for passenger cars, requiring up to two-thirds of new models by 2032 to be all-electric or hybrid.
“Even if they gave me the truck and paid for all the changes that I’d have to make, I’d still refuse because it wouldn’t work,” Mr. Nichols said. “It’s wishful thinking on the part of the administration that they’re going to mandate manufacturers make these things. No one is going to buy them.”
Mr. Nichols pulls a pneumatic tank trailer, or a “silo on wheels,” that typically hauls flour, rice, wheat or other grains for trips of 200 to 1,000 miles throughout the Midwest. He can travel more than 1,000 miles on a single tank of diesel. Transferring product to and from his tanker also requires hours of fuel.
Driving the same route with an electric rig would likely mean a half-dozen charging stops spread out over several days versus a two-day trip with one tank of diesel.
“Anybody who drives a truck knows it’s not going to work,” Mr. Nichols said. “If the repercussions or consequences weren’t so serious, it would almost be a joke.”
The myriad roadblocks to an electric vehicle transition are exacerbated for truckers, who would face reduced range, more refueling time, a lack of available chargers, unreliable performance in extreme weather and lighter load capacities because of heavier vehicle weights. Industry leaders say these factors won’t be overcome in eight years, particularly with the higher costs of EVs.
The average long-haul, diesel-powered semitruck, which includes a sleeper cabin, was $160,000 in 2022. Its all-electric equivalent is $457,000, according to a Department of Energy report. Diesel-powered day cabs, without sleeper cabins, were $117,000. Its electric counterpart is $211,000.
The long-haul electric trucks had a maximum range of 500 miles. Diesel-fueled trucks can travel 1,000 to 2,000 miles on a single tank.
American Trucking Associations President and CEO Chris Spear said the mandate target dates are “entirely unachievable given the current state of zero-emission technology, the lack of charging infrastructure and restrictions on the power grid.”
Each long-hauler would need a designated spot to recharge overnight. Drivers already face a parking shortage to pull over for the night to sleep. Only one safe parking spot is available for every 11 trucks on the road, according to the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA), representing truckers like Mr. Nichols who own their rigs and haul for various clients.
“It’s very frustrating because a lot of this stuff that they’re demanding or they’re mandating for truckers to do is not out there,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh told The Times. “It’s not ready, and it’s not usable.”
Mr. Pugh said the administration did not consult his trade group before the EPA finalized the regulations. He accused officials of being more concerned about Mr. Biden’s green energy agenda than its real-world impacts.
“It seems to me that the only people they’re interested in talking to or listening to are extreme environmental activists,” Mr. Pugh said.
White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi did not respond to a request for comment.
The EPA told The Times in a statement that it considered the factors that truckers highlighted before finalizing its rule and that the agency “received extensive input” from industry representatives.
“The engagement with the trucking industry included meeting with OOIDA, public testimony from OOIDA and written comments provided by OOIDA,” an EPA spokesperson said.
OOIDA insisted that the EPA had not contacted the organization about the new regulations. The group told The Times that the federal agency hadn’t spoken with it since 2018, during the Trump administration.
EPA said it will “actively engage and monitor the progress being made” by the trucking industry that will “help inform the EPA regarding whether any potential adjustments to the Phase 3 program are warranted.”
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan, speaking with reporters last week, downplayed industry concerns.
“There’s a list of options that truck driver owners and operators can choose from that give the customers the choice opportunities, while we do not sacrifice the very stringent environmental goal that we have set,” he said.
Wayne Winegarden, a senior fellow in business and economics at the Pacific Research Institute think tank, criticized the administration’s “disingenuous” logic as an “illusion that if we build it, they’ll come.” He predicted that consumers will face an inflation gut punch similar to the supply chain disruptions in the early years of the pandemic once the EPA standards begin to phase in in 2027.
“What would have to happen is the price of diesel vehicles will have to rise enough so that enough people would be willing to forgo the diesel vehicle and purchase the electric one,” Mr. Winegarden said. “You’re creating a huge artificial shortage of trucks, and the [pandemic] lockdowns are a great case study for what happens when trucks can’t deliver the goods.”
The EPA’s rules allow various zero-emission vehicles to meet its goals, including hybrids, plug-in hybrid electrics, battery electrics and hydrogen fuel cells. It applies to delivery trucks, refuse haulers, public utility trucks, and transit, shuttle and school buses.
The Environmental Defense Fund estimates that fewer than 13,000 electric models are among the more than 12 million trucks on U.S. roads, ranging from delivery vans to tractor-trailers.
Concerned industry leaders say the administration should target trucks with local day routes that can easily return at night to recharge, such as those used by Amazon that go roughly 250 miles on a charge. Roughly half of truckers’ trips are more than 500 miles, and 25% are more than 1,000 miles, according to OOIDA.
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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