Sask. prof says province should be able to build charging infrastructure in time for feds' 2035 EV mandate
Feds announced Tuesday that all new vehicles sold must be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2035
A Saskatchewan environmental historian says he believes Saskatchewan should be able to develop enough infrastructure to be able to comply with new federal rules requiring all new vehicles to be electric or plug-in hybrid by 2035.
Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault unveiled the new rules at a news conference in Toronto on Tuesday. They mandate that electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles must make up 20 per cent of sales by 2025, 60 per cent by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035.
Jim Clifford, an electric vehicle owner and environmental historian at the University of Saskatchewan, said he has already seen an increase in charging infrastructure in the province.
"Things have changed a lot in the last month. Tesla and Flow Power have installed superchargers in Yorkton and in Kindersley, so that really opens up most of the province," Clifford said.
He said driving from Saskatchewan to farther destinations like B.C. or even San Francisco is now possible without any detours.
In response to an interview request, the Saskatchewan government offered a statement saying that laws about the manufacturing and sale of products fall under provincial jurisdiction.
"The proposed federal regulations will impact the sale of vehicles by local dealerships to local people in local markets, which is considered a matter of intra-provincial trade. The fact that vehicles may be manufactured elsewhere does not detract from this exclusive provincial jurisdiction."
The province said it estimates that the new regulations will cost Saskatchewan $10.3 billion from 2023 to 2035. This number comes from a 2022 report the province prepared looking at the potential cost of federal environmental initiatives.
The report says the figure is based on:
- The cost to consumers to purchase of ZEV at an average premium of $18,500 per vehicle.
- Installation of charging infrastructure in homes.
- Investment in support infrastructure for charging stations.
- Investment in electricity grid reinforcement per expansion to meet new distribution demand.
Purchase incentives in provinces like B.C. and Quebec have helped the transition to electric vehicles. But no such incentives exist in Saskatchewan. In fact, SGI charges EV drivers a $150 annual fee for road improvement.
'Fantastic in winter': Clifford
Clifford said misinformation about EVs continues to be a problem on social media.
"There's a sense out there that they just don't work in the winter. I've been driving an EV, along with lots of people here in Saskatchewan. It gets very cold. They're actually fantastic in the winter because they heat up much quicker than a gas car, almost instantaneously."
He said there are also some misconceptions about batteries.
"The warranties are very long on the batteries and there are a lot of people driving Teslas that are at the 200,000 or even 400,000-kilometre mark."
Clifford acknowledged that it's not easy to find an affordable electric vehicle in these days of inflation.
"There just isn't a vehicle like the Toyota Corolla, the relatively inexpensive car that many people rely on that you can buy used and drive for a long, long time," he said.
He said Saskatchewan could also see challenges with towing, particularly in the farming community where big pieces of equipment need to be towed over long distances. He said there aren't enough electric trucks in the market.
Clifford he expects people will transition to electric cars over the next 20 years.
EVs growing in popularity: Stats Can
Data from Statistics Canada shows a growing demand for electric vehicles.
This year, one in eight new vehicles sold in Canada was electric or plug-in hybrid, according to Stats Canada.
Ashley Staruil, a sales consultant at Regina Electric Vehicles (REV), agreed that more people are looking for EVs.
"Over the last year, we've definitely seen the demand grow in electric vehicles," she said. "This whole business was started on the terms of demand actually growing for electric vehicles."
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