Check your answers below to see how much you know about this climate solution.
1. How much will electric trucks reduce climate pollution, as compared to fossil fuel-powered vehicles?
c. 44% to 79%
Electric trucks emit dramatically less greenhouse gas emissions than fossil-fuel powered cars and trucks and will reduce pollution as soon as they are deployed.
Further, electric vehicles are highly efficient, meaning that the same electric truck or bus will contribute less and less greenhouses gas emissions as the grid gets cleaner, while their fossil fuel counterparts are stuck with their existing low efficiencies.
2. What percentage of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles operate less than 200 miles, a distance that most vehicles can travel without needing to recharge, each day?
c. 87%
According to research from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 87% of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles operate less than 200 miles per day. That range is easily accessible with current battery technology and means that most trucks won’t need to charge much during their shift but can recharge while they are parked at their home base.
Electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are already able to meet most business needs – and will only become more useful. Battery and fuel cell technology is rapidly improving. Longer-range options will soon be available for the small percentage of vehicles that do travel more than 200 miles a day. Importantly, this rule can help drive innovation and technology development by manufacturers, particularly for longer-range travel needs.
3. When a state adopts a clean truck standard, the following group must act:
b. Truck manufacturers
The ACT rule, such as that recently adopted by Colorado, would require manufacturers of trucks, buses, and vans to ensure that a certain percentage of their new sales are zero-emission vehicles. These percentages will slowly ramp up over time, depending on when the state adopts the rule. The exact percentages of zero-emission vehicles are different for each weight class. This way, manufacturers have time and flexibility to sell the best zero-emission vehicles, and purchasers have a thriving market with a variety of affordable models of clean trucks and buses.
Truck owners would have no new obligations under the ACT rule. In fact, the rule would increase the range of choices available for those who purchase new trucks. As more affordable options for electric vehicles come onto the market because of the rule, consumers will see that it’s cheaper today to own and operate an electric van, bus, or truck than a diesel version over its lifetime.
Congratulations! You now have the facts about zero-emission trucks and ACT standards!
To learn even more about how the ACT could be implemented in Colorado, visit WRA’s blog today.
