Electric Avenue

Washington state has big goal for electric vehicles ... but will we buy it?

Unlike a lot of goals and initiatives declared by environmental activists, a recently-announced effort to combat climate change in Washington state was buried in the fine print.

As the Seattle Times reported this week, deep within the 120-page, $17 billion transportation plan signed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee was a rather ambitious goal: No new gas-powered cars will be sold here by 2030.

Times reporter David Kroman noted this brief statement amid the long list of bridge, highway and ferry funding is a goal, not a mandate, but it represents the culmination of years of advocacy in the Washington state Legislature and is the most aggressive timeline and backing of electric vehicles in the country.

Upon hearing this news, the first thing I said was to my dog: “Molly, I have a feeling we’re not in Idaho anymore.” Indeed, flying monkeys and melting witches would happen in the Gem State before they would even consider anything close to this (as an aside, has anyone tried throwing a bucket of water onto Janice McGeachin?). Big pickup trucks with their gas-guzzling engines and belches of black exhaust are a big part of what makes North Idaho such a FREEDOM-loving place.

But leaving politics behind (thankfully), my next thought was sobering: Would I really consider buying an all-electric vehicle? While the environmental benefits are strong, there are also quite a few drawbacks that I doubt will be fully addressed in the next eight years. Let’s take a brief look at the pros and cons of AEVs.

Obviously, the major reason Washington state leaders (well, at least the west-side leaders) are pushing for the switch from gasoline to electric-powered vehicles are the reduced emissions. As in, driving an electric car with a rechargeable battery creates zero tailpipe emissions. When you consider the worsening air quality in major cities like Denver, Los Angeles and Phoenix, that’s a pretty big “plus.”

I was also pleasantly surprised to read about the efficiency and low cost of fueling (not purchasing) AEVs. According to an article at energysage.com, AEVs are far more efficient than conventional gas-powered vehicles. AEV batteries convert 59 to 62% of energy into vehicle movement while gas powered vehicles only convert between 17 and 21%. This means that charging an AEV’s battery puts more toward actually powering the vehicle than filling up at a gas pump.

And that efficient energy which powers an AEV is much cheaper than gasoline — especially in light of recent world events, which has seen gas prices jump into the $4-5/gallon range here in Central Washington. As energysage.com notes:

Improving battery technology in today's light-duty AEVs means they can drive 100 miles while consuming only 25 to 40 kilowatt-hours (kWh)  of electricity. Assuming that your electric car can travel three miles per kWh, the electric vehicle can travel about 43 miles for $1.00. By comparison, if we assume that gas costs $2.50 per gallon, an average gasoline vehicle with a fuel efficiency of 22 miles per gallon will only be able to travel 10 miles for the same price. The distance traveled for a fuel cost of $1.00 is nearly four times as far with an electric vehicle.

That all sounds great … assuming you can find charging stations for your AEV. They are becoming more frequent in urban areas, and you’ll even see a few in the wilds of Deep Red Country, such as Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. As electric vehicles slowly gain in popularity, more gas stations and other public facilities should have charging stations available. But we’ve got a long way to go: in 2021, a report on CNBC estimated that only 4% of new vehicle sales in the U.S. were of electric vehicles — and that included plug-in hybrids.

And that’s not even in my top three of “cons” for electric vehicles. They have a very limited range, have less power than gasoline engine vehicles, and are more expensive to purchase.

Let’s just consider one of those “negatives”: again according to energysage.com, most AEV models can go between 60 and 120 miles per charge, with some luxury models reaching ranges up to 300 miles.

I drive a 2012 Toyota Camry, and even with a 10-year-old vehicle, I get a fuel efficiency of about 30 miles per gallon, meaning I can go more than 450 miles on a full tank of gas. And believe me, I did not pay $56,347 for the Camry — the average price of an AEV in 2021, according to Kelley Blue Book.

So while it might sound great to “rock down to Electric Avenue” in 2030, there are some significant technical and financial issues to overcome before even this environmentally-minded consumer considers buying an all-electric vehicle. And to think that the general public can be convinced to abandon gas-powered cars and trucks in the next eight years is a rather high leap of faith.

But I suppose the first step to achieving a goal is setting one, and maybe improvements in AEV technology, increased public transportation options, worsening air quality and diminishing availability of oil will push us in a more environmentally-friendly direction.

And who knows, by 2030, maybe sipping a Starbucks or enjoying street tacos while waiting at the charging station will be the new social scene. I’ll bring the guitar and you bring the karaoke machine!