(The Center Square) – In 2024, the transition to electric vehicles, clean energy, and power grid demand and reliability continued to challenge Pennsylvania lawmakers.
A partisan divide in the General Assembly stalled progress on several issues and it remains to be seen whether the incoming Trump administration’s policies will shift the state’s priorities.
While Pennsylvanians express concern about the environment, a recent poll shows their top priorities are energy affordability and reliability.
Electric Vehicles
Concerns over vehicle cost, range anxiety and limited charging infrastructure have led to slower-than-expected adoption rates, and Trump has prioritized “unleashing American energy” and reversing the Biden administration’s EV mandate.
The more than 63,000 EVs registered in the state are supported by 4,200 public plugs in over 1,600 locations. PennDOT recently announced the addition of two new federally funded EV charging stations in Lebanon and Butler Counties, using funds from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure program, as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, bringing the state’s total to five.
Robert Charette, author of The EV Transition Explained, told The Center Square that “2025 will pose severe strategic and financial uncertainty for every automaker, their suppliers, as well as everyone else in their EV supply chain.”
He said each must decide how much they continue to invest given what portends to be major policy shifts by the incoming administration.
A raft of mergers, buyouts, and bankruptcies throughout the EV supply chain – from original manufacturers to EV startups, component suppliers, battery makers and recyclers – should surprise no one, said Charette.
“It will be a year of survival,” he said.
He also notes it will be interesting to see whether manufacturers raise the price of internal combustion engine vehicles in an attempt to encourage the sale of EVs, especially in states with mandates.
“This is becoming the strategy of some auto manufacturers in Europe to meet EV sales targets,” Charette said.
Early this year, Mickey Anderson, owner of Baxter Auto Group based in Omaha Nebraska, spearheaded an effort that drew over 5,000 signatures from dealers across the country, calling on President Biden to ‘slam the brakes’ on the EV mandates and help them slow the influx of EVs on their lots.
Still, even with a new administration coming on board, he stressed two important takeaways.
States are still adopting California Air Resources Board rules to varying degrees, which are unrelated to the federal EPA mandate.
And, without federal and state incentives, Charette said, the number of EV sales would be dramatically lower.
New Electric Vehicle Fee
Legislation passed in July will impose a $200 fee on EV registrations in 2025 and incrementally increase to $286 in 2030.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Greg Rothman, R-Shippensburg, said the fee will help maintain Pennsylvania’s roads and bridges – some of the worst-rated in the nation – and shift some of the burden off the state’s gas tax.
The bill eliminates the alternative fuels tax on electricity for at-home charging, which netted the state nearly $778,000 in 2023. According to a fiscal note prepared by the House Appropriations Committee, the new electric vehicle fee will generate $16.1 million in 2025 and as much as $28.8 million by 2030.
EVs and Renters
Affordability and limited charging access, particularly for renters in multiunit dwellings, are barriers to adoption.
Also, homeowners are six times more likely to purchase EVs than renters, primarily due to the convenience of at-home charging. This creates a cycle where renters avoid owning EVs due to a lack of charging options, and property owners hesitate to make the investment because of low demand.
EV Batteries
An EV’s battery is its heart and soul, as the gas-powered engine is to traditional vehicles. Uncertainties about the longevity, warranty coverage, and resale value of EV batteries impact adoption rates as well.
According to Charette, consumers are purchasing EVs based on a lack of quantitative historical data and should be concerned not only about manufacturer warranties – as the cost to replace an EV battery can run in the thousands of dollars – but also, as the car ages, the cost of a new battery may exceed the vehicle’s value.
EV Battery Supply Chains and Recycling
Despite $3 billion in investments and ambitious EV market share goals, the U.S faces challenges in setting up the EV battery infrastructure, to include issues of profitability, manufacturing demand, standardization, domestic mining, and supply chain and skills gap shortages.
