Zach McDonald
A coalition of business interests yesterday called for the creation of two new government groups to facilitate efforts to get one million plug-in cars on the road by 2015. In a letter to president Barack Obama, the Electric Drive Transportation Association, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, and two other trade groups praised the White House for its efforts to promote EVs but said that “the critical, immediate next step for the Administration is to provide the necessary coordination of the growing federal, regional and private efforts.”
The National Electric Fuel Task Force would “provide a forum for public and private sector coordination, address challenges for large scale deployment of plug-in electric vehicles, and develop consumer awareness and education efforts.” The task force would be joined by a new Interagency Electric Drive Working Group, whose role it would be to bring together the various government agencies that will be responsible for regulating and incentivizing deployment.
The proposal came just one day before of the Promoting Electric Vehicles Act – which would provide an additional $6 billion in credits and incentives for EVs – was voted out of committee in the Senate. Supporters of the legislation are optimistic that they have the necessary support to get PEVA to the President’s desk, but if it becomes law, something resembling a task force would almost certainly need to be created for its implementation.
PEVA would establish a group of so-called “deployment communities,” which would act as the early hot zones for plug-in adoption. But choosing which cities will be targeted for funding – and making sure that it’s used wisely – is a task the legislation broadly passes to the desk of the Secretary of Energy. So if PEVA passes, expect to see some sort of new government panel, working group, task force or committee to arise soon after.