Key EV Development Measures Win Senate Panel Backing
By John O'Dell July 21, 2010
It's just the first step, and there's no guarantee the necessary second one will be taken, but a Senate panel has just given its approval to a proposed plug-in vehicles bill that would keep subsidies for EVs and PHEVs flowing and boost funding for vehicle electrification research, including creation of a $10 million prize for development of an EV battery with 500 miles of range.
The committee also approved a measure by Michigan Democrat Debbie Stabenow that would lift the $25 billion cap on the Energy Department's alternative fuels loan program.
Funding for any additional loan guarantees would have to come from future budgets, however. Stabenow's measure also would make commercial truck manufacturers eligible for the alt fuel development loans aimed mainly at promoting use of electric drive systems.
Both measures still need approval by the full Senate and then by the House and Senate. But Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) hasn't yet said whether he's willing to put any energy bills to a vote in what's left of this session.
The plug-in development bill (S 3442) by a bipartisan group led by Sen. Bob Dorgan (D-N.D.), created a bit of controversy when first introduced because it calls for establishment of a small number of "early adopter" communities - no more than 15 - that would get billions of tax dollars to fund incentives for plug-in vehicle buyers and to pay for battery charging infrastructure.
We opined at the time that it seemed to create a special class of EV communities at the expense of the rest of the country.
To answer concerns, Dorgan has since modified the bill to permit additional cities to qualify for funding after the program's first three years.
A House version of the Electric Vehicle Deployment Act of 2010, HR 5442, is still awaiting action in committee.
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