It will work just fine, because ... magic
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the eco-doctor will see you now
Who will buy all these cars. when in most of the state there is no place to charge them? There are 460 electric vehicle charging stations in Maine, almost all Level 2 (3-10 hr charging times), and the bulk of them are clustered behind the TESLA Line in southern Maine.
That might be sufficient for the current, so to speak, 6% of new EV sales, because those buyers are rich, and live in $1 million+ single family homes in York county, where a permanent, $7,500 (plus a new, robust electrical service, $1,500-$7,000) charger is no hardship. For apartment dwellers and renters, it’s a problem because of both unavailability and expense. That’s not much of a concern to our betters because, as I read one green “planner” state, “only 10% of the population should be driving cars”. Ordinary peasants may disagree.
And where will this mandated 36% increase in the buyer pool come from in the next two years, let alone the 76% increase , required for the 2032 model year (which starts in the summer of the year before — 7 years from now)? The early adopters have already added an electric car to their fleet — almost always, they’re second cars, used for driving to the local Whole Foods and Starbucks emporiums, with a weekend jaunt to the local famers markets to pick up organic tomahtoes @$2.50 apiece thrown in for an extra dollop of virtue signalling.
How practical will these vehicles be in Maine, which is a state so large that the rest of New England would fit comfortably within its borders, and winters are known to be chilly? Here’s the reliably-(far) Left, pro-green Maine Public Radio’s own reporter’s experience.
Deputy News Director Susan Sharon drove Maine Public's electric vehicle, a Nissan Leaf we've nicknamed Pearl, on a trip from Lewiston to Rangeley in February, but she ran into problems. First was the low temperatures that day, which can deplete EV batteries as much as 40%.
"So here's the situation," Susan said on a phone call from the road. "It's very cold out. It's between one and minus seven degrees, and I've made it to Farmington on my way to Rangeley. But the car is down to 68%."
Susan tried to charge Pearl in Farmington, but couldn't because of technical difficulties. And then an accident scene forced her to take a detour, which added too many miles.
"I have to cancel my plans for the day and try again on another day," she said in a follow-up call.
This is the drawback to EVs right now. There are more than 265 public charging stations in Maine, but most are in the southern part of the state. So doing a longer road trip north can feel risky.
"People really do have range anxiety," says Joyce Taylor, chief engineer at the Maine Department of Transportation. "And they want to know, you know, 'Even though I drive 95% of my miles in Cumberland County, occasionally I go see my aunt in Machias. And I really need to know I can get to Machias and back in my electric vehicle.'"
What is this going to do to car dealers and their employees? Dealers sold 52,640 new cars in 2022, 3,106 of which were coal-powered battery cars. Will they be able to increase those EV sales to 22,635 in the next 3 1/2 years and to 43,165 in 8 years, or will they have to resort to peddling used cars only? Perhaps they can start importing 1950s cars from Cuba.
None of these difficulties and impossible demands trouble the Left in the least, because feelings are facts in their dreamed-of, perfect socialist world, and hard science and math are merely constructs of white supremacy and structural racism.
Vote accordingly.
