Congress finally agrees on electric bike bill – but not the one everyone wanted
Republicans and Democrats rarely agree on anything in the highly divided US House of Representatives. But one thing they have agreed on – unanimously this time – is electric bikes. Just not in the way we all hoped.
The last electric bike bill to hit the floor of the US House of Representatives was the EBIKE Act, which sought to create a federal tax incentive for e-bike purchases. The concept was similar to the tax credits already available for buying electric cars, except that instead of helping people with disposable income save more money on massive city-clogging vehicles, the EBIKE Act was designed to help lower-income Americans afford smaller, lighter, and more energy-efficient electric bicycles.
The bill received widespread support among Democrats but ultimately failed to secure Republican backing, leaving it out of the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.
But now e-bikes are getting new attention in Congress, this time due to fire scares.
A new bill pending in the House of Representatives seeks to give the Consumer Prodouct Safety Commission an explicit directive to create federal standards for the construction and importation of electric bike batteries. And this time it seems both aisles are finally in agreement on e-bikes.
The importance of the issue has arisen partly due to an actual increase in e-bike fires, but also largely due to a media frenzy that has blown the issue out of proportion. While e-bike fires do occur in the US, they represent one of the lowest risks of all forms of transportation. Many more cyclists are killed by cars than people who are killed by e-bike batteries occasionally catching fire.
As we’ve pointed out before, despite NYC being seen as the epicenter of e-bike fire deaths, New Yorkers are 5x more likely to die on the subway than from an e-bike fire.
But why let a little logic and proportion ruin a rare chance for bipartisanship in divided Washington? In this case, the bill giving the CPSC a directive to mandate e-bike batteries has already passed in its subcommittee and regular committee, each time with unanimous support from Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
Its next step, and the hardest yet, will see it need to be passed by the entire House of Representatives.
If passed in the House, the bill would still be far from becoming law. It would then have to pass the Senate – which is perhaps even more divided than the house. If any changes or amendments are made, the bill would have to return to the House to be passed again in its updated form. Then, if finally approved by both sides of Congress, it would head to President Biden to be signed into law.
Electrek’s Take
I think this is good news, don’t get me wrong. I’m just a little cynical. When we want to help people get more access to e-bikes, it’s only Democrats on board. When we want to put restrictions, suddenly everyone is game.
Again, this is a good idea and we should find ways to make e-bike batteries safer. But jeez, folks. Let’s see if we can’t find a way to build on this bipartisan momentum to actually get more e-bikes out there replacing cars – the real killers.
via: thecity.nyc
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Wind turbines operate at a wind farm near solar panels on March 6, 2024 near Palm Springs, California.
Mario Tama | Getty Images
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his administration will not approve solar or wind power projects, even as electricity demand is outpacing the supply in some parts of the U.S.
“We will not approve wind or farmer destroying Solar,” Trump, who has complained in the past that solar takes up too much land, posted on Truth Social. “The days of stupidity are over in the USA!!!”
The president’s comment comes after the administration tightened federal permitting for renewables last month. The permitting process is now centralized in Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s office.
Renewable companies fear that projects will no longer receive permits that were once normal course of business. The president’s comments Wednesday will likely heighten those concerns.
Trump blamed renewables for rising electricity prices in the U.S. Prices have risen on the nation’s largest grid, PJM Interconnection, as rapidly growing demand from data centers and other industries faces a tight power supply as resources such as coal plants are retired.
PJM Interconnection saw prices for new power capacity rise 22% compared to last year in an auction held last month. PJM covers 13 states across the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest and South.
But solar and battery storage are the power sources that can ease the supply-and-demand gap the quickest, as they make up an overwhelming majority of the projects in line to connect to the grid, according to data from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Trump has launched a sweeping attack on renewables since taking office. His One Big Beautiful Bill Act terminates the investment and production tax credits for wind and solar by the end of 2027. Those credits have played a key role in the expansion of renewable energy in the U.S.
The president’s steel and copper tariffs have also increased the costs of solar and wind projects, renewable companies say.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday ended its support for solar on farmland.
The new electric SUV officially went on sale in the UK on Tuesday. BYD revealed Atto 2 prices will start from £30,850, undercutting much of the competition.
BYD Atto 2 prices and range in the UK
After introducing the Atto 2 at the Brussels Motor Show in January, BYD said it’s “opening a new chapter in green travel” in Europe.
The compact electric SUV will fill the gap in BYD’s lineup between the Dolphin and its larger Atto 3 SUV. It went on sale in China last year and is now available in Europe and the UK.
BYD announced Atto 2 prices start at £30,850 ($41,500) on-the-road (OTR). It’s available in two trims: Boost and Comfort. Upgrading to the more premium Comfort model will cost you £34,950 ($47,000).
The base Boost models are powered by a 51.1 kWh BYD Blade battery, offering a range of up to 214 miles. In the city, BYD said the Atto 2 can drive up to 302 miles on a single charge. Comfort models are equipped with a larger 64.8 kWh battery, delivering up to 261 miles of range.
With a 155 kW DC fast charger, BYD said the electric SUV can recharge from 30% to 80% in as little as 21 minutes.
All Atto 2 models come with a 12.8″ floating touchscreen, wireless smartphone charger, and “Hi BYD” AI voice control. With vehicle-to-load (V2L) capabilities, BYD said the electric SUV can power up a coffee maker or lawnmower.
With prices starting at just £30,850, BYD undercuts rival models, including the Hyundai Kona Electric (£34,995). However, according to Autocar, BYD is not necessarily targeting Hyundai. It’s aiming for more premium models, such as the Volvo EX30, which starts at £33,060.
| BYD Atto 2 trim | Range (combined) | Starting Price (OTR) |
| Comfort | 214 miles | £30,850 ($41,500) |
| Boost | 261 miles | £34,950 ($47,000) |
Measuring 4,310 mm long, 1,830 mm wide, and 1,675 mm tall, the Atto 2 is about the same size as the Volvo EX30. However, BYD’s e-Platform 3.0 enables more interior space with an extended wheelbase.
The Boost trim is available to order now, while the Comfort model will arrive later this year. BYD will begin deliveries in September.
The Atto 2’s arrival in the UK comes after BYD launched it in Hong Kong earlier this month, undercutting Tesla’s cheapest vehicle by about 30%.
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Thousands of Britons have voiced opposition to a request by Tesla to supply electricity to British homes.
And what’s the sole reason for this opposition? It’s because of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
Last month, Tesla applied for a license to supply electricity to British homes. The application was sent to Ofgem, UK’s government energy regulator.
In addition to Tesla’s business selling EVs, and its CEO’s business making promises about autonomy and robots that never materialize, Tesla is also in the business of selling energy products.
The energy products include solar panels, after Tesla’s controversial acquisition of SolarCity, a company run by Musk’s cousin Lyndon Rive, in 2016. They also include Powerwalls, Tesla’s home battery backup system which can store energy from a home’s solar panels or from the grid, and then use it or sell it back to the grid later during peak hours when electricity is most expensive.
But even more interestingly, Powerwalls can be hooked into a network, called a Virtual Power Plant or VPP, which allows thousands of batteries to simultaneously push energy to the grid when the grid needs it. This can help to end power outages and can also make a significant amount of money for homeowners who participate.
A VPP can also help with overall grid stability. While a single battery doesn’t do much to help the entire grid, thousands of batteries all together can help to shave peaks and shift loads grid-wide, helping to enable the transition to renewable forms of energy generation like wind and solar, which can be intermittent due to weather, clouds, gusts of wind and so on.
And the UK is doing quite well at renewable adoption – the island which started the industrial revolution because it’s literally built on a bed of coal just shut down its last coal plant last year. Clean electricity growth is strong, with over half of its electricity coming from renewables sources last year.
And it has set even more ambitious goals going forward, targeting an 81% emissions cut by 2035.
So, a VPP might be useful in a country with so much wind and solar.
While Tesla’s application does not specify details of its plans (In accordance with UK law), it seems likely that the purpose behind the application would be to set up a VPP system in the UK. Tesla already runs VPPs in Texas and California.
So, all sounds good, right? This is a useful product, and it can help the UK confront a challenge it will need to face as it transitions to a cleaner grid. And, at a time when electricity prices are going up worldwide, more competition and flexibility in energy markets can only be a good thing.
The only problem? Everyone hates Elon Musk. A lot.
As it turns out, Ofgem has been swamped with thousands of comments opposing Tesla’s plan, as a result of a campaign that says Musk shouldn’t be allowed to get anywhere near UK’s electricity supply.
The campaign was launched by the group Best for Britain, which bills itself as “the researchers, data scientists, strategists, and activists, fixing the problems Britain faces after Brexit.”
It set up an action campaign allowing Brits to send a letter to Ofgem stating their opposition to Tesla’s plan.
The letter argues that Musk has proven, through his recent political activity, that he is not interested in the general wellbeing of the populace, but rather in “enriching himself”pushing his own agenda.” It accuses him of “dangerous incompetence or wilful neglect,” and says that these should be “disqualifying qualities for entrance into our energy markets.”
For background, while Musk claimed to be working to reduce US government waste (when he actually increased the deficit), he in fact spent that time advising the US to defund entities investigating his unlawful actions.
The letter also mentions the “rapid spread of misinformation, hatred and conspiracy theories in the UK and across the wider world” on twitter since Musk spent $44 billion to buy the company (that later dropped to a value closer to $15 billion – his recent purchase of it from himself notwithstanding). After Musk purchased the platform, hate speech has flourished there.
None of the points made by the letter focus on Tesla’s business as a whole, but rather solely on its CEO’s harmful actions.
As of yesterday, Best for Britain says 8,462 people had used it to contact Ofgem to voice their opposition to the plan. Public comment remains open until Friday, August 22.
Musk’s actions continue to harm Tesla’s business
This is not the first time Tesla has received local opposition for business deals due to Musk’s poor public persona. In May, Australians voiced opposition to a plan to build a battery factory and Tesla showroom, ~95% of which opposed the plan (with some choice Australian language appearing in the public comments).
And just yesterday, the Austin American-Statesman reported opposition to Tesla’s tax breaks from residents of the county where its Texas Gigafactory is located.
Separately, Musk has received pushback in the UK and elsewhere for his support for extreme rightwing and racist political figures, both in the US where he gave hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes to a treasonous felon who tried to overthrow the US government, and in the UK where he has given both rhetorical and monetary support for a violent racist fraudster who has been imprisoned multiple times.
His unambiguous Nazi salutes, agreeing with a defense of Hitler’s actions in the Holocaust, support for German neo-Nazis, and many other white supremacist statements didn’t help, either.
Beyond his association with racist politics, he has also directly spread misinformation about climate change himself, despite this being a contradiction of Tesla’s mission. Musk has even said that his own recent actions are “not good for America or the world.”
The result of these actions has been to drive protests against the company, embarrass owners and destroy Tesla’s brand reputation.
In the UK specifically, Tesla sales have fallen by 60% year-over-year, according to the most recent July numbers. Tesla sales show similar trends in most territories in which the company sells, with Tesla sales down globally despite a rising global EV market.
Nevertheless, despite Elon Musk demonstrably being the problem with Tesla right now, his friends and family on Tesla’s board recently gave him a ~$29 billion payout, claiming that it would “energize and focus” the company’s bad CEO.
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