Paris officials savage planned 2024 Olympics air taxi introduction
The planned global introduction of air taxi services next year during the Paris Summer Olympics already risks being grounded, after city authorities from across party lines joined up this week to lavishly dump on what elsewhere in France and the world has been the tech’s much-ballyhooed debut.
National and regional officials in France have been bustling to complete aerial and ground infrastructure preparations in time to roll out the world’s first air taxi operations next summer, when all eyes will already be on the Paris-hosted Summer Olympic Games. But elected officials used municipal meetings this week to vent their long-simmering anger at the push to get next generation aircraft into the city’s skies – and, if possible, keep it from happening altogether.
One of those numerous critics, Dan Lert, derided what has generally been hailed as the sustainable, emissions-free, affordable future of public transportation as “a useless, polluting gadget (to be) reserved for the ultra-privileged.”
And he’s an Ecologist.
Lert, meanwhile, was joined by a large majority of officials from across the political spectrum who spoke at the regularly held Council of Paris meeting to blast away at the Volocopter air taxis scheduled to operate around and over city during and after the Summer Olympics.
The reasons for the shared opposition were diverse. Officials to the left argued that air taxis – which are expected to cost at least €110 ($120) per ride – are being prepared as gifts to rich people wanting to avoid heavy Paris car traffic during the Olympics, and gain a few minutes by using what will be fairly short aerial routes.
Others said the additional noise created by the flights will ruin the steadily eroding quality of life of Parisians, and create safety risk of still developing air taxi tech dropping from what (they continued) were already crowded city skies.
“To save few minutes for a handful of affluent people ignorant and disdaining of the global warming emergency, we’d be polluting the atmosphere, destroying the sonar environment,” warned Socialist Party official Florian Sitbon.
Conservative municipal counsellor Claire de Clermont-Tonnerre also leveled environmental criticism at the plan to operate air taxis both during the Olympics and through the end of 2024 – creating an estimated total of around 1,900 flights.
“The approximately 190 kWH consumption these flying machines consume per 100 kilometers is two to three times higher than an internal combustion engine car transporting a single passenger,” de Clermont-Tonnerre said – possibly disgusted that air taxis aren’t power by the same “clean” nuclear tech most of France is.
She also noted the introduction of air taxis in time for the Olympics follows Paris having only just moved to rid itself of the anarchy-creating rental e-scooters that residents had come to loathe.
“This is a new form (of transportation) we have absolutely no need of… just as we experienced with rental e-scooters,” she urged.
So are Paris air taxis already fini just seven months before they’re scheduled to begin operation?
Perhaps. Yet it’s worth noting a considerable portion of the bombast of Paris officials is rooted in the wider nation’s pronounced disgust of the national leadership. Its litany of aloof and heavy-handed actions includes having joined authorities running the capital’s wider region to force the air taxi plan through, with little real consultation. Politics, therefore, is a big motivator in the current aerial counter-offensive.
In addition to that, meanwhile, opponents are seeking to capitalize on a recent report by the independent Autorité environnementale française that aired serious reserves about air taxi services over central Paris. Detractors are also looking to influence opinions expressed in an ongoing public consultation about introducing the craft, which is set to wrap up December 8.
But given the enormous investment already sunk into the plan – and the windfall of pride and prestige to be had at being the first nation to initiate air taxis – it’s likely France’s government will either negotiate or (per its habit) steamroll its Olympics introduction of services into being, no matter the degree of opposition.
If so, the far more important broader question for the sector will become whether that political force-feeding – along with any potential down-sides created by electric aircraft operation – winds up sufficiently souring Paris and the rest of France on the emerging air taxi option, and thus delaying its veritable adoption for months or even years after the Olympic Games and its hoopla have packed up and gone.
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A former coal mine in western Maryland is now generating solar power – and it’s the largest solar farm in the state. Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) has brought Maryland’s largest solar project online in Garrett County, turning reclaimed coal mine land into a source of clean electricity.
CPV Renewable Power, an affiliate of CPV, and investment partner Harrison Street Asset Management have started commercial operations at CPV Backbone Solar, a 160-megawatt solar project in western Maryland. The site sits on a reclaimed, decommissioned coal mine, turning previously disturbed land into a new source of clean power.
Construction of the project was handled by Vanguard Energy Partners, a solar engineering, procurement, and construction firm.
The project comprises approximately 324,000 solar panels and is expected to generate enough electricity to power around 30,000 homes. For Maryland, it adds new in‑state generation while giving former fossil fuel land a second life.
CPV says that the project aims to demonstrate the role of brownfield redevelopment in the energy transition. The company’s CEO, Sherman Knight, said Backbone Solar shows “how brownfield redevelopment, innovative engineering, and strategic partnerships can meet complex project challenges and deliver new power generation in Maryland.”
Local officials have welcomed the project. Garrett County Board Chairman Paul Edwards said bringing the solar facility to the county helps protect the region’s natural landscape while also creating economic value for local residents.
CPV Backbone Solar also includes a community and environmental investment tied to the project. CPV has committed $100,000 over four years to the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation.
Backbone Solar becomes part of CPV’s growing renewable portfolio, which includes four operating wind and solar projects. The company also says it has a 4.8-gigawatt renewable development pipeline.
A second phase of the Backbone Solar project is already under construction. Once completed, it’s expected to increase the site’s total installed capacity from 160 MW to 175 MW.
Read more: Fast charge your EV while grabbing Royal Farms fried chicken
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Pennsylvania just opened its first federally funded EV charging station on the Pennsylvania Turnpike — a key step toward making long-distance EV travel easier across the state.
The new station just opened at the Blue Mountain Service Plaza at Exit 202 westbound. Another NEVI-funded site at the New Stanton Service Plaza (Exit 77 westbound) is expected to open next week, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
The chargers were built using funds from the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which is designed to install fast, reliable charging stations where drivers already stop — especially along busy highway corridors.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is one of the state’s most heavily traveled roads, particularly during holiday travel, making service plazas a natural location for en-route EV charging. This first Turnpike site marks the beginning of NEVI-funded charging directly on the state’s toll road.
The Blue Mountain and New Stanton locations are part of the Turnpike’s larger, systemwide EV charging rollout. Working with Applegreen Electric, the Turnpike plans to install 80 new universal EV charging stations across all 17 service plazas by the end of 2027.
In addition to the NEVI-funded sites, the Turnpike has already brought new chargers online at the North Somerset, South Somerset, and Hickory Run service plazas using funding from Pennsylvania’s Driving PA Forward program. Each location offers high-speed charging with four ports per site, and all chargers are designed to work with all EV models without the need for adapters.
The project was awarded under the first round of PennDOT’s NEVI Alternative Fuel Corridor program. The next phase of funding, known as Corridor Connections, is focused on filling in charging gaps along major roadways that fall outside previously designated alternative fuel corridors. The goal is to make longer EV trips across Pennsylvania easier and more predictable.
The announcement also comes as Pennsylvania continues to push back against federal attempts to block EV funding. The US Department of Transportation is currently withholding congressionally approved money that would have supported EV infrastructure projects and jobs in the state. Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA) sued the Trump administration over the move and, alongside 15 other states, successfully challenged an earlier attempt to derail the NEVI program. That legal fight helped keep projects like these Turnpike charging stations moving forward across the Commonwealth.
Electrek’s Take
This is precisely what the Biden administration’s NEVI program was meant to do: put fast, reliable charging stations where drivers already stop. Service plazas on major turnpikes are prime real estate for EV charging, particularly during holiday and long-distance travel. Pennsylvania’s rollout is still early days, but once chargers are live at all 17 plazas – assuming the federal funding spigot stays open – one of the Northeast’s busiest corridors is going to be a great place to road-trip in an EV.
Read more: PA Turnpike to add 80 new Applegreen DC fast chargers by 2027
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