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White House seeks to end subsidies for electric cars, renewables

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by Roy2001, Dec 5, 2018.

  1. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    This is a broad statement that does not apply to everyone.

    I think it's more the resale value drops because of what a new car costs with the subsidies. If you bought the car with subsidies, and sell it when they are gone, its value will be higher than when selling it with them in effect.
     
    fuzzy1 and bisco like this.
  2. Bob Comer

    Bob Comer Active Member

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    I'd have still bought my prime, even without the $4500 tax rebate. It's true some wont, but it wont kill the plugin market! Us guys with either a long commute or range anxiety, yet want an efficient PHEV, will still buy the Prime.. It was going to go away anyway eventually.
     
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  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    and gals!
     
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  4. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Plug ins will still have their boost for CAFE, which will make them valuable to many manufacturers, even without the direct subsidies.
     
  5. Bob Comer

    Bob Comer Active Member

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    Of course. I tend to use "guys" as just people and I probably shouldn't!
     
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  6. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    With Trump admn. it is hard to figure out if this announcement is posturing (due to being pissed at GM for job layoffs) or true belief system (which as Bernie Sanders points out, Trump does not really seem to have any belief system).

    I recently saw an article saying LED lighting, when maximized, could reduce USA electric consumption 40% by 2030, which is staggering and somewhat hard to believe. But it implies utilities will be "politely asking" (or to be more honest, strongly lobbying) for switching to a electric vehicles to the extent possible to mainatin their income basis. Also GM is supporting that, GM seems to be abandoning ICE cars to Japan/Korea, and asking for USA mandates for BEV which would give GM a captive domestic market and a leg up on Toyota, Honda, etc. who are not so interested in BEV.

    So I suspect Trump is barking up the wrong side of history. Dems want to expand plug-in subsidies and mandates, so there is that too.

    Not that I agree with that, but I see it analogous to ethanol and suspect eventually Congress will make rules to enforce use of plug-ins like they did for ethanol blends.

    One thing seems clear to me, it is not sustainable for our Country to have California unilaterally setting auto plug-in sales mandates. So it's just gotta be one way or the other. If you can't beat 'em (Ca.) then we gotta join 'em. And as I say, I think the Electrification Coalition is a very strong lobby in favor of mandating plug-ins nationwide.
     
    #26 wjtracy, Dec 6, 2018
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2018
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'm just teasing:)
     
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  8. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    I should have said "plug-in hybrid", sorry. I meant to differentiate plug-in hybrids (still having an engine) and pure-electric vehicles.
     
  9. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    This is where it is nice to be served by a public utility, not an investor owned utility. The public ones don't need to aim for an ever increasing profit stream for shareholders.

    But apparently only about 15% of U.S. consumers are served by public electric service.
     
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  10. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    I'd like to try that approach...what I am used to in NJ and Va. is the state gov't feels like the utility sector is part of the gov't and part of the knob they can turn to flex the economy. Right now here there much interest in certain quarters for getting an offshore wind industry going, thinking the state and the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area can get a lot of jobs out of it. In prior years in NJ, it was coal-fired power plants being pushed by the state. So the state is always pushing some poltical agenda. And the utilites are highly supportive because we as rate payers pay the construction cost, and guarantee a hefty profit margin. So the more expensive the project, the better it is for the utilities and the share holders.

    We do have the internet Cloud here, all around Dulles airport region is where the cloud sits. And that takes quite a bit electric power. A whole different population profile out there with all the cloud engineers.
     
    #30 wjtracy, Dec 6, 2018
    Last edited: Dec 6, 2018
  11. huskers

    huskers Senior Member

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    So renewables also means solar and wind?
     
  12. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Don't be so sure.
    If you don't like the rules.......change them.
    Witness what they are trying to do in Wisconsin.
     
  13. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    There is no shortage of political agendas in driving policies at public utilities either.

    E.g. Seattle government is very left progressive, and the mayor and city clowncil are also the drivers of policy at Seattle City Light, which also provides electricity to neighboring cities that can't vote for Seattle offices. Sometimes this works well, such as becoming the nation's first big utility to reach net-zero carbon emissions. (Not truly carbon free, but the 2% from coal and natural gas is low enough to easily buy carbon offsets.)

    But other times it backfires, such as when it sold its share of the state's largest coal plant a couple decades ago, just in time to be caught short of generating capacity when the Enron-manufactured energy crisis hit the entire West Coast (not just California). Then during the crisis, they locked in some overpriced supply contracts that put an end to its cheap power rates.
     
  14. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Yep.

    That is taking more than one branch of the government.