The Biden Administration has finalized new mileage standards for cars and light trucks that reflect the White House’s push toward electric battery vehicles and away from liquid fuels, including corn ethanol. The final Transportation Department standards require new passenger vehicles sold after 2027 to increase mileage gradually to more than 50 miles per gallon by 2031.
The new standard, ahead of a much-awaited Supreme Court decision on agency rulemaking powers, still favors EVs over gas-powered or flex-fuel and hybrid vehicles that can use corn ethanol.
A recent Senate Energy panel hearing was a flashpoint for the EV versus combustion engine debate. Wyoming Republican John Barrasso’s said, “No one believes that two-thirds of the cars sold in America in 2032 are going to be electric. The Biden Administration’s fixation on these electric cars amounts to wishful thinking on his part. But despite generous subsidies, the demand for electric cars is stagnating.”
Senator Barrasso’s attack drew this response from Energy panel Democrat and Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR); “The automakers are already making changes in the supply chain, making sure that we’re getting real improvement. We’re seeing build-out of charging stations.”
But Barrasso wasn’t buying it, despite the president’s push and potential strain on the nation’s power grid. “His efforts to force-feed Americans electric cars is going to cause greater instability, greater instability in our nation’s electric system,” according to Senator Barasso.
The American Farm Bureau, ethanol groups, an oil industry group, and several car dealers filed suit recently against the EPA over its tailpipe emissions rule, claiming it also limits any role for gas-ethanol blends.
Story by Matt Kaye, Berns Bureau; courtesy of NAFB News Service