Gasoline cars may soon become a thing of the past in New Jersey.
Gov. Phil Murphy said last week that starting in just over a decade, the state wants all new cars on sale to be fully electric.
The Democratic governor hopes it will help reach 100 percent clean energy across the Garden State in 12 years instead of 27 years and help address climate change as a statewide issue.
The latest announcement was part of the state’s new goals. Although Murphy did not sign an executive order, his administration said it is working with lawmakers this year to codify the goal into law.
It comes hot on the heels of California adopting its own EV 2035 rules.
But while plugging in to power yourself isn’t new in New Jersey, drivers here are likely full of questions: How much will it cost to switch to an electric vehicle? Do we have enough charging points in the state? what if i do not do it do you want to go electric?
We spoke with an expert, an advocate, as well as state and local officials, about whether this transition is feasible and what New Jersey needs to do to make it happen.
As of December 2022, there were 91,000 electric vehicles registered in New Jersey, said Caryn Shinske, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
That’s up from about 80,000 electric vehicles registered last June, but represents just 1.5 percent of the roughly 6 million vehicles registered statewide, according to figures provided by the DEP and the US Motor Vehicle Commission. the state.
“The (DEP) estimates that 4.5 million light-duty electric vehicles will need to be registered in New Jersey to reach 100 percent new electric vehicle sales by 2035,” Shinske said.
Aniruddh Mohan, a distinguished postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University’s Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, said getting electric vehicles on the road will come down to overcoming hurdles like infrastructure and affordability.
“Of course, there will be many more challenges ahead in terms of infrastructure, especially electric vehicle chargers,” Mohan said. “I think that’s really the biggest thing that needs to be addressed to get consumers to adopt it.”
No. Well, not yet.
New Jersey has 911 public EV charging points and 109 private locations, according to the US Department of Energy’s Alternative Fuels Database (which doesn’t count home charging ports). That compares to more than 16,000 in California, which is home to another 30 million people.
Among New Jersey’s 23 Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike service areas, eight currently have electric charging stations, and half of those locations currently only work if you own a Tesla.
Of the Atlantic City Expressway’s two service areas, one, the Frank S. Farley Service Plaza, has four “general purpose” electric vehicle fast-charging stations that went live last summer, according to a spokesman of the South Jersey Transportation Authority.
It’s important to note, Mohan said, that not all of these charging stations have “fast chargers.”
The US Department of Energy says fast chargers power electric vehicles up to 100 miles or more in as little as 30 minutes.
“The other problem with this is (New Jersey’s) fast chargers, 75 percent of those are actually Tesla superchargers, and Tesla’s network is mostly limited to Tesla vehicles,” Mohan said.
Then there’s welcome news that Tesla indicated last week that it will open up about 7,500 Tesla chargers (3,500 of which are “fast”) to all electric vehicles by the end of 2024.
New Jersey, as outlined in the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Plan, plans to have 400 fast chargers and 1,000 Level 2 chargers across New Jersey by 2025. Level 1 ports add 2-5 miles of autonomy per charge hour and level. 2 adds 10 to 30 miles per hour of charging, according to federal officials.
The plan also calls for fast chargers to be installed every 50 miles on major state corridors and every 25 miles between major highways. Where these figures are at this time is not clear.
Last March, Murphy also released guidelines to help municipalities prepare for more electric vehicles. The state has committed to installing 24 charging stations in six state parks and New Jersey forests.
In addition to installing more chargers, some EV drivers said in December that if it weren’t for the upfront costs, they could see more drivers making the switch.
According to automotive price advisor Kelley Blue Book, the average price of a new electric vehicle in August 2022 was more than $66,000. But that’s above the industry average and more in the realm of luxury pricing, Cox Automotive says. In the fall of 2021, the average price of an electric vehicle was about $56,000.
NAACP NJSC Environmental and Climate Justice President Marcus Sibley said many residents “have made it clear that even with the rebates, they still can’t afford an electric vehicle.”
Sibley himself, a supporter of clean energy alternatives, has wanted to go electric, but charger access and sticker prices have gotten in the way.
“We understand and appreciate the administration’s efforts to prioritize energy sources that do not simultaneously cause health implications for our most vulnerable residents,” Sibley said. “But we’ve also learned that sometimes urgency illuminates hypocrisy.”
Mohan said the issue of equity resurfaces when it comes to the lack of chargers in some areas of the state.
“So it’s easier if you live in a single-family home … you can install a slow charger for your vehicle in the garage. But, for example, if you live in an apartment complex, like a multi-unit home , then it becomes much more difficult. So we have to think about cargo access in this scenario,” said Mohan.
On average, the cost of installing an electric vehicle charging station at home can range from $250 to $4,500, depending on voltage and charger preference, according to used car retailer Carvana.
Mohan noted that with more automakers expanding their fleets to include electric vehicles and battery costs (“Batteries are the most expensive part of the electric vehicle”), the proposed switch will likely appeal to more residents. of New Jersey in the coming years.
An incentive program is also available for owners of multi-family homes.
Electric vehicle drivers have said that finding a charger on a road trip can come down to browsing through multiple apps.
At the federal level, the Biden Administration hopes to provide relief here by combining the 500,000 public electric vehicle chargers it looks to have installed across the country by 2030, with a centralized online hub for finding them. It’s unclear exactly what that will look like, but Mohan said a single app would make sense.
“The other problem I’ve run into is that a lot of times you go to a charging station and it’s actually not available, it’s not serviced, it’s not under maintenance or something like that,” Mohan said. “And it’s not actually in the app that it’s under maintenance or unavailable, so a lot of times electric vehicle chargers don’t work and you don’t know it beforehand.”
For now, it’s hard to say, one expert said.
“New Jersey is on the PJM interconnection, that’s the power system we’re on. So it depends on the PJM grid, whatever time of day you’re charging, and so on,” Mohan. added
That the state’s new EV target has been announced alongside updated clean energy targets for 2035 will only help. “So if you get 100% clean electricity and electric vehicles, then of course you’re eliminating all operational emissions compared to combustion engine vehicles,” Mohan said.
However, in the future many people may be charging simultaneously and choose to do so overnight, which should be taken into account when the state considers impacts on the grid, he said.
“The energy system is based on all aspects of our society. So making a transition like this is going to be complex by its nature … we’re putting in place the infrastructure that’s needed,” said Jane Cohen, executive director of the New Jersey Governor’s Office of Climate Action and Green Economy, Phil Murphy, during a conference call with reporters last week.
“For example, electric vehicle infrastructure,” he said, “we’ve made great strides in that, especially over the last 18 months, and we’ll continue to do so.”
If you don’t want to go electric because you already have a gas car (or prefer public transport), you don’t have to change your vehicle.
But the state hopes electric vehicles will be an attractive option for new buyers and anyone on the fence.
Murphy administration officials said in a statement that in addition to New Jersey not having a sales tax on electric vehicles, funds from other sources are expected to encourage more EV drivers to get on the road. electric vehicles and make their transition smoothly with more charging availability.
In addition to the up to $4,000 you can access through an ongoing incentive program, New Jersey residents can take advantage of up to $7,500 in federal Inflation Reduction Act tax credits.
Since 2019, the state has awarded more than $240 million for electric vehicles and more access to charging, said Bailey Lawrence, a spokeswoman for Murphy.
The first phase of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority’s Zero Emission Incentive Program, which launched in 2021, provided more than $39 million in vouchers for 370 zero-emission vehicles in Newark, Camden , New Brunswick and parts of the Jersey Shore.
State officials said another phase will open “in the coming weeks” for companies to receive between $20,000 and $175,000, depending on the class of vehicle.
California has something to do with it.
New Jersey has followed the zero-emissions path set by the Golden State since 2004 when it flagged plans to reduce gas emissions from new cars for sale.
Under the federal Clean Air Act, administrators in Murphy’s office said in a teleconference that New Jersey must follow zero-emission vehicle standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or the state of California.
The California Air Resources Board’s most recent rule affects only new-for-sale passenger and light trucks. Anyone driving a car with a combustion engine will not be arrested for doing so in 2035 and the new rule does not affect sales of used petrol cars.
New Jersey has yet to outline exactly what a law would look like here, but state officials said in a statement that it would apply to “all new cars and light truck sales to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035.”
More details and information about public forums where residents will have the opportunity to share their views on this proposed transition are expected before the end of this year.
Have a question about electric vehicles or charging stations in New Jersey that you want to ask? e-mail srodas@njadvancemedia.com.
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Steven Rodas can be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @stevenrodasnj.
