Saturday, October 15, 2011

EV Subsidies, Why We Need them

Some people complain about the current subsidies that EV's are getting, a $7500 Federal tax credit and some other incentives depending on where you live.  The argument is usually something similar to "Why should I help pay for someone's car, or to help promote a technology I don't agree with?"  On it's surface that seems to be a fair point, until you consider the fact that our tax money is often used for things that some individuals may not necessarily agree with.  The main reason EV's need subsidies is to compete on a level playing field with an established oil industry which still benefits from subsidies that artificially lower the cost of doing business and artificially lowers the cost we pay at the pump.  A recent article exposes the issue:

The IEA estimates that subsidies that artificially lower the cost of fossil fuels – and also impede development of renewables – hit $409 billion in 2010, an increase of nearly $110 billion over 2009 levels. The IEA says that the amount of total worldwide subsidies (assisting with production and consumption) on fossil fuels in 2010 will reach half a trillion dollars. What's even worse is that the IEA predicts that fossil fuel subsidies will soar to $660 billion in 2020.

Oil Subsidies Rise

I'm quite ready to end EV subsidies when the oil and gas industries do the same.

4 comments:

  1. said all

    oil causes war, terrorism, pollution, corruption, and all causes: deaths.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Saddam Hussein was attacked because he complained Kuwait was stealing his oil by slant drilling. ooops!

    Next time he was ended because he wanted his oil paid for in Euro's. ooops!

    The US/Taliban talks to allow the gas and oil pipes from Russian South were told accept it and you get a carpet of gold. Refuse it and you get a carpet of bombs.. ooops!

    The Iranian leader said the world buys oil with useless bits of paper. Be careful!

    Gadaffi told the world he wanted his oil paid for in gold..... Big ooops!

    Each time untold thousands die.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think that subsidies are justified for reasonably priced electric vehicles (hybrid and pure EV) to encourage those that might not otherwise buy them. However, this subsidy should phase out as the vehicle price increases and can still be afforded by those that buy such high end vehicles for prestige and fashion rather than need. People who expect to pay $80K+ for a souped up Tesla Model S are not detracted by its price. Same goes for other such vehicles.
    Zelaza

    ReplyDelete
  4. I agree and I'm actually working on another blog post that says just that. Even so I'm still more comfortable subsidizing expensive EV's over many other subsidies, such as ethanol and oil.

    ReplyDelete