Testimony on EV Credits to EPA & DOT

At the EPA/NHTSA public hearing held Oct. 23, 2009 regarding the proposed rulemaking to establish light duty vehicle GHG emissions standards and CAFÉ standards, Shruti Vaidyanathan of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy testified that the proposed advanced technology incentives should be eliminated or strictly limited.  ACEEE testified that while they supported the tax credits for hybrids and PHEVs as well as the $2.4 billion allocated by the 2009 ARRA for electric vehicle programs, they say that the extra credit for advanced technology vehicles proposed by EPA will undermine efficiency improvement in the remainder of the fleet and invite unintended consequences.  According to ACEE, should EPA include the advanced technology credits in the final rule, they recommend that they be limited to a factor of 1.2 and that no consideration be given to an extension beyond 2016.