Governor Kathy Hochul in 2021, in a rush to emulate the Green New Deal policies of California, enacted the Advanced Clean Truck Act (ACT) requiring the transition statewide to zero emission trucks that mirrored California’s legislation of the same name.
ACT, part of the Larger Green New Deal of NY, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), phases in the sales and use of zero-emission trucks. The sales requirement begins in 2025 and increases annually with sales requirements through model year 2035.
The trouble is there is no way to reliably and regularly charge these vehicles and for many types of trucks there is no electric equivalent. The New Yorks State Thruway Authority admitted there are no ZEV charging stations on the Thruway.
Kendra Hems, President Trucking Association of New York (TANY) said, “Forcing a mandate on an industry before the support for that mandate exists is a recipe for disaster. We are asking the state to follow through and do what they promised when the ACT was passed – develop a charging infrastructure and reinforce the grid capabilities. To date, neither have been done.”
“There isn’t a single, publicly available on-highway charging station built for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in the entire state of New York. As a result, it is impossible for most trucking fleets to effectively transition to battery-electric vehicles. Further, trucking is a diverse industry with various different types of equipment, many of which do not have an electric equivalent,” Hems said.
TANY says that 96% of goods and services such as supermarket groceries are delivered by tractor trailers and the state pushing forward with all electric truck mandates with no charging plan in place is irresponsible at best. Dealers of these trucks say sales are slow, and for some they are zero – the main issue being range. One range test resulted in the electric truck having to be towed back to its station.
Hems said, “By failing to acknowledge this reality, we would force an essential industry into an untenable position that will have far-reaching consequences for consumers, businesses, and all the communities that need trucks to get the goods they need – from medication and food, to diapers, materials, and more.
TANY is clear that the state must take immediate action “to delay this unsupported mandate to protect consumers, businesses, and our economic viability.”
To that end, legislation has been introduced in the NYS Assembly and Senate that would delay implementation of the ACT. The bills (S5931/A6359) if passed would postpone the implementation and enforcement of the advanced clean trucks regulations by the Department of Environmental Conservation. The requirement for manufacturers of medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks to sell an increasing percentage of zero-emission vehicles would be delayed until after January 1, 2027.
It remains to be seen if these bills will be taken up and passed in time to avoid harm to New York’s trucking industry and those consumers and retail locations they serve.