Chris Lieberman, FISM News
Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm expressed support for California’s ban on the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035 in an interview on Friday, suggesting that the rule “could be” a national standard.
Last month, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved a regulation requiring all new cars sold in 2035 and beyond to be electrical vehicles, though existing gas cars will still be permitted.
When host Elex Michaelson asked Granholm if she liked the new rule on Fox 11 Los Angeles’ “The Issue Is,” she replied, “Yeah, I do, I think California really is leaning in. And, of course, the federal government has a goal of — that the president has announced — by 2030, that half of the vehicles in the U.S., the new ones sold, would be electric.”
Michaelson then asked her if she thought California’s regulation could or should be a “national model,” to which she responded,
Could be, could be. I know every state is different, and you always have to respect what the states are doing, but I do think that once people — I mean, California has gotten more used to electric vehicles, and we have to bring down the price of electric vehicles so that everybody can access them. And this is why it’s great that there’s a $4,000 tax credit, for example, on used electric vehicles that has just been adopted through the Inflation Reduction Act. So, once they get more acceptable, I think those numbers don’t sound as daunting.
Biden Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm says California’s ban on gas-powered vehicle sales is a model for the rest of the country. pic.twitter.com/PW839ibAky
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 5, 2022
CARB’s mandate has implications beyond California, with several states having laws in place agreeing to abide by CARB’s standards. Washington and Massachusetts have already opted into the new regulation, while the rule is facing pushback in Minnesota, Colorado, and Virginia.
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement, “I am already at work to prevent this ridiculous edict from being forced on Virginians. California’s out-of-touch laws have no place in our Commonwealth.”
Last week, CARB’s decision came under fire when, just a week after the new rule was announced, California’s Independent System Operator suggested residents not charge their EVs to conserve power amidst an ongoing energy crisis in the state.
Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) ridiculed the decisions.
In the same week, California announced that you must buy an electric car AND that their grid does not have the capacity for people to charge their cars or power their homes. This is what it looks like when leftists are in charge! We were energy independent under Trump!
— Rep. Mary Miller (@RepMaryMiller) August 31, 2022
Granholm addressed concerns that an already-strained energy grid will not be able to handle the increased demand for electricity that would come with an increase in the number of electric vehicles.
2035 is a long way away as well. We have to add power to the grid, clean power. We’ve got to add transmission lines to be able to bring that clean power to places where it’s needed. All of that is happening right now. I mean, all of that, we’re pushing on all of these levers simultaneously to get clean power onto the nation’s electric grid. We have got to double the size of the electric grid in this country, and we’re doing that.