A fused scheme

-- (Credit: Rustam Vania)IN A significant move, California is backing away from an earlier mandate which
required that within two years, two per
cent of the state's cars be electrically
powered, says a recent report in the New
York Times. The move raises questions
about similar mandates in New York
and Massachusetts which had pledged
to follow California's example. The
California Air Resources Board asked its
staff recently to prepare a rule urging suspension of the marketing of
electric vehicles in the state by the
turn of the century. The board
proposed to drop the two per cent
requirement in the early years of
the programme and instead,
increase the production of gradually 'zero-emission vehicles' to 10
per cent by AD 2003. All car companies selling more than 3,000
vehicles annually are expected to
comply with the regulation.

Air quality advocates and members of the emerging electric
car industry criticised the move. But some experts said, the change
in the law was practical because, today's technology is inadequate 2
to produce a consumer - friendly electric cars fall short on performance, range, or both, they insisted. "This plan provides
for a successful launch of commercially
viable electric cars that protect public
health and will provide new high-tech
jobs in California," said John Dunlap,
chairman, Air Resources Board. "This
plan promotes a market-based introduction of zero-emission vehicles and
will unleash the engineering and marketing prowess of automakers," he said.

The changes were approved by
automakers, who would voluntarily
phase in electric vehicle sales from 1998
to AD 2000. Dennis R Minano, vice president for energy and the environment at
General Motors, praised the state board
for changing the zero-emission requirement, and for "its recognition that market forces are a better way to introduce
technology than mandates'.

But air quality advocates called the
new proposal a sellout by the board and
the government. They noted that the
proposal, which is subject to revision
until March, would require only 3,750
zero-emission vehicles t o be produced
from 1998 to AD 2000, in contrast to the 60,000 originally proposed. "This proposal represents the next step in the
Governor's attempt to dismantle California's clean air plan," said Melissa
Kaznitz, executive director, California Public Interest Research Group. "He is
selling out the environment, high-tech business and consumers to support his
generous patrons in the oil industry," she said. California's backpedalling
was criticised by other states too. Sonia Hamel, director of air policy
for Massachusetts, said the state's Governor Willham F Weld was "very
disappointed". However, Governor George E Pataki of New York and the
state department of environmental conservation have repeatedly said that the
state's commitment to use electric cars
would stand, notwithstanding
California's decision. But since the New
York mandate is tied to California's
actions, the New York law may return to
the previous two per cent level. "Right
now, the state of-the-art in battery technology is such that it's too early to put it
on the road," said Henry Wedaa, chairperson emeritus, South Coast Air
Quality Management District, Southern
California.

Dennis Simanitis, engineering editor of Road & Track - an automobile
enthusiasts' magazine - said that tests
had found none of the current electric
cars with a range over 160.9 km, and the
average was only about 96.54 km
between rechargings. Critics point out
that these are not really zero-emission vehicles because there is indirect pollution from power plants
that generate electricity for the
cars.

Safety is also an integral issue.
An electric car's driver is surrounded by about 1,000 pounds of
lead acid batteries inside the car.
Even if the liquid acid component
could be isolated or put into a gel,
there would still remain the possibility of exposing passengers or
rescue workers to high voltage
shocks. Despite this, Peugeot and
Fiat have both introduced electric
cars in Europe. Peugeot has said
that it is investigating the possibility of producing such cars in the
US as well.

Rapid improvement in the
electric vehicle. All current performance of fuel cells, which combine oxygen from air with hydrogen
from oil or natural gas, to make water
and electricity, may solve some limitations of electric vehicles. Fuel cells
would eliminate massive batteries
and remote power generation while
increasing the range of an electric
vehicle to match that of gasoline automobiles. Mercedes-Benz, a division of
Daimler-Benz, plans to introduce a
fuel-cell car in 1997. "In the long run,
batteries are all dead, and fuel-cell
vehicles will carry the day," Wedaa
said. "The problem is infrastructure:
there aren't natural gas or hydrogen
stations in every corner yet," he
commented.