George Borrello

State Senator George Borrello has introduced legislation that would prohibit the use of fossil fuels in the manufacturing of renewable energy equipment.

Borrello said emission-producing energy sources are often used to manufacture green energy sources like wind turbines, solar panels and electric cars.

He gave the examples of coal used to create steel for wind turbines and the extraction of rare earth minerals for solar panels.

Borrello said the environmental toll of production and delivery is at odds with the state’s climate agenda goals.

He also noted that the mining of rare earth minerals used in the manufacturing of renewable energy equipment sometimes involves child and slave labor.

Borrello’s legislation would require that the manufacture and distribution of electric vehicles, wind turbines, solar collectors and infrastructure to upgrade the power grid is conducted using only wind and solar energy and does not use any power derived from fossil fuels, nuclear energy or any form of combustion.

It is currently in the Senate Energy and Telecommunications Committee for review.

ChargePoint DC fast charger

New electric vehicle fast charging stations are operational in Jamestown as part of an effort to provide EVs more convenient charging opportunities near I-86 in the Southern Tier.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that a dozen new fast chargers have been installed in Jamestown, Salamanca and Bath. New fast-charging sites also will be installed soon in Olean, Friendship, Castle Creek and Hancock.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist said the EV charging stations were funded by the state Department of Environmental Conservation‘s Volkswagen settlement fund, “I believe we used some internal workers to do installation at various points of the chargers, but for the most part we absorbed that cost. And, we’re very excited to receive that grant funding from the state and be able to work with them to have a fast charging network here in the city.”

The four ChargePoint DC fast chargers locations in Jamestown include two at West Second and North Main Streets and two at East Fourth Street and Prendergast Avenue.

Hochul has called for major regulatory action that will require all new passenger cars, pick-up trucks and SUVs sold in New York State to be zero-emission by 2035. She has also proposed that all school buses be zero-emission by that the same year. These are all part of Hochul’s goal to electrify the transportation sector and for New York to achieve its climate requirement of reducing greenhouse gases 85% by 2050.

Jamestown BPU Retool ’22 Conference Keynote Speaker John Ellis presents at Northwest Arena (October 19, 2022)

Retool ’22 Climate Tech Conference Keynote speaker John Ellis says exponential change is coming to the automotive industry.

Ellis, a best-selling author, software expert, and former global technologist with Ford Motor company, spoke at the Northwest Arena Wednesday morning. He told the audience that his presentation was intended to provoke.

Ellis said we’ve been in Transportation 1.0, which represents the individually owned vehicle business model with the majority of those vehicles having a combustion-engine. He said we’re now moving into Transportation 2.0, “It’s hallmark characteristics are a shared-vehicle ownership model, autonomy of some form and level, and most important – an electric vehicle.”

Ellis said individual ownership of cars is disappearing in the United States, citing a AAA study that it costs $10,728 a year to own and operate a vehicle and another study in larger markets that showed 66% of car trips are less than seven miles.

He said car sharing in China is booming, where over 150 million residents have a driver’s license but do not have a car, “We have a burgeoning growth over 10% of the economy (in China) that is shared vs. less than 1% here in the U.S. And they’re expecting to grow the sharing. Why is that significant? This past year, China was responsible for 30-something million vehicle units. U.S. used to be at it’s high 17 million and it’s now down to 15.5 and declining. China will serve as an over-sized indicator of where the market goes.”

Ellis said on top of electric vehicles being more efficient than fossil-fuel cars, policy is driving the move to EVs with enacted bans on combustion engines by 2035 by the European Union, China and even here in New York State, “You may say to yourself, ‘Do I really care about the E.U.?’ Well, let me be very, very, very clear. The E.U., specifically Germany, is home to the top three Tier 1’s in the world. If the top three Tier 1’s in the world are forced to become EV Tier 1’s, the auto industry by definition will go EV.”

Ellis said software plays an over-sized role in the change from fossil fuel to electric, saying how Tesla uses software to differentiate its products versus hardware. He referenced a KPMG report that stated by 2030 many of the major automakers won’t exist.

Ellis said exponential change has been seen with adoption of new technology and that people should expect it with transportation.

On Friday the Governor announced a new program under Charge NY to accelerate the market adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) and to make EV infrastructure easier to use and more economically viable in New York State. The Electric Vehicle-Enabling Technology Demonstration Program offers a total of $2 million to help fund research and demonstration projects related to electric vehicles.

The new demonstration program seeks applications from entities such as universities, research centers, and technology-based businesses and manufacturers conducting research in and development of EV technology. The program is funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

According to the governor, the state would like to establish a statewide network of up to 3,000 EV charging stations over the next five years, saying this latest program will help to meet that goal.

Proposals for the Electric Vehicle-Enabling Technology Demonstration Program are due October 22. For more information on the Electric Vehicle-Enabling Technology Demonstration Program, visit www.nyserda.ny.gov/PON2755.