EnviroPolitics Blog

Ford making big price cuts to its electric F-150 Lightning pickups

By John Rosevear, CNBC

Ford Motor on Monday cut prices for its electric F-150 Lightning pickup, saying its efforts to boost production and lower costs for battery minerals have paid off.

Ford said prices for some of the least expensive versions of the Lighting would fall by nearly $10,000. Prices for all versions, including the top-line Platinum trim, will drop by at least $6,000 from levels set in March.

The company had increased the Lightning’s prices several times since its 2021 debut, citing supply constraints and sharply higher prices for the minerals used in the electric truck’s batteries. Ford has worked to increase production of the truck in recent months, with factory upgrades that are expected to triple its output set to be in place by fall.

The Dearborn, Michigan factory that makes the Lightning will be closed for several weeks while the production upgrades are put in place, Ford said Monday.

Increasing production of the Lightning and other Ford EVs has been a key priority for CEO Jim Farley this year. But the effort to boost production hasn’t been a smooth one. Ford sold just 4,466 Lightnings in the second quarter after a fire in a just-completed truck in February led it to shut down production for five weeks.

At the time of its 2021 debut, the lowest-priced version of the Lightning – the work-truck Pro trim – was about $40,000. That price was increased several times, hitting about $60,000 in March; Monday’s cuts reduce the entry-level truck’s sticker price to about $50,000.

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Murphy administration driving NJ motorists to electric cars

By Tom Johnson, NJ Spotlight

The Murphy administration is proposing a new rule that would phase out the sale of new gasoline light-duty vehicles by 2035, joining California and up to a dozen other states moving to transition to zero-emission vehicles.

The proposal, expected to be published in the New Jersey Register later next month, aims to reduce the pollution causing global warming by electrifying transportation in New Jersey, the single largest source of that pollution in the state.

The initiative is strongly backed by environmentalists and clean energy advocates as critical to achieving the state’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 2006 levels by mid-century. Curtailing the use of gasoline-powered vehicles is also necessary to improve air quality in many urban and disadvantaged areas whose residents disproportionally suffer negative health effects from such emissions.

If adopted, the rule would ramp up sales requirements for new passenger vehicle cars and light trucks to primarily electric vehicles over the course of the next decade with a 100% EV sales requirement by 2035.

Publishing the proposed rule by August 21 and adopting it by the end of the calendar year will trigger the sales requirements to kick in by the model year 2027.

“By filing the proposal, we build upon our nation-leading record of bold climate action while delivering on our promise to utilize every tool at our disposal to combat the intensifying climate crisis,’’ Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement.

But a trade group representing car dealers, while supporting the transition to electric vehicles, opposes the so-called California Advanced Clean Car II rule, saying it will negatively affect the affordability of cars and limit choice by consumers.

In New Jersey, consumers are already facing difficulties in obtaining some brands of new vehicles, according to car dealers. In some cases, only the more expensive electric vehicles are available.

“Limiting access to inventory drives up profit for manufacturers, profitability for dealers,’’ but is bad for consumers,’’ said James Appleton, president of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers.

But by waiting until the model year 2027 for the rule to go into effect means 90,000 fewer electric vehicles on the road by 2030, according to supporters of the program.

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CORRECTED HEADLINE Energy shortfall predicted for New York in 2025

MARIE J. FRENCH reports today in Politico Pro

The state’s independent grid operator has officially identified a shortfall of electric generating capacity for New York City in 2025, which will likely prevent some highly polluting power plants from retiring.

The New York Independent System Operator, which is tasked with ensuring there’s enough electricity available even during heatwaves when people crank up their air conditioners, has been warning about the potential issue for years. The forecasted shortfall is driven by rising demand and the planned retirement of the fleet of older peaker power plants in response to state environmental rules aimed at reducing harmful co-pollutants in the downstate region.

The NYISO process will seek solutions from the market to address the identified reliability need. Given permitting and other hurdles in New York City, it’s likely that some of the peaker plants will remain online in 2025.

The NYISO’s 169-page report released Friday identifies a need for 446 megawatts of electricity for nine hours during a peak demand day in 2025 when two generators or transmission lines are unexpectedly offline and the temperature hits 95 degrees. The shortfall would be even greater if the city experiences a more intense heatwave.

“To be clear: The reliability of our grid is not in question,” Hochul spokesperson Katy Zielinski said in a statement. “We are committed to ensuring New Yorkers have a reliable and affordable power supply — and we can do this while accomplishing our nation-leading climate goals. Governor Hochul remains fully committed to rapidly decreasing emissions and setting an example for how clean energy and reliability can go hand-in-hand.”

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EPA meeting July 27 on cleanup of South Plainfield Superfund site

From the Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing an opportunity for public input on changes to the cleanup plan to address contaminated soil and debris at the Woodbrook Road Dump Superfund site in South Plainfield, New Jersey.

EPA has prepared a document called an Explanation of Significant Differences to summarize the changes and the reasons for them.The proposed changes that are being announced today document that the estimated cost of the selected cleanup rose from $45.4 million in 2018 to $70 million in 2023 due in part to inflation and increased construction costs. In addition, in 2021, New Jersey created the Peter J. Barnes III Wildlife Preserve which includes the Woodbrook Road Dump Site.

30-day public comment period for the proposed Explanation of Significant Differences begins July 14, 2023. EPA will host a public meeting at the South Plainfield Township Courtroom on July 27, 2023, at 6:30 pm to explain the cleanup proposal.

“EPA values community input and involvement as we work to clean up Superfund sites,” said Regional Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “This site is part of a large conservation area in South Plainfield, but it has been polluted by household and industrial waste for decades. After careful re-evaluation, EPA has made a few updates to the original remedy, which the public can review and comment on.”

In 2020, EPA reviewed the selected cleanup plan for the site. The results of EPA’s review, carried out in coordination with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, are presented in the proposed Explanation of Significant Differences. The review confirmed that the 2013 selected cleanup plan remains the best option.

EPA’s cleanup plan for the site was originally documented in a 2013 Record of Decision and modified in a 2018 Explanation of Significant Differences. The cleanup plan includes:

Removing an estimated 4,000 cubic yards of soil and debris that contains capacitors, capacitor parts and PCB-contaminated soil and debris with PCB concentrations greater than 100 parts per million (ppm) to an approved off-site disposal facility.
Removing an estimated 143,000 cubic yards of soil and debris that contains PCBs at concentrations greater than 1.1 ppm to an approved off-site disposal facility.

Written comments on the proposed Explanation of Significant Differences may be mailed or emailed to Diane Salkie Sharkey, Remedial Project Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 290 Broadway – 18th Floor, New York, NY 10007, Email: salkie.diane@epa.gov.

For additional background and to see all of the changes in the proposed Explanation of Significant Differences, visit the Woodbrook Road Dump Superfund site profile page.

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Public hearing July 27 on Atlantic Shores cable burial plan involving 11 acres of AC’s Bader Field

By Emma Desiderio, Atlantic City Press

ATLANTIC CITY — Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind is proposing to use 1.7 acres of beach between South Texas and Iowa avenues, a portion of Bader Field and a portion of a city park for the installation of underground transmission lines, according to legal notices published recently by the company.

A public hearing for its proposal will be held later this month.

According to the legal notices, the company plans to use about a half-acre on Albany Avenue at Bader Field and about 0.32 acres on Fairmount and Sovereign avenues at the Pete Pallitto recreation fields.

The project is also expected to temporarily impact about 11 acres of parkland at Bader Field.

The properties are owned by the city and subject to the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Green Acres restrictions, and will require an application for a major diversion that must be approved by the DEP’s commissioner and by the State House Commission.

A public scoping meeting is required before Atlantic Shores can submit a formal application for the diversion of parkland.

The public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. July 27 in City Council Chambers at City Hall, 1301 Bacharach Blvd.

Read the full story here

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NJ rejects as too expensive all in latest round of large-scale solar proposals. But the BPU won’t dislose its acceptable price

State also yanks from agenda its controversial plan to get the gas out of buildings

By Tom Johnson, NJ Spotlight

It wasn’t a good day Wednesday for advancing clean-energy goals at the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

The state agency rejected proposed solar projects that would have generated more than 300 megawatts of electricity and it postponed action on a much-touted plan to begin electrifying buildings, the second-biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in New Jersey.

The twin setbacks marked the latest turbulence encountered by the Murphy administration in aggressively pushing its goal to shift to a 100% clean-energy economy, an issue now facing the most sustained opposition of Gov. Phil Murphy’s first six years in office.

Denying approval of any of the solar projects proposed in the board’s initial competitive solar solicitation appears for now to be the more consequential action. The solicitation was developed by BPU staff to allow larger-scale solar installations of at least five megawatts to be built at a less expensive cost than much of the solar arrays, including those installed on single-family homes, built in the past.

The solicitation this past spring attracted plenty of interest, with developers seeking approval to build more than 300 megawatts, the goal set by the BPU. But all the projects exceeded confidential price caps set by the agency, leading the commissioners to reject them all.

BPU staff blamed regulatory uncertainty and cost increases as factors in the solar developers failing to come under the price caps, which have never been made public and kept private even from the developers seeking approval for their projects.

The four commissioners (one was absent) unanimously approved the staff recommendation without any comment or debate. A second solicitation is now projected to be held this October and the board will look at revising their assumptions, according to a board order.

“It’s absolutely unbelievable,’’ said Fred DeSanti, executive director of the New Jersey Solar Energy Coalition. “Unless they bother to revise the price caps, why bother? To reject all 300 mw is to say their modeling is better than the markets.’’

Lyle Rawling, founder and president of Advanced Solar Products in Flemington, called the solicitation a “big setback.’’

It is difficult to assess blame, Rawling said, because of the confidential nature of the price caps. “We don’t know whether the industry blew it or the BPU. We can’t work on the problem until we know where it came from,’’ Rawling said.

In deferring action on a building decarbonization plan, BPU President Joseph Fiordaliso said there had been a lot of input on the proposal from stakeholders, and the board wanted it all to be considered. The proposal was only unveiled early last month.

Fiordaliso said the issue would be taken up at a later board meeting, but some sources suggested it could be voted on at the board’s next meeting later this month. The plan is opposed by the state Division of Rate Counsel, legislators and some business lobbyists.

Read the full story here

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