This morning, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu kicked-off the Innovation Motorcade from the Department of Energy Headquarters in Washington. This was not a typical motorcade for the Capitol City. Instead of long black limos with government plates, this was a parade of quiet, clean electric vehicles occupied by citizens proud to be driving around on little, if any, gasoline.
President Obama recently announced a goal to cut our oil imports by one-third by 2025. We can meet the President’s goal using efficiency in our transportation sector. Strong new vehicle fuel efficiency and lower pollution standards—reaching 60 mpg by 2025—can dramatically cut our oil consumption and clean our air.
Strong vehicle efficiency standards are key to bringing plug-in vehicles to the mass market. And while gas prices are high today we don't know what future years will bring. We are dependent on an extremely volatile global oil market and we don’t know what future prices will be. Strong standards, however, provide market certainty needed by automakers to continue to invest in plug-in electric and other innovative vehicles. A weak standard, conversely, will do nothing to incentivize plug-in electric vehicles and leave consumers will fewer choices in fuel-efficient vehicles.
Along with efficiency standards, public-private partnerships can help drive deployment of advanced, electric-drive vehicles and their infrastructure. Secretary Chu pointed out that past partnerships are responsible for cultivating American invention and creating market dominance in the semiconductor, computer and aviation industries. Due partly to existing investments by both DOE and the private sector, Secretary Chu expects battery costs to drop precipitously and that electric vehicles will be at cost parity with internal combustion engine-only vehicles by the end of this decade.
He said new public-partnerships are being formed. Today he announced a partnership between DOE and Google in which the internet giant will map out electric vehicle charging stations so you find them on your smart phone. The Secretary also said DOE is making $5 million available to local communities to help them plan and deploy plug-in vehicle infrastructure.
Today’s clean car and truck parade is a clear example that we can innovate to solve our oil addiction. We need to grab the moment by setting strong efficiency and pollution standards that will encourage clean advancements like plug-in electric vehicles and we need to execute plans to deploy needed infrastructure. With the right policies clean, efficient vehicles can be more than just part of an oil-free parade; they can be an option for every household. That’s good for consumers, the environment and our nation’s security.
