After one trucking company tried to electrify just 30 trucks at a terminal in Joliet, Illinois, local officials shut those plans down, saying they would draw more electricity than is needed to power the entire city.

A California company tried to electrify 12 forklifts. Not trucks, but forklifts. Local power utilities told them that’s not possible.

If the product, charging infrastructure, and power is not available to comply with these unrealistic timelines, then regulators are setting trucking—and the American consumer—up for failure.

Source: A heavy dose of reality for electric-truck mandates | American Trucking Associations

I suspect there is some exaggeration in the above stories. 12 forklifts? That is probably saying this business had max-ed out the inbound distribution lines, and the local utility did not wish to string in new lines. This is a problem for apartment and condo complex EV charging stations too – these complexes are already at max loads and adding EV charging may require running new distribution lines.

Obviously, something to work to solve.

The challenges of large-scale infrastructure construction are underrated. Look at Portland where it is taking 20 years to construct a new major water supply line, or California, where it is taking 25 years to build less than half of a state high speed rail link between SF and LA. Infrastructure is hard, time-consuming and expensive – and I think this may not be fully appreciated. I do hope to be proven wrong, though.

Coldstreams