TPT March 2019

G LOBA L MARKE T P L AC E

chargers across the tiny state. In a push to sell 300,000 electric cars (ECs) by 2025 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent below 2006 levels by 2030, the Maryland public utilities commission in mid-January approved a proposal by four of its largest utilities to install 5,000 chargers along the highways of the state. “That’s a lot of chargers for the nation’s ninth-smallest state,” wrote Eric C Evarts of Green Car Reports. (“If You Can Charge Them, They Will Come; Maryland Plans 5,000 EV Chargers,” 21 January) It is. But Mr Evarts noted that it marks a trend. Maryland is one of nine states (soon to be ten) that have joined California in requiring automakers to sell only zero-emissions cars (plug- in electric and fuel-cell models) in the state. So far, sales of those models have been concentrated in California, although a change in federal law is expected to require automakers to offer more such cars in the Northeast this year. In response, states have banded together to promote electric cars and to build infrastructure to support the effort. One of the most commonly voiced objections to electric cars is the scarcity of places to charge them, and current electric car owners complain of finding too many public chargers occupied or out of order. Clearly, more charging infrastructure is a key factor in selling more electric cars. According to Green Car Reports , Maryland intends to install Level 3 fast-charging stations along highways where there are gaps in charging coverage, as well as to subsidise the installation of chargers in workplaces, homes and apartment buildings. Maryland electric ratepayers will cover the installation costs. In return, the utilities will implement time-of-use electric rates to reduce charging costs for EC drivers, and enable ratepayers to cut their costs. To identify the most affordable, effective and “cleanest” charging times, the utilities will also offer rebates to customers who install “smart chargers” which communicate data to the utility. Elsewhere in automotive . . . › Citing the Netherlands Vehicle Authority RDW, Bloomberg on 20 January reported that Tesla Inc (Palo Alto, California) was cleared to begin delivering its Model 3 all- electric sedans across Europe. According to Tesla, deliveries were set to begin in February and, as in the USA, the first models set for Europe will be the long-range battery variant. Bloomberg said that starting Model 3 deliveries in Europe was a priority for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has cited sales of the sedan in Europe and China for his unconcern about the 50 per cent cut (to $3,750) in the US federal tax credit on electric car (EC) purchases, effective 1 January. According to a Tesla third-quarter shareholder letter, “The mid-sized premium sedan market in Europe is more than twice as big as the same segment in the US.” In a more guarded comment on 18 January – when it was reported that, in a cost-reduction move, he was cutting Tesla’s workforce by 7 per cent, or more than 3,000 jobs – Mr Musk warned that “the road ahead is very difficult” for makers of affordable ECs for the mass market.

Energy Hitachi’s decision to call a halt to its Wylfa Newydd nuclear power project in Anglesey is a blow to the nor th Wales economy On 11 January, the Japan Times reported that Hitachi Ltd was in the final stages of preparations to suspend its project to build a nuclear power plant in north Wales. On 17 January, WalesOnline confirmed that plans for the Wylfa Newydd nuclear power station – which had been described as “the biggest infrastructure project in Wales for a generation” – had indeed been suspended. WalesOnline ’s local government reporter Ruth Mosalski disclosed that the decision was announced after a meeting in Tokyo of the Hitachi board, following earlier reporting, in Wales, that work on the plant would be stopped or paused due to rising construction costs. (“Anglesey’s New Wylfa Nuclear Power Station Shelved As Japan’s Hitachi Puts It On Ice,” 17 January) The new power station, in which the Japanese conglomerate had invested some $2.57bn to date, was intended to have a generating capacity of 2,900 megawatts (MW) and an operational life of 60 years. By some estimates the huge project, scheduled for completion next year, was expected to bring up to 10,000 new jobs to north Wales, representing opportunities for local young people to become high-skilled workers. According to Ms Mosalski, Hitachi had been in talks with London since June 2018 about the price to be paid for energy from Wylfa Newydd. The company, which had sought direct UK government investment in the project, was understood to disagree with the government over the price it would receive for the energy generated. In addition to its investment to date, Hitachi said its decision to abort the Wylfa Newydd project would cost it as much again in “extraordinary losses.” › While the full effect, for Wales and for the broader UK economy, will be apparent only over time, Doug Parr, the chief scientist for Greenpeace UK, suggested that Hitachi’s abandonment of its UK nuclear programme, after an outlay of $2.57bn, already “tells you all you need to know about the economics of nuclear power.” Dr Parr noted that renewable energy costs, especially for offshore wind and solar, have plunged dramatically, while new smart technologies – including storage – have arrived. A clever move now, he told WalesOnline , “would be for the government to accept that the nuclear bet didn’t pay off, stop holding back renewables, and have an urgent rethink about the future of UK energy.” Automot i ve The ninth-smallest US state faces a fact: the key to selling electric cars is ample charging infrastructure Maryland is deploying a new tool in its effort to get automakers to sell more electric cars: it plans to install more electric-car

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MARCH 2019