Currently (excuse the pun), electric vehicles make up only about 1% of the car and light truck market in Kansas — but that will change. Even the climate denialism of President-elect Donald Trump cannot stop it.
His newfound friendship with Tesla CEO Elon Musk is sure to keep EV sales strong. Besides, a new Panasonic EV battery factory being built in DeSoto received the largest state tax incentive package in Kansas history — $2.5 billion.
EVs are not perfect. They are expensive. It takes longer to charge an EV battery than to fill a gas tank, and that’s assuming that high-capacity chargers are available, which tend to be found only along interstates and in urban areas.
EV motors and batteries require precious metals, the mining of which can lead to environmental degradation and abuse of workers. Finally, their unique combination of metals can burn differently than other materials, presenting new challenges to firefighters and other first responders.
That said, EVs are still much better for the environment.
They require no petroleum fuels, and the carbon footprint of generating their electricity is just a fraction of the tailpipe emissions generated by internal combustion engines.
EVs also save the environmental cost of oil drilling, refining and shipping.
Many EV drivers recharge their vehicles overnight at their homes. This leads to more consistent electricity generation throughout the day, creating greater efficiencies at the local power plant.
The electricity can also be generated through cleaner sources such as wind and solar.
Recharging EV batteries costs only about a third the price of refueling a gas tank.
For Kansas, several policy challenges await.
Like most states, Kansas funds the state’s roads and highways primarily with motor fuel taxes on gasoline and diesel, which in turn leverages federal matching funds, also generated with motor fuel taxes.
EV drivers do not pay these taxes. Kansas joins many other states in levying additional registration fees on EVs, but at $20-$30 per year, they do not replace the revenue generated by the average car or light truck in Kansas: over $110 annually in state taxes alone.
Some states have gotten creative to offset this difference.
Oregon’s experimental OReGO plan uses monitors to assess how many miles a driver puts on their car each year, and levies a per-mile tax.
