New policy will accelerate electric vehicle deployment and deliver major benefits

Nevada adopts Advanced Clean Cars Standards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2021

Contact:
Angie Dykema, Nevada Representative
angie.dykema@gmail.com

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[CARSON CITY, NV] – Today, the Nevada State Legislative Commission approved the Clean Cars Nevada regulation, officially making Nevada the 16th state (including Washington, D.C.) to adopt Advanced Clean Cars Standards. The new policy will require automakers to build and deliver more efficient vehicles to Nevada, including more plug-in electric cars and trucks. The measure is the strongest available policy Nevada could adopt to accelerate electric passenger vehicle deployment, reduce oil consumption and cut pollution, and comes as a recommendation of the State Climate Plan. The vote was the final step in a process Governor Steve Sisolak began in June 2020.

“It’s exciting to see Nevada hit the accelerator on clean, electric cars,” said Angie Dykema, Nevada Representative for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP).

More than 75 organizations and businesses across the state joined together to support this action as part of the Nevada Clean Cars Coalition. Other stakeholders, including the trade association for large auto manufacturers and the Nevada Auto Dealers Association, worked productively with the coalition and the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP) to improve and advance the regulation over the past year and a half.

“A wide range of stakeholders unanimously supported this policy because of the many benefits it will bring, from cheaper driving to cleaner air,” said Dykema.

SWEEP, along with the Natural Resources Defense Council and Western Resource Advocates, quantified some of those benefits in a report commissioned from MJ Bradley & Associates earlier this year. We anticipate that the rule, alongside additional efforts to support zero emission transportation, will help put Nevada on a course to meet its climate goals, while also:

  • Reducing costs for drivers – Electric vehicles (EVs) are cheaper to operate than conventional cars. Potential driver savings over the next three decades total more than $14 billion (net present value).
  • Reducing electricity costs for all Nevadans – Nevadans could save more than $3 billion on their electricity bills through 2050 as a result of widespread EV deployment (net present value), because EVs can help us get more value out of the investments we’ve made in our electricity grid.
  • Growing Nevada’s economy – Deploying EVs at scale would save more than 4 billion gallons of gasoline through 2050, replacing expenditures on imported fuel with locally-produced electricity. Every million dollars in fuel savings leads to roughly $500,000 in additional value for the state, and every additional 1000 plug-in vehicles deployed creates 25 new jobs.
  • Protecting public health and the climate – By reducing pollution, EVs can help Nevada reach its climate goals while also reducing the impact of pollution on our lungs.

“We thank Governor Sisolak and NDEP for taking action on one of the key policies identified in the State Climate Strategy and hope that other states will follow our lead,” concluded Dykema.

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The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) is a public interest organization promoting greater energy efficiency in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. swenergy.org