State of California
AIR RESOURCES BOARD

Summary of Board Meeting
September 7 and 8, 2000

Lincoln Plaza
Auditorium, 1st Floor
400 P St.
Sacramento, California

MEMBERS PRESENT:
Hons. Alan C. Lloyd, Ph.D., Chairman
Dr. William A. Burke
Joseph C. Calhoun, P.E.
Doreen D'Adamo
Mark DeSaulnier
C. Hugh Friedman
William F. Friedman, M.D.
Matthew R. McKinnon
Barbara Patrick
Barbara Riordan

AGENDA ITEM #

00-8-1

Public Meeting to Consider Support for the National Environmental Respiratory Center

The Board approved Resolution No. 00-28 by a unanimous vote.

00-8-3

Public Meeting for the Biennial Review of the Zero Emission Vehicle Regulation

SUMMARY OF AGENDA ITEM:

Staff presented the current status of Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) technology and the prospects for improvement in the near- and long-term. When the ZEV requirement was first adopted, low- and zero-emission vehicle technology was in a very early stage of development. The Board acknowledged that many issues would need to be addressed prior to the implementation date. Thus the Board directed staff to provide an update on the ZEV program on a biennial basis, in order to provide a context for the necessary policy discussion and deliberation.

The ZEV regulation - Section 1962, Title 13, California Code of Regulations - requires that ten percent of the passenger cars and lightest light-duty trucks offered for sale in California by large and intermediate volume auto manufacturers must be ZEVs, beginning in the 2003 model year. To provide flexibility in the ZEV program, the regulation allows different types of vehicles to be used to meet program requirements. For example, manufacturers can use extremely clean advanced-technology vehicles (referred to as "partial" ZEVs) to meet the requirement, except that large-volume manufacturers must, at a minimum, have four percent of their sales be vehicles classified as "full" ZEVs.

The findings of staff and contractor investigations indicate that several battery technologies have demonstrated promise to meet the power requirements for electric vehicle propulsion. However, the cost of these batteries will likely be high, even in volume production. This result, when incorporated into per vehicle initial and lifecycle cost analyses, shows electric vehicles to be significantly more costly than conventional vehicles in the 2003 timeframe. In volume production, however, the lifecycle cost of highly efficient battery electric vehicles can be competitive with conventional vehicles.

The Battery Panel study also found that energy density, which impacts vehicle range, remains an issue. Significant improvements in energy density are not forecast with currently available battery chemistries. Consequently, significant improvements in vehicle range are not expected of near-term electric vehicles. While current electric vehicle consumers have not found range to be an issue, manufacturers are concerned about wider market acceptance of vehicles with limited range.

ZEVs are the "gold standard" for vehicular air pollution control. Looking at both tailpipe and upstream (refueling) emissions, the per vehicle marginal emissions of nonmethane organic gases (NMOG), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and toxics are significantly lower in California for battery electric vehicles than for even the cleanest conventional vehicles. High efficiency ZEVs and hybrid electric near-ZEVs also cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases relative to other vehicle technologies.

ZEVs have the potential to reduce the community level impacts from motor vehicle pollution. They also minimize the multi-media impacts of vehicle operation, eliminating the need for a host of upstream petroleum refinery, storage and delivery activities. Finally, ZEVs provide energy diversity, energy demand, and secondary economic benefits.

ORAL TESTIMONY:

FORMAL BOARD ACTION:

Approved Resolution 00-29 by a unanimous vote.

RESPONSIBLE DIVISION: MSCD.

STAFF REPORT: Yes (174 pages).

Copyright 2000