Wyoming‘s government has taken a step towards phasing out electric vehicle sales by 2035, aiming to “ensure the stability” of the state’s oil and gas industry, as per Teslarati.
“Phasing out the sale of new electric vehicles in Wyoming by 2035 will ensure the stability of Wyoming’s oil and gas industry and will help preserve the country’s critical minerals for vital purposes.”
Bill SJ004
To achieve that target, the bill SJ004 was sponsored by Senators Jim Anderson, Brian Boner, Ed Cooper, Dan Dockstader, Representatives Donald Burkhart, Jr, and Bill Henderson.
Purpose of the bill SJ004
As stated above, the state aims to preserve its oil and gas industry by ensuring that EVs would not surpass the sales of gasoline-powered vehicles.
The group of lawmakers argued in the bill that oil and gas extraction had been one of the state’s most valued industries. In fact, it produced “countless jobs” and contributed to “revenues to the state of Wyoming throughout the state’s history.”
Furthermore, the group highlighted the insufficient EV charging infrastructures in the state, which is expected to “make the widespread use of electric vehicles impracticable for the state.”
Points tackled in the bill
As per the report, bill SJ004 emphasizes the significant role of gas-powered vehicles in the state’s businesses.
“The proliferation of electric vehicles at the expense of gas-powered vehicles will have deleterious impacts on Wyoming’s communities and will be detrimental to Wyoming’s economy and the ability for the country to efficiently engage in commerce.”
Bill SJ004
On the other hand, the bill demeans electric vehicles as their batteries apparently contain critical minerals.
The lawmakers argued that the state’s municipal landfills would be obliged to establish safe and responsible disposal options for the battery minerals. They reasoned that EV batteries are “not easily recyclable or disposable.”
EVs’ potential to overthrow the gas and oil industry
It is worth noting that Wyoming secured the 8th spot in crude oil production worldwide in 2021.
However, the emergence of electric vehicles as weapons to cut carbon emissions has imposed a threat to the gas and oil industry.
Allied Market Research’s study published in February 2022 revealed that the value of the worldwide EV market will increase five times by 2030. For reference, the value of the EV market was estimated at $163.01 billion in 2020. As per the latest study, that value will rise to $823.74 billion by 2030.
Apart from that, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has also firmly proclaimed that the electric automaker would surpass Saudi Aramco’s market value. Tesla has the greatest DC fast-charging network worldwide, with 40,000 charging stations and counting throughout the world.
In addition, President Biden has been working to develop a national infrastructure for charging EVs. As a result, many established automakers have joined the electric vehicle drive by producing their own EV offerings.
Future of Energy
All that said, the energy requirements in the coming days will definitely surge, which could be addressed by utilising different sources of energy. The actual contribution from Oil and gas industries is unlikely to diminish, but the percentage contribution of fossil fuel to total energy sources is certainly going to decrease in coming years.
Technology, economy and sustainability all could play a role to determine future energy spectrum and it is going to be very interesting to see if the adaptation expedites or kind of fades away ten years from now.
