Colorado unveils plan to get more electric vehicles on roads

The state’s plan to get 1 million electric vehicles on its roads by 2030 hasn’t stalled. In fact, it’s hit the gas. The Colorado Energy Office introduced its updated 2020 Electric Vehicle Plan on Thursday, which for the first time outlines the electrification of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The plan also reiterates the goal of increasing the number of electric vehicles used by state agencies, and the 2018 goal of having 940,000 light-duty EVs in Colorado by 2030. Other components include conducting an analysis of charging stations across the state. “This plan is the first time Colorado has set a goal to transition all vehicles to clean, zero-pollution energy,” said Travis Madsen, Transportation Program Director for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, a nonprofit based in Boulder. “That’s a big deal.”
But the goals were drafted during the pre-COVID-19 era, and therefore likely come with a lot of caveats. With oil prices plummeting and Colorado’s state budget seemingly shrinking by the minute because of the coronavirus-caused business closures, the state will likely face significant hurdles in meeting the goals set in the 2020 Electric Vehicle Plan.