California’s Ban on Gas Vehicles is Also Good News for the Grid and the Auto Sector

RMI supports California Governor Gavin Newsom's September 23, 2020, executive order to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2035, arguing that the move will accelerate the transition to a clean energy system and benefit both the automotive industry and the electric grid.

• Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order on September 23, 2020, directing the California Air Resources Board to create rules to phase out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by 2035, supporting a statewide goal of net zero emissions by 2045.
• The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) is driven by rapidly falling battery costs, with Tesla expecting costs to drop by half within three years. EVs are already cheaper than ICE vehicles regarding total cost of ownership, leading fleet operators like Amazon and Walmart to adopt them for trucking.
• RMI asserts that recent California power outages were caused by operational errors and a lack of overall electric capacity during record high demand and temperatures, rather than by renewable energy or electric vehicles.
• EVs can function as mobile batteries and assets for the grid to balance supply and demand. This 'transactive grid' can be enabled by FERC order 2222, digital blockchain technologies from the Energy Web Foundation, and real-time emissions monitoring from WattTime.

APA

RMI (2020). California’s Ban on Gas Vehicles is Also Good News for the Grid and the Auto Sector. https://rmi.org/resources/californias-ban-on-gas-vehicles-is-also-good-news-for-the-grid-and-the-auto-sector/

Chicago

RMI. California’s Ban on Gas Vehicles is Also Good News for the Grid and the Auto Sector. 2020. https://rmi.org/resources/californias-ban-on-gas-vehicles-is-also-good-news-for-the-grid-and-the-auto-sector/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=RMI |title=California’s Ban on Gas Vehicles is Also Good News for the Grid and the Auto Sector |date=25 September 2020 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/californias-ban-on-gas-vehicles-is-also-good-news-for-the-grid-and-the-auto-sector/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{rmi2020californias, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{California’s Ban on Gas Vehicles is Also Good News for the Grid and the Auto Sector}}, publisher = {RMI}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/californias-ban-on-gas-vehicles-is-also-good-news-for-the-grid-and-the-auto-sector/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }