Las Vegas EV advocates unfazed by federal policy shifts

Editor's note: Este artículo está traducido al español.

The future of electric vehicles in the U.S. hangs in the balance as the Trump administration dismantles the goals and mandates established by previous administrations to boost EV sales and expand charging infrastructure.

The administration is mounting a full-scale assault on electric vehicles by rolling back emissions regulations, ending consumer tax credits, freezing billions in charging infrastructure funding, and stripping California of its authority to set stricter emissions standards.

However, Las Vegas-area clean vehicle advocates believe the industry has too much momentum to stop entirely.

“The snowball’s already rolling downhill and they’re not going to stop it,” said Paul Bordenkircher, president of the Nevada Electric Vehicle Association. “I don’t think the adoption is ever going to stop or reverse.”

Bordenkircher and the Nevada Electric Vehicle Association celebrated National Drive Electric Month through Sunday. Clark County’s Office of Sustainability joined the effort, hosting events to educate residents about electric and alternative fuel vehicles.

There are an estimated 47,000 electric vehicles registered in Nevada, representing about 5% of the cars on the road, according to the Department of Energy. There are 3.1 registered electric vehicles nationally.

“I think, really, National Drive Electric Month is all about, ‘OK, let’s get you education and resources so that you know what an EV is,’ ” said Robert Burgy, climate and sustainability program manager in Clark County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability. “Because without information, people aren’t as empowered.”

What EV advocates say

Gasoline and fossil fuels are finite, but renewable technologies like solar power can allow EV transportation to be more sustainable over time, Burgy said.

“(One), you can reduce the pollution you put out in the environment,” Burgy said. “And two, it’s just a good thing in general for building sustainable transportation in the future.”

Bordenkircher summed up his own take on the advantages of driving an EV in three words: they’re “quicker, cleaner and quieter.”

He pointed to a 2021 report by Reuters, which showed that an EV in the U.S. did less harm to the environment than a gasoline car after about 13,500 miles of driving. For most people, according to Bordenkircher’s estimate, that’s approximately a year’s worth of driving.

According to the EPA, EVs typically have a smaller carbon footprint than gasoline cars and are responsible for lower levels of greenhouse gases than an average new gasoline car.

“The cars are just cleaner,” Bordenkircher said.

EVs don’t produce tailpipe emissions or fumes from the vehicle, Bordenkircher added, fostering a cleaner environment for the future. The fuel efficiency between an electric and a gas vehicle is also pretty dramatic, he said.

The EPA calculates equivalent miles per gallon (MPGe) — how much energy an electric car uses compared with the energy in a gallon of gasoline — on the basis that there’s 33.7 kilowatt-hours of electricity to one gallon of gas, Bordenkircher said.

If an average gas car gets about 25 miles per gallon, he said, and you convert all that gas to 100% electric — it’s closer to 100 to 110 miles per gallon on the same energy, he said.

“So we’re talking vehicles that are anywhere from three to eight times more energy efficient,” he said. “So that helps our energy profile as a country. We’re not using nearly as much energy to run the same vehicles to the same places.”

Another thing to consider about the future of EVs, Bordenkircher said, is that as more are made, they will become more affordable — with sticker prices more comparable to a gas vehicle.

With regards to total cost of vehicle ownership — gas, maintenance, tires, batteries and other expenses — electric vehicles are already less expensive than their gas counterparts, Bordenkircher said, citing a Forbes article from March 2024 that reported research in support of the claim.

EVs in Las Vegas

Las Vegas itself is “ahead of the curve” in adoption of EV infrastructure compared with other major cities, Bordenkircher said. One reason may be Nevada’s proximity to California, a leader in EVs; another could be that the Las Vegas valley was of apt size for early electric vehicles with limited range.

His first EV had only a 70-mile range, Bordenkircher said, more than what most people are probably driving daily.

“So that has come along,” he said. “And we’ve seen pretty large adoption … of electric vehicles in Las Vegas — in Nevada, in general, but definitely in the major cities. And I think it’s because of that. I think it’s because of the infrastructure.”

The Nevada Department of Transportation is prioritizing the implementation of an EV charging station infrastructure across freeways and the interstate corridors, Burgy said, through the use of funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act National Electrical Vehicle Infrastructure program.

The department will receive $38 million to carry out its Alternative Fueling Infrastructure Plan, aiming to place fast-charging stations every 50 miles along interstates.

In late 2021, Nevada’s Public Utilities Commission approved NV Energy’s $100 million investment to build nearly 2,000 chargers over three years. The utility offers incentives covering up to 75% of Level 2 charging project costs and $400 per kilowatt-hour for DC fast chargers.

Nevada has over 2,400 public charging ports across more than 650 stations.

“One of the things that people will say as kind of a deterrent for getting an EV is, ‘Hey, I’m not necessarily sure if I’ll have the range in my car to make it where I need to go, especially if I’m driving across state lines,’ things like that,” Burgy said. “So, I think it’s really great that we’re still seeing NEVI funding being available to build out that charging station infrastructure.”

When asked about companies like Berlin-based Vay, a driverless car-sharing service that utilizes a fleet of electric vehicles, making its services available in Las Vegas, Burgy said he thinks it’s really interesting that the region has attracted such business.

“I’m quite excited to see the future of EV development — EV taxis, EV ridesharing,” he said. “In general, (I’m) just really excited about the future and the promise it can make for Southern Nevada.”

There has been a shift in EV priorities in the U.S., but that’s not to say EVs are “dead in the water,” said Burgy, who emphasized the apolitical nature of his role. It doesn’t mean sustainable transportation options aren’t being pursued, he said, but that there’s opportunities to help educate people.

“The position that I take when it comes to climate and sustainability is really about serving people,” Burgy said. “When we’re looking at things like electric vehicles, we’re looking at solar power, we’re looking at all these renewable technologies and sustainable initiatives — I think the heart of it always comes back to serving residents. If you’re working in this realm, how can you help educate people? How can you help lower their energy bill? How can you help them react to the climate appropriately?”

Bordenkircher admitted that EVs are “in a rough patch,” and said there has been a chilling effect in the market as a result. But while sales may slow, Bordenkircher said, he doesn’t anticipate them stopping.

“The simple fact is, when people drive them and they like them,” he said, “they don’t go back.”