Good afternoon everyone,
I am pleased to be joined today by Aran McKittrick, one of the Project Leaders on Bermuda’s Zero Emission Vehicle Policy. Many countries have adopted measures to accelerate the transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles or ZEVs. At the same time, global automakers are investing in ZEV technology while phasing out investment in gasoline and diesel vehicles.
Bermuda is uniquely positioned to benefit from a transition to ZEV’s due to the vehicles’ low annual mileage requirements and increasing renewable energy generation on the electrical grid.
ZEVs, or zero-emission vehicles, is a term used to refer to several vehicle types:
o EVs - Fully-electric vehicles with no internal combustion engine (ICE) powered exclusively from electricity stored in a battery
o PHEVs – plug-in hybrid vehicles with a small electric-only range combined with an ICE
o FCEVs – fuel cell electric vehicles powered by hydrogen (a zero-emission fuel source)
ZEVs, specifically fully-electric vehicles (EVs), offer multiple benefits including lower fuel and maintenance costs, increased efficiency, and improved local air quality.
Bermuda is no stranger to the ZEV transition with fully electric rental car fleets and the recently introduced electric public buses. Being less than 25 miles long and 2 miles at its widest point, the island is a prime candidate for ZEVs without the need for long-range vehicles or frequent charging.
Eliminating emissions from transport will not only reduce Bermuda’s contribution to climate change but improve local air quality and reduce dependence on foreign oil.
Bermuda is at crossroads, we must have open and robust discussions regarding policy measures to ensure we are not left with outdated technology.
In order to spur feedback, today we will publish the ZEV Policy Public Consultation Document for the public to review and provide feedback on the Citizens Forum at forum.gov.bm
This document is intended to solicit feedback from the public and stakeholder groups.
The next step in the process is to develop concrete, thorough, and exhaustive policy recommendations based on the feedback received.
At this time, there are a few details of the policy intentionally omitted from the public consult document, they are:
- The date by which the policy would go into effect
- The vehicle technologies to be included in the ZEV definition
- Timeline for phasing out sales for specific vehicle types and use cases
We have not included this information in the consultation document with the intention of first soliciting feedback from the public.
After the consultation process concludes, the Ministry of Transport will review each response and provide a detailed policy recommendation and strategy to the public.
Government is aware there are some key factors that will contribute to final decisions and these items will be part of the overall discussion in key stakeholder meetings. Some key considerations for the ZEV Policy are:
- Determining which types of vehicles will qualify as a ZEV in the Bermuda context, and the timeline and/or ZEV sales targets by vehicle type.
- Increased electricity demand due to EVs
- Deployment of a comprehensive charging infrastructure network for EVs
- Higher purchase price and limited vehicle model availability of ZEVs on the island
- Developing local ZEV maintenance and servicing capacity
- Recycling and disposal of EV batteries and other components
I am encouraging the public to take time to review the document and provide feedback. The deadline for public feedback submissions is March 23rd, 2023. The Ministry of Transport will host Q&A webinar on February 15th and details will be posted online.
Thank you.