Clean motorcycles and bikes at Earth Day Festival
They are electric vehicles with a shot of adrenaline.
Our cover story this week is about the rise of alternative electric vehicles — bicycles, dirt bikes and motorcycles that are electric.
The technology has been around for a while, but local shop owners told us they seem to be gaining popularity. They are also attracting different types of riders to motorcycles and dirt bikes. And the bikes mark a bit of a change in the industry, as they are very quiet for what have historically been very loud vehicles.
But the bikes don’t sacrifice speed. People told us that when it comes to the dirt bikes, the electric versions are some of the fastest bikes on the market.
The electric two-wheel vehicles are just another example of a transition to cleaner energy, which New Mexico is seeking to be at the forefront of through various programs.
And it’s a timely news item as we approach Earth Day 2024, which is on Monday, April 22.
Albuquerque is hosting an Earth Day Festival on April 21 at Balloon Fiesta Park.
The event is drawing a panel of community leaders in the middle of energy and technology: Public Service Company of New Mexico President and CEO Patricia Collawn, Sandia National Laboratories Director James Peery, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury and U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich.
There will also be discussions on better ways to insulate and electrify homes, and a kids panel with students from districts that were part of the Outdoor Learning Initiative in the 20232024 academic year.
The organizers and sponsors of the Albuquerque festival are taking notice of electric vehicles and bicycles as an important way to help the Earth. There are going to be several of the vehicles at the festival and experts at the event to talk about EV cars and bikes. There’s going to be a clean car concourse with displays from Toyota, Mitsubishi, Kia, Subaru, Volkswagen, BMW and Mini.
The vehicles were also in the news last week when the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board and the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board voted to keep the state’s clean car rules in place.
The state is working to transition the public to electric vehicles through a set of clean car rules that will have an escalating effect in coming years.
The rules will require that an increasing number of cars imported into the state be electric, beginning with model year 2027 vehicles and escalating through to 2032 vehicles.
Unlike with four-wheeled electric vehicles, the state doesn’t offer incentives for people who want to purchase electric bicycles, motorcycles or dirt bikes. There was an effort to provide a financial incentive for electric bicycles, but the bill didn’t get enough support in the Legislature.
The state is continuing its march to a future of electric cars and motorcycles. And the future might be closer than we think.