Energy Exchange

Illinois’ new EV Charging Act brings more equitable charging to renters

By EDF Blogs / Published: June 15, 2023

UPDATE: Since this blog’s publication on June 15, 2023, the Chicago City Council has passed an ordinance aligning and complementing its existing EV readiness ordinance with the state law. Chicago’s 2020 ordinance was more stringent, requiring EV ready wiring in new residential and commercial construction rather than EV capable. Residential requirements only applied in homes of five units or more, whereas SB40 affects all new residential construction. Now, all residential parking spaces in new homes must be EV ready regardless of size. Like the state law, the updated code will require energy management systems, as well as reduction of requirements for affordable housing due to their unique permitting and funding timelines. The ordinance goes into effect for permits submitted after November 1, 2023.

The newly passed Illinois EV Charging Act will address the residential charging access gap by requiring new homes to have basic electrical infrastructure to support future EV charging and giving renters and condo owners a right to charge.

Also posted in Illinois / Authors: admin / Comments are closed

Texas awards $8 million in state incentives for electric trucks

By Phillip Martin / Published: April 21, 2023

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has awarded $8.2 million in state incentives to help companies operating in Texas purchase 51 electric trucks.

The announcement is a win for communities, the climate and the companies who secured the historic funding opportunity. The announced funds should signal to companies across the country that clean fleet investments are now part of the package of economic incentives that make Texas such an attractive place to do business.

Also posted in Texas / Comments are closed

The Electric Truck Market Is Ready. Colorado Should Seize The Momentum

By Larissa Koehler / Published: April 19, 2023

Medium- and heavy-duty trucks only make up 10% of the vehicles on American roads and highways, but they produce a disproportionate amount of climate and local air pollution per mile. That’s why states, cities and counties across the country have been working for years to clean up these critical pieces of our economy.

Colorado has two urgent opportunities — alongside complementary measures that explicitly prioritize frontline communities — to seize this momentum and produce cleaner air and reduced climate emissions faster.

Posted in Electric Vehicles / Comments are closed

With beneficial electrification plans, the Illinois Commerce Commission takes a step towards reducing harmful emissions

By EDF Blogs / Published: March 23, 2023

By Larissa Koehler and Brian Urbaszewski

Today, the Illinois Commerce Commission issued a final order approving beneficial electrification plans from the state’s two biggest utilities — Commonwealth Edison and Ameren. The transportation-focused plans, directed by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, are critical to decarbonizing the transportation sector in Illinois.

Also posted in Illinois / Comments are closed

After a worrisome delay, New Jersey regulators are making real progress on electric truck charging infrastructure

By EDF Blogs / Published: February 21, 2023

By Elizabeth B. Stein and Cole Jermyn

Back in December, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities released a revised straw proposal for the development of charging infrastructure for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles throughout the state. This proposal comes over a year after the preliminary proposal was released in June 2021. When it comes to building infrastructure at a large scale and the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other health-harming pollution, especially in already overburdened communities, a year’s delay is costly. The BPU must work quickly to finalize an order and direct the utilities to implement their resulting programs soon to align with the rapid deployment of zero-emission trucks and buses expected in New Jersey.

Also posted in Air Quality / Comments are closed

Rule #1 of deploying hydrogen: Electrify first

By EDF Blogs / Published: January 30, 2023

By Eriko Shrestha and Tianyi Sun

There is extraordinary excitement today over zero and low carbon hydrogen. But can it live up to the silver-bullet hype?

Case in point: Evidence indicates that in certain applications, green hydrogen made using wind or solar power could indeed yield a big climate benefit over fossil fuels. And in applications where other clean alternatives are lacking, it could be one of our best decarbonization tools.

Also posted in Air Quality / Comments are closed