By Lauren Navarro & Pamela MacDougall
California air regulators are currently considering adoption of the Advanced Clean Fleets rule — a purchase requirement for medium and heavy-duty fleets to adopt an increasing percentage of zero-emission trucks. This rule has the potential to be transformative.
Texans know better than to believe the lies. But, whenever severe weather strikes the state and the isolated electric grid is imperiled, they’re always fed them: “Green energy” is offered up as the ultimate scapegoat, facts be damned.
Last month, EDF co-hosted a workshop in Houston on the state of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles in Texas. Partnering with Evolve, the Houston-Galveston Area Council and Port Houston, we met at the NRG Center with dozens of industry experts, government officials, fleet managers and drivers to talk about the economic and environmental opportunities that transitioning to zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles offers for Texas. At the end of the workshop, participants were able to enjoy a ride-along with the latest Nikola ZEV truck.
By Michael Colvin and Larissa Koehler
Last month California took another significant step forward in advancing the deployment of zero-emission vehicles, with the adoption of a Transportation Electrification Framework by the state’s Public Utilities Commission. The framework establishes a $1 billion, 5-year suite of programs, and it provides a pathway for the state’s large electric utilities to continue to build on what is far and away the most successful deployment of electric vehicles in the country.
Two New Jersey gas utilities owned by South Jersey Industries, SJI,— South Jersey Gas and Elizabethtown Gas — are petitioning the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, BPU, for approval to be acquired by JP Morgan-backed investment firm IIF. The companies’ proposal relies on a business model of continued expansion of the natural gas distribution system, and suggests that decarbonization can be achieved by blending hydrogen and biomethane into gas pipelines. But increasing gas use is not aligned with state climate policy, and the proposed blending options are not assured climate solutions. The BPU should impose conditions on the proposed transaction to ensure consistency with state climate goals. Additionally, all New Jersey policymakers must recognize the importance of avoiding wasteful investments in gas system expansion — in particular, legislation promoting gas utility spending on biomethane and hydrogen raises serious concerns.
By Ben Hmiel and Jon Goldstein
After three years of actively collecting methane emissions data in the Permian Basin, researchers have gained new insights that will make it easier to reduce emissions of the incredibly potent greenhouse gas methane. These insights are helping inform state and federal regulatory approaches at a critical time.