Amid an expanding market, new policies and regulations, and frequent announcements of public and private investments, the transportation electrification space is in constant motion. We’re always adding new data and tools to EV Hub to enhance the user experience and track these dynamic issues. As part of this effort, we’re rolling out a new publicly available section on EV Hub to bring to light our insights on market developments. These data stories are often inspired by media coverage and lean heavily on data from EV Hub dashboards and valuable external resources.
Working within this evolving landscape is a central focus of this week’s Roadmap 12 conference hosted by Forth in Portland, Oregon. The event brings together leaders representing industry, government, and non-profit groups to discuss current issues and envision a future with widespread transportation electrification. This type of coordination among stakeholders is a key aspect of the industry that our data stories seek to illuminate.
In Portland, the transit agency TriMet is working with the utility Portland General Electric (PGE) to roll out the nation’s first wind-powered transit buses. TriMet will pay $228 per month for bundled renewable energy credits to ensure that the four buses run on clean energy. Buy-in from TriMet is critical to the success and future expansion of PGE’s renewable energy program, and the partnership ensures that the infrastructure is in place to absorb at least 80 electric buses over the next five years. Roughly 25 percent PGE’s total transportation electrification investment specifically targets mass transit.
Our Federal Transit Administration funding data reveals that we have a long way to go to successfully link electric transit buses and renewable energy. According to our Public Funding Awards Dashboard, only six states that have received federal funding to date specify that some of their buses will be charged with renewable energy. Programs that do make the connection are worth roughly $10 million together—less than five percent of the total funding distributed so far. While many more programs that are not included in this statistic seek to harness the potential of transportation electrification and renewable energy, cities like Portland are taking the lead by putting policy into action.
The TriMet and PGE collaboration demonstrates how utilities can increase the value proposition of electrifying transportation. With more than $560 million in approved investments across five states that include some focus on mass transit, electric utilities can play a vital role in achieving state climate and energy goals. You can learn more about the project in Portland and similar projects elsewhere at Roadmap 12 on June 18th and 19th.
Source: EV Hub
