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From the Ground Up: Rural Electric Co-ops Can Lead on Decarbonization

With the Biden-Harris administration’s recent announcement of $11 billion for rural energy providers to electrify and decarbonize, rural electric cooperatives now have the boost they need to apply their nimble capabilities and lead the energy transition. Although energy demand from any one cooperative may be small, the impact that cooperatives have across the United States…

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Navigating the Workforce Bottleneck

The workforce is the driving engine of the economy. This adage is equally true even when the engine is efficient and electric. Clean energy jobs in the fields of energy efficiency and electrification are increasing. While the U.S. workforce grew overall by 2.8% between 2020 and 2021, clean energy jobs grew 4% during the same…

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In the Electrification Push, Familiar Tools Get Repurposed

Stephen King wrote, “Sooner or later, everything old is new again.” Many “new” regulatory approaches to encourage building electrification are actually just new applications of tried-and-true methods policymakers have been using for years. Take, for example, clean heat standards, which some states (e.g., Colorado and Vermont) are considering or have implemented. A clean heat standard requires…

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To Save Energy, Cities Turn to Building Performance Standards

When homes and buildings are first constructed, they must meet the building code in place at the time of construction. The median age of U.S. homes is 39 years, which means that most homes are decades out of date on the most efficient and cost-saving housing technologies. The replacement rate of buildings — demolition and…

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A Chance to Transform Weatherization Programs

Across the country, state and local governments are awaiting a windfall investment from the federal government to modernize infrastructure and ensure energy security. Everything from housing to bridges, airports and the electric grid will receive an injection of funds to provide safer, more efficient, more equitable and more climate-aligned basic services to everyone living in…

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Tackling the Job of Building Modernization: A Toolkit for State Decision-Makers

Energy efficiency and electrification are the dynamic duo of a modern building. Technology advances in both these areas mean that we have the ability to improve the comfort and health of a building’s residents, save them money, reduce air pollution and better manage demand on the power system. In a time of rising costs and…

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How Electrifying Trucks Can Help Roadside Neighborhoods Breathe Easier

We know that electrifying trucks, as we wrote last month, can reduce significant amounts of air pollution; it can also have significant health benefits, particularly for frontline communities. Analysis by Alexander Meitiv and Ann Xu for Texas A&M’s Transportation Institute finds that, by electrifying just 40% of existing, predominantly diesel-fueled medium-and heavy-duty vehicles in the…

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Be Strategic with Your EV Funding: The Essential Charging Network

As the Rolling Stones once told us, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” That idea might certainly apply to jurisdictions that would love to have the resources to build out a comprehensive charging network for electric vehicles, but find that they have to downsize their ambitions for fiscal reasons. Some places are sorting this…

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交通领域电气化转型的政策工具选择

要想实现交通运输领域的电气化转型,合理规划、采取激励措施、扫清障碍以及建立正确的监管框架都是必要条件。但不同地区的农村和城市生活方式各不相同,需要各自寻找适合自身的解决方案。睿博能源智库(RAP)的Camille Kadoch总结了我们为美国订制的RAP电动汽车路线图,提供了一套可供自由组合的政策工具包,涵盖了目标、资金来源、政策协调、激励措施(包括非财政激励)、充电建筑规范、与电力公司的合作、政策指南、立法模型等。它还包括一个powerpoint演示文稿,以便于向决策者和公民解释各种选择。Kadoch在文章最后引述研究报告称,交通领域的电气化转型每年可创造10万个以上的净新增就业岗位,每年可拉动GDP增长25亿至99亿美元。这对于任何希望走出疫情阴云恢复经济的国家来说都是非常有用的。虽然该工具包是为美国决策者开发制定的,但任何地区的决策者都可以参考。 交通部门的电气化为各国提供了一个契机,可以为公民节省燃料开支,改善地方经济,解决国家安全问题,改善公共卫生和应对气候变化。 其中一些问题比以往任何时候都更加紧迫,比如解决本地就业和改善公共卫生。但是经验和研究却向我们展示了其他可能会被忽视的部分——无所作为的代价。要实现这些利益的全部价值需要积极的立法和规划。若不及时采取行动,利益将会流失。 电动汽车是一种相对较新的技术。在美国,加利福尼亚州和其他大约三分之一的州已经开始实施电动汽车相关法规,但大约三分之二的州仍处于起步阶段。 这是个复杂的问题,涉及各种公共政策主题:交通、电力、空气质量等等。这是一个需要简化的领域。认识到这一点,RAP收集了各种不同的州立法选择,以帮助倡导者和决策者设想电气化交通路线图可以带来的好处以及应当规避的陷阱。 Souce: Roadmap for Electric Transportation / RAP(睿博能源智库) 规划、激励、障碍、法规 RAP电动汽车路线图为各州提供了包括制定交通电气化规划、培育激励措施、清扫障碍和促进监管机构参与的多种选择。这些选择以各州现有的立法为基础,可以让各州自行选择适宜的方案,以最有效地满足其各自需求。 该路线图为交通电气化提供了涵盖不同要素的完整视野。若只看到交通电气化政策的一部分,就如同只见树木不见森林一样。 因地制宜的解决方案 但是,在俄克拉荷马州这样的乡村地区,交通领域的电气化与紧凑、城市化的罗德岛有所不同。 为了确保城市和农村居民都能从向电动汽车的转型中受益,华盛顿州认识到该州不同地区的需求不同,因此选择让地区交通规划组织发挥主导作用。新泽西州正在建立一个“必要的充电网络”,为公众提供足够数量的大功率快速充电站。该路线图为各州提供了大量的选择,以便其能够找到适合自己的电气化路径。 对于有兴趣推进交通电气化的州立法者,我们将立法行动分为四个方面,以帮助他们确定其最佳选择。 1、设定规划目标 交通电气化可以为各州带来多种益处,但固有的障碍意味着需要立法行动来实现利益的最大化并规避一些陷阱。电动汽车规划包括以下部分或全部内容: 电动汽车发展目标和时间表 州电动汽车政策规划应可以促进跨部门的协调 州公用车队电气化,发挥引领作用 对域内的电动汽车进行定期评估 未来交通的资金来源规划 2、以激励机制拉动投资 由于认识到电动汽车所带来的广泛利益,许多州都提供了直接的财政支持,以鼓励交通领域的电气化。 我们了解到,车辆购置时的相关激励措施是最有效、最透明且最持久的。 优先停车或使用共乘(HOV)车道等非财政激励措施也是有效的诱导因素。 3、扫清障碍 交通电气化的障碍,如缺乏充电基础设施或建筑规范不适应电动汽车充电需求,都是需要解决的重要问题。立法者可以采取行动扫清这些障碍,以确保: 消费者友好型充电基础设施以及电动汽车充电随处可用。 合适的建筑规范,为未来电气化做准备。 电气化惠及全社会,包括农村和低收入社区。 来源: Roadmap for Electric Transportation: Legislative Options / RAP(睿博能源智库) 4、赋能监管机构 电力部门与交通电气化有几个重要的交叉点,这意味着监管机构——主要是公共事业委员会(PUC)以及能源办公室、运输机构和其他机构——将需要足够的立法指导,以充分利用电动汽车。为了最有效地规划交通系统的电气化,PUC需要: 要求电力公司将电动汽车负荷预测和充电基础设施投资纳入该部门定期提交的资源计划中。 实施合理的电价,以便能够充分利用电动汽车作为电网资源。 为电力公司参与充电基础设施建设及其投资的成本回收提供指导。 启用基于绩效的监管(PBR)激励措施,使电力公司充电基础设施物尽其用。   来源: Roadmap for…

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Choose Your Own Road Trip: A Toolkit for Transportation Electrification

Electrification of the transportation sector provides an opportunity for states to save citizens money on fuel, improve the local economy, address national security concerns, improve public health and combat climate change. Some of these attributes have more urgency than ever, such as the need for local jobs and improved public health. But experience and studies…