“For far too long, communities of color as well as other frontline communities, rural communities, have been left out of discussions about transportation electrification solutions, even though it’s these very communities whose health and well-being are being most impacted by fossil-fuel burning vehicles like trucks and buses,” said Dr. Shelley Francis, Co-Founder of EV Hybrid Noire.
CLEAN ENERGY
Must Be Equitable
As EV adoption grows, Missouri grapples with charging inequities. While Missouri is seventh in the country in electric car and truck adoption, charging access remains a challenge particularly in low income areas and for communities of color. Charging availability maps closely with racial and income divisions, especially in Kansas City, where Troost Street — historically the city’s racial dividing line — serves also as the line between where you can find EV chargers or not. With federal infrastructure funding flowing to the state, advocates want to ensure electrification and charging efforts prioritize communities that have otherwise been left behind. (The Kansas City Beacon)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is Replacing Fossil Fuels
European Union pivots to clean energy to replace Russian fossil fuel imports. The EU released a new $317 billion plan to end its dependence on Russian coal, oil, and gas within five years, in large part by massively expanding and accelerating clean energy construction. Under the plan, renewable energy sources like solar and wind farms would provide 45 percent of Europe’s energy by 2030, up from 22 percent in 2020, the Wall Street Journal reports. Meanwhile, several EU member states have committed to increasing offshore wind production tenfold by 2050, writes Protocol. The countries aim to install 65 gigawatts by 2030 and 150 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2050, up from just 15 gigawatts today. (Wall Street Journal $, Protocol)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is a Good Investment
Automakers invest billions in U.S. EV supply chains. Hyundai and Stellantis each announced multi-billion dollar investments in scaling up U.S. supply chains for electric cars. Hyundai is committing $5.5 billion to build EV and battery manufacturing facilities in Georgia, Reuters reports. Speaking during the announcement in Seoul, President Biden urged Hyundai to employ American union workers for these operations. Separately, Stellantis announced it will invest $2.5 billion in a battery factory in Indiana, writes the Detroit Free Press. The plant is expected to create 1,400 jobs and will be Stellantis’s second battery facility in North America. (Reuters, Detroit Free Press)
Microgrids can be a boon to EV fleets. New efforts to integrate microgrids into electric car and truck infrastructure aim to support the growth of all-electric fleets and deliver savings on electricity costs. Like electric cars, microgrids tend to have high upfront costs but reap long-term savings. Investing in microgrids can help fleet owners skip the long wait times for utilities to upgrade grids to support EV fast charging. Thanks to new financing models, microgrid solutions are becoming more accessible to and viable for businesses. (Canary Media)
CLEAN ENERGY
Has Many Benefits
Floating solar farm helps clean up wine country. The largest floating solar farm in North America lies in Healdsburg, California, providing clean power to thousands of local homes and businesses. The solar array floats above the Wine Country community’s wastewater treatment facility and the shade from the panels helps reduce algae growth in treated water, keeping the water cleaner before it is used to irrigate nearby vineyards. The panels also provide roughly eight percent of the city’s electricity needs. Additional floating solar panel projects are being planned to cover irrigation canals, where they can cut water evaporation critical in the drought-plagued Golden State. (ABC 7)
Doctor touts EV health benefits for communities of color. On top of reducing fueling costs, electric cars and trucks also have major benefits for community health by eliminating other forms of tailpipe air pollution. After purchasing and talking to her community about her new EV, Dr. Shelley Francis co-founded the nonprofit EV Hybrid Noire to highlight how these advantages are especially beneficial for communities of color, which are disproportionately plagued by air pollution. (Yale Climate Connections)
CLEAN ENERGY
Is Challenging
Complex permitting and tariffs are stifling solar power. While the solar industry continues to grow, its trajectory is starting to plateau in part because of a complex arrangement of permitting rules across the country, Bloomberg reports. To help accelerate permitting, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory has developed a new standardized system called Solar Automated Permit Processing Plus, or SolarAPP+, which automatically performs compliance checks instead of relying on the lengthy process of manual approvals. Meanwhile, the whole industry is reeling from a Commerce department probe on solar panels imported from several Southeast Asian countries, Grist reports. Tariffs were initially conceived to help support the domestic solar manufacturing industry, but their successes have been limited with most U.S. solar jobs still focused on installation, not manufacturing and domestic production alone is unable to meet demand. (Bloomberg $, Grist)
MULTIMEDIA
Chart: The world's car buyers are ready to go electric