Utah Foundations Driving Towards a Cleaner Future Report (November 2019)

 

Driving Toward a Cleaner Future: Alternative Fuel Vehicles in Utah examines the incentives and disincentives around electric cars, as well as the policy decisions around preparation for a wide proliferation of electric vehicles in the future. It also examines the incentives and requirements around public and private heavy-duty fleet vehicles.

Key Findings of this Report

  • Electric vehicles – or battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids – accounted for less than 2% of the nation’s new vehicle market share in 2018. In Utah, electric’s market share was about 1.6%.
  • Addressing the fears of consumers is a core challenge in alternative fuel vehicle adoption. Less than a quarter of Americans consider purchasing electric cars because of concerns about running out of power, the availability of charging stations and initial vehicle cost.
  • Utah’s relatively small electric vehicle tax credit was not renewed in 2016, yet electric vehicle market share has continued to increase.
  • The top electric-vehicle-adopting states – all in the West – offer significant incentives. However, the 10 states with the highest market share growth in 2018 offer no incentives (though they all had 2017 market share under one percent).
  • There is evidence that the looming threat of expiring tax credits can encourage short-term market uptake of alternative fuel vehicles.
  • Due to state and local investment, as well as the Volkswagen Settlement and private actors, Utah’s electric vehicle charging infrastructure is poised to quickly expand
  • Large fleet vehicles account for one-third to one-half of Utah’s vehicle emissions, even though they account for only 3% of the vehicle miles traveled.
  • Alternative-fuel, heavy-duty fleet vehicles are more expensive than diesel and have large infrastructure costs, but offer large fuel and maintenance savings.
  • To encourage the market’s embrace of alternative fuel vehicles, state and local governments should continue to explore opportunities to encourage private actors to deploy alternative fuel infrastructure for customers, tenants, employees and visitors.
  • Cities and counties have at least two potential roles to play: adopting building codes that are “future-proof” for the growth in alternative fuel vehicles, and retiring older public-service diesel fuel fleets.
  • Utah may get a substantial air quality return on its tax credit investments by continuing to focus incentives on heavy-duty fleet vehicles and renewing them in 2020.
  • To encourage the market’s embrace of alternative fuel vehicles, public and private sector stakeholders should mount public information campaigns to explain the growing availability of alternative fuel infrastructure and address other consumer fears.

You can download a pdf of the report here

See the comprehensive, 2014, air quality report here.

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Tammie Bostick: Working together for a cleaner Utah

Original posted to the Salt Lake Tribune – April 21st, 2021

Utah is making great strides toward protecting the environment with clean energy

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) A Utah electric vehicle charging station, Jan. 6, 2020.

(Leah Hogsten | The Salt Lake Tribune) A Utah electric vehicle charging station, Jan. 6, 2020.By Tammie Bostick | Special to The Tribune

  | April 16, 2021, 10:31 a.m.

Utah is making tremendous progress on advancing smart mobility solutions to help protect the environment and improve air quality across the state. In both the public and private sectors, Utahns are coming together in the spirit of collaboration to help build a cleaner, more sustainable energy future by investing in forward-thinking strategies and technologies.

These efforts are a clear signal that Utah’s residents, businesses and communities are ready to embrace climate-friendly clean energy solutions. However, for us to fully realize the potential of clean fuels, clean air and clean strategies, we need our leaders in Washington to continue amplifying bipartisan solutions that support infrastructure investment and innovation in America’s clean energy sector. The climate denial policy decisions elected officials make at both the state and federal levels have enormous consequences on the work we and countless others do to advance clean transportation solutions across the state.

Working with the federal government has been critical to this success. Utah Clean Cities is leading partnerships with the U.S. Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Office with two innovative Smart Mobility programs: EVZion and CORWest.

As the name implies, EVZion focuses on demonstrating a zero-emissions, electric vehicle (EV) shuttle system in partnership with Kanab and the East Zion Initiative. The benefits of transitioning to an all-electric fleet of shuttles will be tremendous. The design plan of the theater-view shuttle will allow visitors to see and to be “moved” by the wonder of Zion park.

The CORWest project is aimed at connecting eight Intermountain West regional states — Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado — through a series of electric corridors. Both programs alone will help improve Utah’s air quality — taken together as a whole, they will have a tremendous impact, especially when applied to large fleets, such as a shuttle fleet.

The recent 2021 Utah legislative session greatly enhanced many Utah projects through tax incentives and have the potential to power-up Utah’s smart mobility deployment with state-of-the-art technologies and fuels that are renewable, net zero and in some cases, carbon-benefitting. Cradle-to-cradle strategies that prevent greenhouse gases from being emitted represent the ultimate goal for climate action.

 

Direct action is needed to reduce and minimize the production, sale and use of fossil fuels. This strategy is critical to making meaningful progress in regard to climate mitigation. We are in a position to deploy smart mobility strategies today in our nation. We are especially positioned to lead this movement in resource-rich Utah with abundant options for renewable energy and clean fuels.

Our energy sector in Utah is advantageously positioned to educate and mobilize the workforce of the future now. Our universities, community colleges, regional vocational schools are ideally situated and ready to train, retrain and reskill a resilient workforce.

Utah’s education system is one that will grow with the advancement of state-of-the-art renewable power generation, key infrastructure expansion, clean energy production. Moreover, Utah is training future professionals to operate, maintain and provide the technical support of the new, emerging and progressed energy sector.

At the federal level, there appears to be a growing bipartisan consensus on the need to support similar clean energy and transportation policies with funding supporting critical infrastructure. The first major energy innovation package passed in over a decade, the Energy Act dedicates $35 billion over the next five years to advance a range of clean energy efforts.

There is no doubt in my mind that we can rise to the challenges we face when it comes to securing a cleaner energy future for everyone. It will take all of us working together as allies to get the job done.

Tammie Bostick

 

Tammie Bostick is executive director of Utah Clean Cities Coalition and also serves as vice president of Transportation Energy Partners, a collaborative federally focused group supporting the Clean Cities Coalition Network. She is on the governor’s Motor Vehicle Review Board and is an ASPIRE Innovation Partner with Utah State University. Utah Clean Cities works to support Utah’s transition to a cleaner energy and smart mobility future advancing clean energy and technology initiatives statewide by supporting organizations and fleets in their efforts to reduce vehicle emissions and contribute to a better air quality for Utah

By Tammie Bostick | Special to The Tribune

 

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Governor Advances Clean Transportation in Utah

Utah Leaders and organizations gathered on Nov 4, 2019, in celebration of the 11th Year Anniversary and Annual Declaration of the Governor’s Partnership for Advanced Fuels and Infrastructure. This event represents the next step in understanding proven business models for fleets and sustainable strategies for clean transportation in Utah.

Utah Clean Cities organized the event in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Energy Development to engage a wide variety of stakeholders, private and public partnerships, communities, and leaders on a common platform to better understand cost effective and measurable impact solutions to emissions. The goal? To boost the overall economy and benefit the transportation sector by offering cleaner transportation alternatives statewide.

Tammie Bostick, Utah Clean Cities Executive Director. Photo By Colter Peterson, KSL.

The Governor’s Declaration includes information regarding the integration of low – and zero-emissions transportation options and calls for continued expansion of infrastructure for Alternative Fuels. The declaration notes the emerging portfolio of advanced fueled vehicles, both public and private, including fuels produced from Utah-sourced agricultural and municipal wastes, electric, propane, compressed natural gas, ethanol and biodiesel. 

“Alternative fuels continue to play a critical role in Utah’s economic and environmental success,” said Gary R. Herbert, Governor of Utah.  “With my Office of Energy Development and its key partners, we have worked together to realize significant strides in diversifying our fuels and infrastructure to provide greater transportation options to Utahns while also achieving greater air quality, economic opportunity and energy security.”

The Annual Declaration for Alternative Fuels in Utah began in 2008 and has since drawn local and national interest. This year’s Declaration was read by Laura Nelson, the Governor’s energy advisor, and outlined several key successes realized to date, including the ever-growing infrastructure expansion in Utah, the eight-state agreement to advance an electric vehicle corridor across the West, and the creation of an emergency response database and fleet acquisition plan.  In total, 941 stations across Utah offer alternative fuels, including CNG, RNG, LNG, autogas and electric charging, many along its most frequented corridors – I-15, I-80 and I-70. 

Tammy Bostick, center, UCC, listens as Laura Nelson, the governor’s energy advisor, reads the Declaration of Alternative Fuel Awareness Month. During the event Nelson unveiled the iREV Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Emergency Plans report produced in partnership with OED, UCC, and the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO).  The report examines how alternative fuel vehicles can bolster Utah’s resilience, and be leveraged as an emergency response resource in the event of a disruption to the state’s transportation fuels sector.  Photo By Colter Peterson, KSL.“As we continue to deliver on Utah’s Energy Action Plan to 2020, we are proud to unveil the new iREV report, in partnership with UCC and NASEO, to strengthen our state’s energy resilience and emergency planning through greater collaboration, education and adoption of alternative fuels, which remain a vital player in Utah’s overall economic and environmental strategy,” said Laura Nelson, the governor’s energy advisor and executive director of the Governor’s Office of Energy Development. “Through new online tools and fuller partnerships, we anticipate our strategic planning will realize ever-greater safety, infrastructure, and investment opportunities as we look to meet the demands of the future.” 

Other event speakers included Tammie Bostick, Utah Clean Cities; Carolyn Gonot, UTA, and David Christenson, SELECT. As a key highlight, Utah Clean Cities announced its commitment to advance two DOE cooperative agreements to support advanced vehicle projects, namely the East Zions National Park Electric Vehicle Shuttle System Plan and Supporting a Strong EV Market in the Intermountain West. OED provided support letters for these UCC grants, which will include the development and deployment of a small-scale EV shuttle system at Zions that will increase connectivity across Southern Utah and act as a national model, and the driving of a multi stakeholder engagement project to strengthen the EV market and rural infrastructure across the region.  The projects are expected to generate more than three million in revenue for the state over the next three years. 

Ramiro Floras checks out a trio of Teslas following a press conference during a press conference at the Capitol marking the 11th anniversary of November being declared Alternative Fuel Awareness Month in Utah. Photo By Colter Peterson, KSL.

“The entire Intermountain West Region will benefit from this project which supports consumer education, stakeholder engagement, and urban and rural infrastructure development of electric vehicle charging through the expansion of alternative fuel corridors,” said Tammie Bostick, executive director of Utah Clean Cities.

Other transportation stakeholders spoke on their commitment to delivering on Utah’s alternative fuel future, including Dominion Energy on the advancement of H.B. 107 which expands the Sustainable Transportation Plan Act to include a large-scale natural gas utility, and UTA which has reduced its emissions by more than half by diversifying their fleet since 2008, with a long-term goal of evenly providing of CNG, electric and hybrid fuels. 

“Dominion Energy is proud to deliver clean, reliable energy to homes, businesses, industry and alternative-energy automobiles,” said Craig Wagstaff, Dominion Energy Senior Vice President and General Manager – Western Division. “We are excited about our partnerships – which are expanding – with producers of renewable natural gas (RNG) to provide carbon-negative sources of fuel for natural gas vehicles and homes. Dominion Energy’s goal is to become the nation’s leader when it comes to sustainable, reliable, affordable and safe energy.”  

Hal Johnson, manager of project development for the Utah Transit Authority, gives Carolyn Gonot, UTA’s executive director, a rundown of the energy consumption on one of the company’s electric buses following a press conference at the Capitol marking the 11th anniversary of November being declared Alternative Fuel Awareness Month in Utah. Photo By Colter Peterson, KSL.

“UTA currently operates 54 electric-hybrid buses, 47 CNG buses, and 3 electric buses. With the implementation of new technology, UTA has reduced emissions by more than 75% from our past bus fleet (2008) to our current fleet today (2019),” said Carolyn Gonot, UTA Executive Director. “Those who choose to ride UTA’s bus system save an average of 18.7 grams/trip of air pollution. As UTA continues to incorporate clean technologies and people choose to ride transit the air pollution savings per trip will only continue to increase.”

In recent years, several municipalities have committed to diversifying their fleets, including Salt Lake City, St. George, Sandy City, Park City, and now the gateway community of Kanab.  In 2017, Park City became the first municipality in Utah to operate a zero-emission, all-electric bus system. Additionally, the Salt Lake City International Airport is working to integrate alternative fuels to its fleet, including RNG (renewable natural gas) and electric.  Lastly, adoption among the private-sector continues to rise, with initiatives within companies such as Geneva Rock, a construction business based in Orem, Packsize, a sustainable packaging company, and refuse haulers ACE Recycling and Disposal and Momentum Waste Management. 

“The world of fleet fuels has been very exciting over the last 10 years,” said Matt Stalsberg, general manager of ACE.  “Our consumption needs have forced us to look at alternative fuels, and our ethics have inspired us to choose what fuels we think would benefit our environment.  Fueling technology is the driving force that tells us what we can afford versus what we may want for the environment. Manufacturer’s need incentives, to embrace new technology research, this will help people like me afford a fleet that I can be proud of.”

Lastly, Utah continues to be at the forefront of emerging electriciation opportunities through research conducted at Utah State University’s Sustainable Electrified Transportation Center (SELECT) — a diverse network of faculty, students, key industry members and stakeholders are pursuing research activities that enable technologies and engineered systems in electrified transportation.

“Our collaboration activities have allowed us to grow from what began as five university partners and a dozen faculty members to 13 core and affiliated university members with more than 40 researchers with globally recognized expertise across sectors in the electric transportation ecosystem,” said David M. Christensen, SELECT Executive Director. “We are proud to have an aggressive and competitive research enterprise at Utah State University, including the Electric Vehicle & Roadway Research and Test Track Facility.”

 

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