Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 - Implications for clean transportation
A few days ago, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 was introduced by Democratic senators in Congress. The hefty bill (over 700 pages long) included a long list of climate-related provisions that revitalized climate action activists. They include a number of incentives related to clean energy and transportation.
Hawaii Single-Port EV Charger Rebate Bill signed into law
Good news! SB2720, which expands the Hawaii Energy EV Charging Station Rebate Program to include single-port chargers, has been signed into law.
Passage of this bill means that property owners can avail of the rebate when installing single-port chargers. This will help expand Hawaii’s EV charging network.
image courtesy of Michael Fousert.
“When it comes to electrifying transportation, heavy-duty vehicles lag far behind”
The electrification of transportation is underway and great progress is being made in the light-medium duty vehicle space. Heavier vehicles present a bigger challenge, something that will eventually be solved with a variety of solutions, e.g., batteries with increased energy density, opportunity charging, high-speed charging, and even fuel cells.
How to bring our community along as we transition to a clean energy future…
Hawaii EV board member, Noel Morin, had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion at the 9th Hawaii Energy Conference. This panel discussion focused on the social equity and the importance of framing solutions to allow for participation from all sectors of our community.
Drive Electric Earth Day 2022 in Hawaii
Hawaii EV concluded its month-long celebration of Drive Electric Earth Day on April 30 with a webinar that reviewed our events and offered our audience with information about EV ownership, buying, and charging tips.
Solar Powered Charging at UHCC Hilo
Greeinvest has just completed its installation of a stand-alone, off-grid EV charging station. The station, an EV ARC, is a portable solar-power charging system produced by BEAM. Michael Ryer, Greeinvest founder, supervised the installation of a unit at the UH Community College (1175 Manono St., Hilo).
Hydrogen Cars - Folly or Common Sense?
California’s experience with hydrogen fueling stations holds lessons that can help Hawaii avoid waste and accelerate its transition to clean energy. It is on track to spend over $400,000,000 on a network of 100 hydrogen fueling stations. The rationale seems to be built on the axiom “build it, and they will come.”
The reality is that it’s unlikely that ‘they’ (fuel-cell electric cars) will come fast enough to play a meaningful role in the decarbonization of ground transportation. Many factors are playing against it in Hawaii:
Coming to the Big Island - A Sustainable EV Charging Station
East Hawaii will be hosting its first EV Arc charging station, a solar + battery EV system. The system is being deployed at UH Community College in Hilo by GreeInvest. This stand-alone, portable charging solution has been deployed in several mainland cities and offers site owners flexibility in installing charging stations.
Decarbonizing Medium-Heavy Duty Vehicles
A recent Electrek article summarised an NREL study on the emergent cost parity developing in the medium-heavy duty vehicle space.
EV Bill Status and Action Request
The legislative session powers on. We’re at the mid-way point and the number of bills has narrowed. Here’s a status on the EV bills that are alive.
Electric vehicles for the environment
Hawaii EV’s Noel Morin recently presented the rationale for EV ownership at a Hawaii Climate Coalition meeting. He covered strategies to enable sustainable transportation, the benefits of electric vehicles, and the role of public charging in making our transition to clean transportation equitable.
EVs as a Service - Envoy Hawaii
Envoy’s Mobility as an Amenity is now delivering a unique, clean transportation service for residents of an apartment complex in Honolulu. Residents of Halekauwila Place Apartments have access to a new Nissan LEAF that can be booked through the Envoy Mobility app.
New Commercial EV Rates
Good news for commercial entities (and EV owners) in Hawaiian Electric’s service territories - a pilot program that will offer lower electricity rates for electric vehicle charging stations. The 5-year program is limited to the first 1000 customers with Level 2 and “small-scale” DC fast charger and the first 500 customer with large DC fast chargers. It will offer a lower time-of-use rate that will incentivize charging during the midday and lower demand charges.
Know your battery with Recurrent
Recurrent provides monthly reports that describe the state of your car’s battery. This may allow owners to detect insidious degradation that may require attention. Learn more about this free service.
Pole-mounted EV chargers?
Earlier this year, EVSE LLC’s pole-mounted EV chargers were deployed in Melrose, MA as part of a pilot with the local utility, National Grid. The devices were installed 10 feet up several power poles around the city. To access the service, users utilized a mobile app offered by AmpUp, a California-based software company and network provider.
Supercharging electric vehicle adoption
The Biden administration released its Electric Vehicle Charging Action Plan on December 13, 2021. The ambitious plan calls for implementing a network of half a million charging stations across the nation. It calls for $7.5B to be invested in a charging network, with a special focus on equity. There are also billions in loans and grants to enable domestic manufacturing of batteries and components.
Hydrogen in Transportation
A public debate regarding the merits of fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) continues to brew despite the obvious advantages of battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). Many comparisons have been made, including cost and lifetime emissions. We recently were invited to join Think Tech Hawaii's Jay Fidel to discuss the matter and it allowed us to further expound on the matter.
image by Levi Midnight via Unsplash
How green is my car?
MIT’s Carbon Counter offers a peek into the lifetime emissions and cost-of-ownership figures for cars, SUVs, and light-duty trucks available in the US.
Image by jannesglas
More Public Chargers and Lower Rates?
Earlier this month, Hawaiian Electric announced their Public Electric Vehicle Charger Expansion Project, a proposal before the PUC to expand the number of stations in their service territories (Maui, Oahu, and Big Island).
Diesel Replacement Rebates Offered by the Hawaii State Energy Office
The Hawaii State Energy Office, in partnership with the Hawaii Department of Health, has created the Diesel Replacement Rebate Program, which offers a 45% rebate to cover the cost to replace medium and heavy-duty vehicles with an electric equivalent.