Utilities as Star Players
Pamela MacDougall is Director, Grid Modernization Strategy at Environmental Defense Fund. Larissa Koehler is Director, Vehicle Electrification & Senior Attorney at Environmental Defense Fund.
There is little doubt that electric trucks and buses are coming. Industry is driving change with manufacturers investing billions to bring these vehicles to market and hundreds of fleets are putting in orders.
Governments are adopting key policies that aim to accelerate the market and its transition from diesel-fueled engines to zero-emission motors. The allocation of funds in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, regional and state policies, such as the Advanced Clean Trucks and Advanced Clean Fleets rules, as well as the agreement by nineteen jurisdictions to achieve a hundred percent sales of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, are mobilizing the transition to zero-emission trucks and buses.
To ensure this shift is cost-effective, equitable, and that it maximizes environmental and grid benefits, an all-hands-on-deck approach is needed. Key state agencies, environmental justice and community based organizations, labor, and industry must work collaboratively to achieve a sustainable transition. In addition, the utility, a stakeholder that often flies a bit under the radar, will be an essential part of a sustainable zero-emission vehicle future.
As fleets begin to adopt zero-emission vehicles, their first line of contact will often necessarily be the utility, which is best equipped to help fleets understand and plan to develop their charging infrastructure.