SACE's Electric Transportation Toolkit simplifies the process for decision-makers to identify cost-effective, sustainable, and equitable solutions and successful strategies to accelerate electric transportation. Take a peek at what's new in the 2022 update of the toolkit.
Dory Larsen | April 27, 2022 | Clean Transportation, Electric Vehicles, Energy PolicyThe 2022 update of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy’s Electric Transportation Toolkit for local governments to accelerate electric vehicle adoption is complete! The toolkit includes new and expanded content to meet urgent electric transportation planning needs. It remains a compilation of vetted resources and proven best practices to inform and support local and state government electric transportation planning and implementation including charging station deployment, fleet electrification, policies and programs, community EV adoption, funding sources, and more.
In addition to sharing ideas, the toolkit is creating connections for local government leadership and staff to have peer-to-peer conversations about lessons learned. Decision-makers can learn best practices from their peers on what has been most effective and bypass some of the potential pitfalls.
With each update, feedback is sought from users of the toolkit to ensure future iterations are easier to use and contain the most relevant information. Dive deeper into the new and updated pages below.
Funding Resources
A new page dedicated to education on the various funding streams from the federal, state, and local levels as well as utilities for both the vehicles as well as charging infrastructure has been added. The page also identifies financing mechanisms that have been successfully employed by local governments. Given the significant funding streams being announced by the federal government, it seemed opportune timing to incorporate them.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) which codified the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (IIJA) is also highlighted on this page. The BIL will fund several new programs, such as the National Electric Vehicle Formula Program (NEVI) as well as increasing funding for ongoing programs like the Low or No Emission Vehicle Program (LO NO).
The tools in the new section include links to federal funding programs directly and a tool from World Resources Institute (WRI) to help local governments identify, prioritize and leverage existing federal funding to meet their needs.
Medium- + Heavy-Duty Vehicles and Electric Buses
This latest update expands the electric buses section to include medium- and heavy-duty truck deployment tools. An added resource is the Zero-emission Technology Inventory from Calstart – a database of all commercially available offerings for zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. Additionally, there are resources from WRI’s Electric School Bus Initiative for local school districts interested in adding electric school buses to their fleet.
Equity-Centered ET Planning
We’ve expanded the equitable electric transportation page to explain what equitable transportation electrification is and why it is so important to center equity in all ET plans. This update includes a link to EV Hybrid Noire’s E-Mobility Public Policy Toolkit for a deep dive.
The Electrify the South team will continue to directly engage new local and state governments to make them aware of the toolkit as well as reconnect with our established partners to make sure they’re aware of the additional content. The Toolkit is a living document that is updated biannually to keep pace with the rapidly expanding EV market. Please share your thoughts with us on this year’s recent updates.
Electrify the South is a Southern Alliance for Clean Energy program that leverages research, advocacy, and outreach to promote renewable energy and accelerate the equitable transition to electric transportation throughout the Southeast. Visit ElectrifytheSouth.org to learn more and connect with us.