Updated Electrify the South Toolkit and Website Help Local Governments Accelerate Electric Vehicle Adoption

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy’s Electrify the South Electrify Vehicle Policy Toolkit and website get a 2021 refresh with loads of new content.

Dory Larsen | April 28, 2021 | Clean Transportation, Electric Vehicles

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy’s Electrify the South Electric Vehicle (EV) Policy Toolkit continues to grow and expand electric transportation approaches throughout the Southeast. Our EV toolkit is a living, virtual document updated annually that provides policy and technology best practices for local governments as they transition to electric transportation systems. We like to think of it as a collection of case studies linking to examples where a policy or technology is in place (often in the Southeast) so that other cities or counties can learn and apply lessons already vetted by other local governments.

NEW SUCCESSES TO SHARE

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. This is one important way  SACE continues to engage, empower, and connect cities and counties throughout the Southeast. Sharing successes and lessons learned can be a powerful mechanism to enable quicker policy adoption. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, decision-makers can see what has been most effective for others and bypass at least some of the potential pitfalls.  

Since our last version of the toolkit, several Southern states have begun working towards state-wide EV planning and coordination. We added a “State Actions” section to highlight EV-supportive state policies to help drive adoption. Such policies are necessary if the Southeast is to catch up to the EV deployment levels of leading regions. There are several actions that states can take to support and enable local government electric transportation goals. Likewise, local governments can lean into advocating for state policies that will support these goals. Several of these concepts are also examined in the “Transportation Electrification in the Southeast” brief SACE published last fall with Atlas Public Policy. 

The “Case Studies” section is intended to show several municipalities that have made significant inroads to electrifying their fleets. Some have total cost of ownership data that can be useful for a local government considering fleet transition. 

Finally, the updated toolkit has new “Go Deeper” sections intended to take a closer look at some of the more nuanced pieces of the toolkit that deserved additional information. We’ve called out fleet conversion considerations, VW Settlement funding, infrastructure, EV make-ready policy, and Driving on Sunshine with the Go Deeper font to draw the readers’ attention to these sections. 

The Electrify the South team will continue to directly engage new local 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.

FRESH WEBSITE LOOK AND CONTENT TO SERVE POLICYMAKERS

In addition to updating the toolkit on the website, the Electrify The South website got a fresh new look. The team has streamlined our reports, policy toolkit, and webinars under the “Resources” section, and the “Blog” and “Newsletter” have their own sections for easy reference. 

ABOUT ELECTRIFY THE SOUTH

Electrify the South is a program of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy 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.

Dory Larsen
Dory joined the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy in 2017 and was named Senior Electric Transportation Program Manager in 2023. She is working to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles…
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