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West Chester Clean Energy Future

Electrify Breakout Room

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Transportation is climate enemy #1

In 2017, the U.S. transportation sector emitted 29 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.

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Solution: Electric cars, electric buses, and more walking, biking, transit

Our Destination: Zero Carbon campaign lays out three goals that can get us closer to the destination.

The first goal is ensuring that all personal vehicles sold after 2035 are electric. To get this right, we need both incentives and infrastructure to make it easier for folks to get around in an electric car.

The second goal is electrifying all transit and school buses by 2030. Electrifying all modes of public transportation will eventually mean our travel can be powered by clean, renewable energy. Electrifying buses would also eliminate harmful street-level emissions from diesel combustion, benefiting the health of children who board the bus to school every day and anyone who rides a bus.

The third goal is doubling the number of people who travel by walking, biking and public transit by 2030. The least-polluting car is the one we don’t drive in the first place. We have to provide more options so that people can choose to travel by foot, bike, or transit. Creating sustainable communities requires making zero-carbon modes of travel the cheapest, easiest, most comfortable and safest options available.

PA’s transportation system is due for a zero-carbon upgrade. With clean, electric cars and buses, and safe streets for walking and biking, we can take a big bite out of PA’s contribution to global warming.

PennEnvironment recently released a report “Cleaner Cars for PA” which showed that by electrifying our transportation sector, we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking over 4 million gas-powered cars off the road or shutting down 5 coal plants.

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Common Electric Vehicle Questions

Range
Charging
Cost
Climate impact

Note: discuss results of poll:

Poll #3 – ELECTRIFY

What is keeping me from choosing an EV for my next car?

· Sticker price

· I can't charge at home

· I can't charge at work

· Range anxiety

· Other

RANGE People are concerned that an EV won't be able to take them where they need to go. In reality, today’s EVs have long enough range to serve the vast majority of the trips most Americans take. A 2016 study found that the 2013 Nissan Leaf, with a range far below most EVs on the market today, could “replace 87% of vehicles driven on a given day without recharging.” According to the Federal Highway Administration’s National Household Travel Survey, 75 percent of car trips were under 10 miles and 95 percent of trips were less than 30 miles. Additionally, as a result of battery improvements, the newest EV models have ranges upwards of 300 miles.

CHARGING For electric vehicles to become mainstream, they need to be easy to charge. People correctly notice that there are not nearly as many EV chargers as gas stations. One 2019 survey found that a majority of consumers considering an EV purchase believed there were too few charging stations around their home and work areas, suggesting that lack of a ubiquitous charging network presents a barrier to wide scale adoption. Public charging infrastructure doesn’t meet current, or future, demand, and residents without at-home charging options will need public charging. The good news is that smart public policies can help streamline how we charge EVs, making it easier for more people to participate in the electric vehicle revolution. By expanding the number of stations in public places, particularly in dense residential areas and locations where people frequently travel, policymakers can support the adoption of more electric vehicles.

COST People perceive EVs as outside of the budget of the typical consumer, but there are affordable options already on the market and more on the way. Used electric vehicles can be a great affordable option, and the prices come closer to gas-powered cars every year. As the result of low fuel and maintenance costs, EVs are typically cheaper to own than conventional vehicles over the vehicle’s lifetime. Electric vehicles have fewer parts since they don’t have an engine, making them easier and cheaper to maintain. EVs are also more efficient at converting electricity into motion than fossil fuel-powered cars, which can lead to further savings. Electricity costs and the costs of charging vary by state, but the Department of Energy found on average it costs about half as much to fuel an EV. There are also financial incentives available like the Federal Plug-In Electric Drive Vehicle Credit of up to $7,500. Many states have additional incentives to sweeten the deal.

Lastly, many of our staunchest environmental advocates ask, if the car is being charged on a dirtier energy grid, is it really better for the environment? Yes! The lifecycle emissions of EVs vs gas powered cars are significantly less. While manufacturing an EV is a little more intensive, there are savings in emissions as soon as you start driving. Batteries are much more efficient at converting power into energy than engines. An internal combustion engine loses 80% of its energy to heat. You’re using less electricity to move your vehicle than the fossil fuels burned in a motor engine.

The other factor that makes EVs better is that they get cleaner over time. A fossil fuel powered car is always going to have tailpipe emissions and burn dirty fuels. But as we power our society with more renewable energy, the grid gets cleaner and so does your tailpipe-free EV.

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What can your town do?

Pass EV Ready ordinances
Educate residents about electric vehicles
Install Public Charging Stations
Electrify municipal fleet by 2030
Promote Mobility: electric car sharing program, e-bikes
Support electrification of other vehicles in the community

Lyft/Uber/rideshares
Electric school buses
Electric transit buses
Goal for % registered electric vehicles

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West Chester Area Vehicles Switch to Electric

2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050

# of Vehicles switch to EVs per year

(73,500 total)

1,000

2,000

3,000

Vehicles/yr

4,000

Avg 2,650 vehicles/yr (3.5%)

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Electric Vehicle Charging

Expand public charging

Build on public property
Make easier for residents to install on-street charging

Make charging accessible with interoperability

Require chargers to work for different plugs
No membership required
Standard fees & pricing
Accept credit cards

Increase visibility & price transparency
EV charging spaces dedicated to EV parking

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Charging for free at Giant in East Bradford Twp

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Funding Opportunities

Federal Electric Vehicle Tax Credit
Federal Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Tax Credit
PA Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Program (AFIG)
Driving PA Forward rebates for charging
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
Transportation & Climate Initiative

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Take Action!

Join PennEnvironment at our annual Climate Action Lobby Day on June 10th!

We’ll set up a meeting with your state representative and state senator and give you all the tools you need to advocate for a clean energy future.

Register now at bit.ly/ClimateLobbyDay

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Thanks!

Email: kelly@pennenvironment.org

Twitter: @TheKelements / @PennEnvironment

Website: https://pennenvironment.org/feature/pae/destination-zero-carbon