EXPO 2020: Sustainable Transportation

2020 RENEWABLE ENERGY & ENERGY EFFICIENCY EXPO Panel 1: Training a 21st Century Clean Energy Workforce Panel 2: Macro Benefits of Microgrids Panel 3: Advancing Climate Solutions Through Environmental Justice Panel 4: Efficient Buildings as Energy Grid Resources Panel 5: Sustainable Transportation Panel 6: New Frontiers in Clean Energy Research & Development

On July 30, 2020, the 23rd Annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency EXPO and Policy Forum brought together 25 businesses, trade associations, and government agencies to showcase clean energy industries. The bipartisan House and Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucuses served as the EXPO's honorary co-hosts, and the event was held online because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transitioning to a mobility system that is sustainable is crucial because transportation is such a large source of greenhouse gas emissions. The sector faces enormous challenges in this transition, including a lack of appropriate infrastructure and supportive, consistent federal policies. These challenges are compounded by the impacts of COVID19 and the resulting economic retraction. Yet many solutions—electric vehicles, sustainable fuels, transit—can work together to push us further toward sustainability, further technological innovation, and economic recovery and job creation.

View the video above, or read the highlights below.

 

Group 5—Sustainable Transportation

Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) Ecostrat American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Growth Energy

Introductory Remarks [prerecorded]: U.S. Representative Dave Loebsack (Iowa) Genevieve Cullen, President, Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) Jordan Solomon, President and CEO, Ecostrat BD Zones and BDO Zones: Driving Bio Based Investment in Opportunity Zones — Download file BD Zones and BDO Zones: Weaponizing Biomass to support a Bio-Fueled Economic Recovery — Download file Art Guzzetti, Vice President, Mobility Initiatives and Public Policy, American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Chris Bliley, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Growth Energy

HIGHLIGHTS

 

Genevieve Cullen, President, Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA)

• EDTA is a member association of companies working on the electrification of the transportation sector.
• According to Cullen, the transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.
• Transportation is also a major source of local air pollution, which is a chronic and acute public health challenge in the United States.
• Our country needs technologies and options to make the transportation sector cleaner and more sustainable. We need to scale all of this up fast.
• No matter where in the United States you drive an electric vehicle, that electric vehicle has lower emissions than an average internal combustion engine vehicle, on a wells-to-wheels basis. As the grid gets cleaner, the benefits only increase.
• Cullen highlighted the tremendous growth in the electric vehicle (EV) market since 2010, when there were only two plug-in electric vehicles on the market. Today, there are about 20 types of light-duty EVs on the market. Technology for electric buses, trucks, and charging stations is also advancing rapidly. Advances in charging technology are especially important, so that people can charge their vehicles more quickly.
• Yet EV infrastructure clearly needs to expand to meet expected demand. Cullen cited Bloomberg forecasts that global sales of electric vehicles would exceed those of vehicles based on internal combustion engines in 20 years. Current supply chain disruptions, demand reduction, and other challenges may hinder sector electrification. This is why policy leadership is more important than ever. This is the moment to rebuild the industry and help make it more sustainable. We need to help local and state governments invest in infrastructure to advance transportation electrification.

 

Jordan Solomon, President and CEO, Ecostrat

• COVID19 has crushed the economy. We are in the economic equivalent of a war and we need to use all the ‘ammunition’ possible, including all forms of biomass (e.g., food waste, woody biomass, corn and more). But biomass is not getting the attention it merits in its ability to drive sustainable transportation.
• We can leverage the potential of biomass through Opportunity Zones, which are federally-designated areas where more than 20 percent of the population is living in poverty. Federal tax incentives encourage investment in these zones. An example of an Opportunity Zones program is turning an old factory in Detroit into an apartment building. But Opportunity Zones are also found in rural areas. The Opportunity Zones program has been a huge success in real estate development, but not in leveraging biomass.
• We have an opportunity to develop Bioeconomy Development Zones (BDZones) to help rural areas while developing the bioeconomy. Such BDZones would have abundant biomass, infrastructure, and suitable supply chains. Bioenergy investments can help drive the recovery, and could result in 1-2.5 million new jobs and more sustainable transportation fuels.

                       

Art Guzzetti, Vice President, Mobility Initiatives and Public Policy, American Public Transportation Association (APTA)

• Guzzetti highlighted the clear role of public transportation in achieving greenhouse gas reduction goals, while also mentioning the challenges stemming from COVID19 and the economic crisis.
• Transit buses have made significant progress in the use of cleaner fuels. In 1988, fewer than 7 percent of buses used cleaner fuels. Today that figure stands at 60 percent. These cleaner fuels include hybrid electric, compressed natural gas, biofuels, and hydrogen.
• Transit is generally surrounded by more walkable communities, which Guzzetti termed the “biggest benefit of all.”
• Guzzetti acknowledged the significant challenges transit is facing in the current situation. Due to COVID19, transit systems have reduced service and imposed capacity limitations, meaning that revenue from the farebox is down. Yet transit has also played a key role in taking essential workers to their jobs. Guzzetti believes that transit will come back stronger than ever, as it achieves multiple goals (e.g., safer streets, fewer emissions, congestion reduction).

 

Chris Bliley, Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, Growth Energy

• Growth Energy represents 100 of the 200 biorefineries in the country. Ninety-eight percent of U.S. gasoline is blended with 10 percent ethanol today. Our country also exports ethanol.
• In the current pandemic situation, we should recognize that ethanol is also used in other products, such as hand sanitizer.
• Ethanol is blended into virtually every gallon sold today. Higher blends of 15 percent ethanol (known as E15) can be safely used for all vehicles that are model year 2001 or newer (that is 95 percent of vehicles on the road today). Yet only a relatively small fraction of fueling stations offer E15 today.
• Because we are still in a world of liquid fuels, it is important to look at solutions that improve fuel sustainability. Ethanol is a high-octane fuel with a low cost and it is 39 percent better than gasoline on a wells-to-wells emissions basis.
• High-octane fuels are better for air quality. The use of ethanol blends reduces carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, benzene, and other air toxics.

 

Q&A Session

 

Question: What should policymakers do differently?

Cullen: For all these fuels and technologies, we need comprehensive policies. The immediate issue is infrastructure. We need a national policy that supports investing in next-generation infrastructure. Changes to public transportation should include microtransit, shared mobility, etc. We need to think about how we move people and goods and have a comprehensive vision.

Guzzetti: We should embrace alternative fuels, but go beyond that. Transit, biking, and walking are important modes. All of these modes affect how we build cities, how we fund transportation, and so on. Broader policies with a strong fuels program at their core help.

Bliley: First, we need to ensure enforcement of the laws already on the books, such as the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Otherwise, we are not getting the benefits we should. We also need predictable tax policy, not policies that come and go. That makes it hard to invest.

Solomon: We need better policy that drives the production of sustainable transportation fuels. We have 20 million Americans who are without jobs. We have a billion tons of biomass. We can replace lost jobs with new sustainable jobs, based on opportunity zones, the most powerful tax incentive program ever. State economic development organizations need to get on board, too. These jobs are here to stay once they are created.

 

Question: What's your vision for how sustainable fuels can work together to lower emissions, improve health, and enhance equity?

Cullen: We need to understand the whole transportation sector, including its integration into the power sector, and how to plug in the right energy resources for any given demand.

Bliley: We need a lot of things to make our transportation system more sustainable, such as higher biofuels blends, electric vehicles, and public transport. We need more infrastructure.

Guzzetti: Transit systems are 60 percent clean fuel now and it will increase from there. COVID-19 has led people to drive because people feel safer in their car. We need to increase customer confidence in transit. We don’t want people to revert to driving and for communities to be designed around driving. There are plenty of policy fixes to make sure we don't encourage driving when other solutions might be more energy efficient.

 

Compiled by: Susan Williams