Build GREEN Act: Why This Gets Us Charged Up

It can sometimes be difficult to wade through the flurry of sustainable energy bills being proposed in Congress. Several of them are in various stages of the legislative process at any one time, and many never make it out of committee. However, the recently announced Build GREEN Act seems destined for the President’s desk at some point soon, as it comes during a time when crumbling infrastructure and the need to create jobs has become a priority for the current administration. It also has the backing of five powerful progressives in Congress – Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) along with House Reps Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Andrew Levin (D-MI).

Senate Floor Photo Courtesy of Jacobin Magazine

What is the Build GREEN Act, then? According to Common Dreams, the bill “would invest $500 billion over 10 years in state, local, and tribal projects to galvanize the transition to all electric public transportation – reducing climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions and health-threatening air pollution while expanding clean mass transit and creating up to one million new jobs.”(Read more in that article here: https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/03/19/democrats-unveil-build-green-infrastructure-and-jobs-act.) What’s more, knowledgeable sources say $150 billion of that (fully 30%) would be allocated toward electric rail, vehicles and charging equipment.

Naturally, EVCS is poised to take considerable advantage of this green mobility stimulus as we expand into new states lacking in EV infrastructure or tackle major projects like the revitalization of the West Coast Electric Highway. Approximately 85% of funding would come from the federal DOT’s budget, which would then be distributed to state, local and tribal governments, port authorities and transit agencies to hire or partner with local contractors of their choosing. It seems likely then that companies such as EVCS with a proven track record, widespread reach and similar goals toward nationwide electrification are well positioned to become preferred government contractors that can heavily influence the national discussion on electric transit.

Apparently, every state is guaranteed at least $2 billion in funding, making states with no significant charging programs a fertile field for development – think North Dakota or Mississippi. (See a comprehensive list of state-by-state funding programs here: https://evcs.com/programs.) Such a step will eventually be imperative in creating an interstate network of charging stations that will help facilitate long-distance EV travel capable of competing with ICEs. On the flip side of that coin, any one state can receive as much as $40 billion, with a state like California – where EVCS already has a deep footprint – the most logical choice for excess funding considering its large geographical size, hefty population, and the fact that Californians have already widely embraced the idea of an EV revolution.

Electric Vehicles Charging Photo Courtesy of Pixabay

Two additional provisions also grabbed our attention. The first mandates that funding recipients agree to pay workers on infrastructure projects at least $15 per hour, meaning demand for skilled labor in this field will markedly increase. We have always believed in paying fair, livable, equitable wages to our workers, and this would give us yet another opportunity to back up that commitment. Second, 40% of the funding would be allotted to “vulnerable and disadvantaged” communities, both urban and rural, which is a cornerstone of the EVCS mission: to ensure Americans of all social and economic strata have access to clean, cheap, reliable transportation, whether it be public or private.

The Senators and House Reps sponsoring the bill claim that, if passed, the reduction in carbon emissions would equate to the removal of 4.5 million ICEs from our roads, representing nearly 2% of the 250 million vehicles on US roads today. While that may seem small at first glance, the environmental impact would be substantial (CarTalk says one gallon of gas creates 20 pounds of CO2, with the average car emitting about six tons of CO2 every year). It could also serve as a stepping stone to greater EV adoption across the country as people start witnessing friends, family, coworkers and neighbors going electric!

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Installation of the Month (January 2021): Barlow Respiratory Hospital

While 2021 brings hope and promise for greater widespread adoption of electric mobility, a quick glance at our portfolio reminds us of all the headway we’ve already made toward that end. Last year, we seized on positive customer sentiment and abundant fiscal opportunities in the green energy space, allowing us to become one of the top installers of EV charging infrastructure in the State of California (with 500+ installations completed and counting). As such, we thought it might be worthwhile to share some of these installations with you – a new success story each month – so that you can see firsthand the favorable strides we’re making toward a carbon-neutral future.

2020: A Year in Review

Two thousand twenty has been a year of undeniable adversity, but also one of remarkable achievement. A year of firsts and hopefully a few lasts. A time of toil and tribulation, but also of triumph. For genuine success is partly defined by our ability to hurdle those implacable obstacles that make the result so noteworthy in the first place. Now, as the EVCS team looks back on this unusual year, we take stock of our unique achievements that made 2020 one for the books.

Electrification Progress in the Age of COVID

It’s pretty clear that vaccine or no, COVID will be here for a while, and with it the new normal of face masks, social distancing, telecommuting and (consequently) less road travel. While some might view this with trepidation, we see it as an opportunity. Since the earliest weeks of the pandemic, major metro areas like Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago – those with large reductions in automobile traffic – immediately began seeing improvements in air quality, according to articles in the New York Times and Washington Post. More recent, an NPR story noted ozone pollution has decreased as much as 15% in many of these places. It seems an unintended consequence of the lockdown has been to accelerate the transition to responsible mobility by demonstrating its positive effects on the environment.

Commentary on Geotab’s 2020 EV Fleet Trends Article – Part II

Two weeks ago, we published part one of our commentary on Geotab’s in-depth article, “Electric Vehicle Trends 2020: Top 6 Factors Impacting Fleet Electrification” (https://www.geotab.com/white-paper/electric-vehicle-trends/). Again, the idea was to assess whether each of the trends were evolving as Geotab predicted and, if so, how EVCS was responding to them in the marketplace. Below are the final three trends referenced and our thoughts on each.

Commentary on Geotab’s 2020 EV Fleet Trends Article – Part I

At the beginning of this year, Geotab published a very interesting white paper titled “Electric Vehicle Trends 2020: Top 6 Factors Impacting Fleet Electrification.” (The piece can be found in its entirety here: https://www.geotab.com/white-paper/electric-vehicle-trends/) Now that we’re approaching the end of 2020, we thought it might be useful to go back through the assertions made in the paper to determine (1) whether the trends are evolving as Geotab predicted, and (2) if so, how EVCS is able to address those trends, including the targeting of customer pain points. Below are the first three trends referenced out of the six and our thoughts on each.