On Monday, October 17, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), in collaboration with Atlas Public Policy, hosted the New York and New Jersey Medium- and Heavy-Duty Fleet Electrification Virtual Workshop. This event featured sixteen speakers representing private and public fleet operators and service providers of all sizes.
Truck and bus fleet electrification is gaining momentum across the United States. New York and New Jersey have made commitments to electrifying these vehicles by joining the 17-state memorandum of understanding (MOU) to achieve 100 percent sales of zero-emission vehicles by 2050 and adopting the Advanced Clean Trucks rule. Full-scale deployment of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDV) will require the installation of substantial high-power charging infrastructure at fleet depots, truck stops, public spaces, and more. For example, an analysis conducted by Atlas Public Policy estimates that by 2030, there will be a need for committed investment to deploy up to 10,000 direct current fast chargers at depots in New York and New Jersey, with even more Level 2 chargers for vehicles with lower-power requirements. [1] New York and New Jersey have developed specific programs to encourage zero-emission MHDV adoption, such as the New Jersey Zero-Emission Incentive Program and New York Truck Voucher Incentive Program, and these efforts are critical to meeting the 2050 MOU goals. Notwithstanding these statewide initiatives, electrification challenges for MHDV persist and will specifically require utility coordination and support to meet growing charging infrastructure needs.
EDF and Atlas convened this public workshop to create a space for fleets and other stakeholders to discuss their MHDV charging infrastructure needs, current incentive barriers, and the support they may require from utilities in New York and New Jersey. Speakers discussed these key issues over the course of three panel conversations: 1) The road to electrification, 2) The relationship between fleets and utilities, and 3) The cost to electrify. While open to the general public, this workshop sought to inform and educate representatives from utility commissions and state regulatory staff on their role in advancing MHDV electrification. In total, more than 200 people tuned in to learn and gather feedback from featured fleet operators. Below are the key findings distilled from the workshop.
