The Next Step in the Electrification Revolution: NJ’s Commitment to Electric Trucks Moves Forward with 15-State MOU Agreement
As go the light duty fleets, so goes the medium and heavy-duty fleets
Highland Park – The time has arrived to plan for fueling our medium and heavy-duty vehicles with electricity. This week’s announcement, an MOU between 15 states and the District of Columbia to work together to electrify medium and heavy-duty vehicles (30% of sales by 2030; 100% by 2050), is one part of the strategy for New Jersey to electrify its transportation sector.
New Jersey recognizes that emissions from medium and heavy-duty vehicles are primarily responsible for belching out harmful emissions that lead to poor air quality and negative health impacts. These particular pollutants attack respiratory and cardiovascular systems – and through studies like the one published by Harvard, people living at the bottom of the economic ladder who breathe toxic air every day are the most vulnerable to disease (including COVID-19) and resulting complications including death.
“New Jersey has the opportunity to make generational investments as part of its economic recovery efforts,” said Pam Frank, CEO of ChargEVC. “We need to build back better, delivering on multiple priorities – job creation, emissions reduction, and equity. Electrifying our medium heavy-duty vehicles delivers on all of this and more.”
There are many moving parts to this transformation in New Jersey. Here’s what else is happening:
- Earlier this year, consistent with the state’s Energy Master Plan, the state released its Regional Greenhouse Gas Strategic Funding Plan with the vast majority of the investment over the next three years to be used to electrify medium and heavy-duty vehicles, with up to $60 million annually dedicated towards this sector’s electrification.
- On Earth Day, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) released a solicitation through the VW Settlement to provide $37.2 million of funding for projects that convert old diesel trucks, buses, port equipment, marine vessels and trains to electric power, prioritizing projects that impact disproportionately impacted communities.
- Last week, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority released a Request For Information (RFI) as a precursor to how it will spend its RGGI allocation on electrification of diesel trucks
- This fall, ChargEVC will publish its medium heavy-duty study, providing detailed information on the specific segments that comprise medium heavy-duty vehicles, feasibility of electrification for each of those segments, barriers to electrification and impacts of electrification.
- As required under the EV omnibus law (S2252/A4819) enacted into law this January, by the end of the year, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is required to set electrification goals for medium and heavy-duty vehicles, which will inform the obligations under the MOU for action plans due in six months’ time from each state.
All of this activity was planned pre-pandemic. New Jersey now needs economic stimulus in an unprecedented way. The Restart and Recovery Task Commission, under its Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has begun discussion of economic recovery efforts.
“No package delivered by a diesel truck is worth dirty air, asthma and climate change. It’s time to shift past the old ways of thinking and move toward a clean environment with trucks that don’t pollute. Clean electric trucks can clear the air and help stave off the worst impacts of climate change. That’s the delivery we are all waiting for. This plan will play a major role in realizing that goal. We applaud the states involved, including the Murphy Administration, for charting a path for zero-emission electric trucks to clean up our roads,” said Doug O’Malley, President of ChargEVC and Director of Environment New Jersey.
Contact: Pam Frank, Cell: 609-577-2795
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ChargEVC is a not-for-profit coalition of diverse stakeholders that includes retail automotive dealers, utilities, consumer and equity advocates, environmental and labor organizations and technology companies. See www.chargevc.org for more information.