What Fuel Source Doesn’t Cost $7.37/Gallon? Electricity!
As conflict in the Middle East persists, diesel costs across the United States are skyrocketing. In the last month alone, average diesel prices in the United States have increased by 12 percent to $6.37/gallon. In Washington state, average diesel prices have increased by 11.67 percent to $7.37/gallon.
These inflated prices jeopardize the economics of diesel-reliant industries, like heavy-duty trucking and agriculture, both of which already operate on precarious margins and are particularly subject to the volatility of the global marketplace.
What fuel source doesn’t cost this much? Electricity! There has never been a better time to make the transition to a zero-emission vehicle in Washington state, particularly for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and equipment. Initiatives like the Washington Zero Emission Incentive Program (WAZIP) and the diesel reduction grants from the Washington State Department of Ecology dramatically reduce the upfront cost of a zero-emission vehicle, while utilities including Puget Sound Energy and Seattle City Light provide significant discounts for associated charging infrastructure.
Not only that, zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicles have meaningfully reduced maintenance costs (no more oil changes, as a minimum).
Interested in potentially transitioning your fleet to electric? Our partners at Breaking Barriers Collaborative have a great source: The Medium- and Heavy-Duty Fleet Electrification Accelerator. It’s a completely free cohort launching this winter that will help you determine which vehicles make sense for your operations, how to navigate charging infrastructure and coordination with the utility, and what incentives your business qualifies for. Learn more here.
Riding the ZEVergreen Current Ahead of the Forth Roadmap Conference
Ahead of Forth Roadmap, we hosted a “Ride the ZEVergreen Current” tour to showcase Washington’s leadership in transportation electrification and explore how the state is expanding access to zero-emission vehicles.
The tour brought us to four stops highlighting different approaches to transportation electrification. Starting at Electric Era, we learned how battery storage and software can make electric vehicle (EV) charging more reliable and easier to deploy. At the PACCAR parts building in Renton, we took a closer look at zero-emission trucks and the technology helping to decarbonize medium- and heavy-duty transportation.
At King County Metro Transit’s first 100 percent zero-emission bus depot, we saw the charging infrastructure needed to support the transition to battery-electric buses. The tour wrapped with a briefing from Sound Transit on its battery-electric bus rapid transit fleet and how electrification is expanding across the region, along with a quick ride on the light rail to experience the beautiful crosslake connection!
A huge thank you to the Washington State Department of Commerce for helping make this tour possible, to our friends at MTR Western for the all-electric motorcoach, and to our hosts for the excellent briefings!
Learn more about ZEVergreen, which is Washington state’s initiative to advance affordable clean transportation policy, here.
Choosing Our Zero-Emission Racer at Pacific Raceways
On September 21, we joined the Washington State Department of Transportation and Catalyst Mobility for a WAZIP Ride & Drive at Pacific Raceways. We welcomed fleet operators, manufacturers and dealers, and community partners from across the Puget Sound to get behind the wheel and experience a wide range of zero-emission trucks and equipment firsthand!
Thank you to our host Pacific Raceways, all the manufacturers and dealers that provided vehicles and equipment to test, and our community partners for making it such a great event! We’re grateful to Seattle City Light and Puget Sound Energy for their sponsorship.
WAZIP is a $112 million Climate Commitment Act-funded program helping medium- and heavy-duty fleets switch to zero-emission vehicles with point-of-sale vouchers. More information on the program, including eligible vehicles and equipment and voucher amounts, is available at wazip.org.
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