Press Release: PNWER & CALSTART to Partner on MHD ZEV Incentive Study on Behalf of Washington State Legislature
PNWER RIA is pleased to announce that we will be partnering with CALSTART this fall to conduct a study on behalf of the Washington State Legislature through the Joint Transportation Committee (JTC). Starting this August, PNWER and CALSTART will study the “Design of Infrastructure and Incentive Program for Medium and Heavy-Duty Zero Emission Vehicles (MHD ZEVs), with a final report due to the transportation committees of the legislature by January 2, 2024.
The 2023-25 Transportation Budget (Sec. 204 (5)) directs the JTC to oversee a project to:
Design and document an infrastructure and incentive strategy to drive the purchase and use of zero emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles, as well as cargo handling and off-road equipment, in the state including, but not limited to, programs for tractor trucks, box trucks, drayage trucks, refuse trucks, step and panel vans, heavy and medium-duty buses, school buses, on and off-road terminal tractors, transport refrigeration units, forklifts, container handling equipment, airport cargo loaders, and railcar movers. The strategy design must include an implementation plan documenting the steps to roll out the vehicle and infrastructure incentive programs.
Conduct a review of the passenger vehicle tax incentive in current Washington state law and evaluate its utility.
The PNWER and CALSTART teams will engage stakeholders to hear directly on incentive strategies that could help overcome barriers to replacement of internal combustion MHD vehicles with ZEVs. This is an opportunity to ensure that this vehicle and incentive program is going to work well for industries in Washington State.
How can I get involved?
If you own, operate, or interface with Medium- and Heavy-duty vehicles in Washington state, we want to hear from you!
Survey & Verbal Feedback
Sign up for our mailing list to get updates:
Take a survey and provide direct feedback to the JTC! Participation prizes available. Survey will open in early September.
Provide written feedback on the design and implementation of a medium- and heavy-duty zero emission vehicle and infrastructure incentive program via email at mhdzev@pnwer.org.
Focus Groups & Working Groups
Work with Existing Groups
If you run or know about an existing group that focuses on the MHD ZEV transition, let us know how we can connect and work with these existing efforts! Email mhdzev@pnwer.org.
Special Work Groups
Certain vehicle types or topics relating to ZEV incentives will require more discussion and exploration. These Special Work Groups will meet two or more times. If you are a member of these industries, please join:
Railcar Movers
Utilities
Agriculture and Farming Equipment
MHD Vehicle Dealerships
Charging & Fueling Infrastructure Industry
Commercial Insurance Providers
Commercial Truck Finance
Focus Groups
Focus Groups will meet one time in the fall to review the draft incentive program and provide feedback. Target focus group participants include:
tractor trucks
box trucks
drayage trucks
refuse trucks
step and panel vans
heavy and medium-duty buses
school buses
on and off-road terminal tractors
transport refrigeration units
forklifts
container handling equipment
airport cargo loaders
railcar movers
In-Person Listening Session
Join the JTC, PNWER, and CALSTART for an in-person event this fall to review and provide feedback to the study process. Details to follow.
What’s the Timeline?
Work on this project begins August 2023, and the final report is due January 2, 2024. With this tight timeline, please make sure you’re subscribing to the mailing list to stay up-to-date and respond quickly as opportunities for feedback arise.
Why is the PNWER RIA Involved?
The PNWER RIA team has been working diligently on the issue of drayage decarbonization and truck affordability in the Puget Sound for the past 18 months. Over this time, the team realized that a key barrier to drayage decarbonization has been the lack of state-level incentives to help support this transition.
In the 2023 legislative session, Washington State set aside funding to create a MHD zero emission vehicle and infrastructure incentive program. This was explored in the PNWER RIA event spring 2024 event “Paying for MHD ZEVs in Washington State.” Building on the relationships the PNWER RIA team has developed through this work, in addition to PNWER’s 20-year history of engagement and outreach for key issues through its Center for Regional Disaster Resilience (CRDR), CALSTART approached PNWER to partner on this project.
Our team is excited to conduct this work on behalf of the Washington State Legislature, and to share feedback and lessons learned from this process with our other PNWER states.