The Massachusetts Senate made big news last week by passing a massive climate bill that tackles transportation, buildings, and our electricity supply. This bill is supposed to put the pedal to the metal so that the state has the policies it needs in place to achieve the emissions reduction targets included in last year’s Climate Roadmap bill: first and foremost, a 50% reduction in economy-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions under 1990 levels by 2030. Here’s what this bill means for our efforts to phase out gasoline in Massachusetts – and the key next steps.

When we launched our Drive Green program back in November 2016, if you wanted an electric car, your only option, essentially, was to buy a new car. Yes, there were some older Nissan LEAFs available, but not many, and they didn’t have a whole lot of range. Fast forward five years and things have changed – there are more electric vehicle (EV) models on the market, and more and more of them are coming off three-year leases, which means, finally, a used EV market is growing. If you’re looking for a used EV, we have a new tool to help you find it.

As frequent readers of our blog will know, transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Massachusetts. The cars, trucks, and buses on our roads are also responsible for pollution that causes direct and widespread harm to human health – harm that disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color. Right now, there’s something you can do about it: get your legislator to attend an upcoming briefing on bills that will work on these issues!

New Incentive for Electric Trucks in Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) recently announced that the popular rebate program for electric vehicles, MOR-EV, will now offer incentives for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks too. This is great news for the climate and public health in Massachusetts. 

 We’re big advocates for incentivizing electric vehicle (EV) drivers to charge their cars off-peak by offering them a lower retail price per kilowatt-hour (kWh). “Off-peak” periods refer to times when demand for electricity is low. At these times, wholesale electricity prices and emissions per unit of energy are lower as well. Shifting EV charging demand by setting a price signal — sometimes called a “time-varying rate” (TVR) or “time-of-use rate” (TOU) — is a win for everyone: EV drivers, non-EV drivers, the environment, and our electric grid. Right now, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) is considering whether and how to move forward on this issue — and we wanted to give you an update on progress made so far. (Fair warning: if ever there was a blogpost for the policy wonks, this is it!) 

At yesterday's Massachusetts Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Commission's quarterly meeting, the state announced a change to the MOR-EV rebate program. This important electric vehicle incentive will now be available to commercial fleet owners, as well as individual residents of the Commonwealth. We applaud the state for taking this step and are encouraged by conversation that further program changes may follow. In fact, we have a couple of ideas...

On December 6, 2018, the state of Massachusetts announced that it will extend the popular electric vehicle (EV) rebate program, Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles (MOR-EV) through June 30, 2019. However, as of January 1, 2019, the rules of the program will change: only battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) with a sales price under $50,000 will qualify for the rebate, which will drop from $2,500 to $1,500. Though we applaud the state’s efforts to extend this important incentive, we know the Commonwealth needs to be doing more to spur electric vehicle adoption.

Since we launched Drive Green with Mass Energy and People’s Power & Light in November of 2016, a lot has changed in the electric vehicle market. At launch, we had four electric vehicles (EVs) from three manufacturers available through the program. Now, we’ve got seventeen vehicles from ten manufacturers, and the list is growing all the time! As the options increase, finding the best electric car for you might seem like it’s getting more overwhelming too. But don’t you worry! Here’s a quick who’s-who of the top electric cars available through our program right now.

Since November 2016, we have helped hundreds of people learn about and buy or lease electric cars at significant discounts. Consumers from all walks of life have come through the Drive Green program. But some of our members, as we like to call them, have expertise in fields such as energy, climate, and electric vehicles (EVs). Here’s what a few have to say.

As you may have noticed, it's gotten to be *really* cold recently. Electric vehicle (EV) performance does change in winter, but so does that of gas-powered cars.