By Denise Brush, Co-Chair, Clean Energy Committee, offshorewind@newjersey.sierraclub.org
Electrification of the transportation sector is a key part of the transition to 100% clean energy, a transition that is vital to help mitigate climate change and to allow everyone to breathe cleaner air. The NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club is very active in promoting transportation electrification.
The transportation sector accounts for 38% of New Jersey’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, so transportation electrification is important to the state’s clean energy goals. Currently there are about 4 million electric vehicles (EVs) on the road in the United States. This is twice as many as two years ago, but still only 1.4% of the total cars on the road. New Jersey is a leader nationally, with EVs constituting 3% of registered vehicles and 13.6% of new vehicle sales in 2024. The DEP EV dashboard tracks this information statewide and by county.
Electric trucks comprised just one-tenth of 1% of the total US truck fleet in 2023, according to International Energy Agency data. However, like electric cars, the percentage of electric trucks has been growing, albeit modestly.
In 2020, New Jersey and 14 other states and the District of Columbia agreed to promote the adoption of zero-emission medium and heavy-duty trucks by establishing a target of 30% of new medium/heavy-duty truck sales being zero-emission by 2030 and 100% of all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sold being emissions free by 2050.
Following California’s lead, some states including New Jersey have passed legislation that incentivizes trucking companies to go electric to meet state greenhouse gas reduction goals. This was the Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, adopted in 2021. This included a requirement for manufacturers of vehicles over 8,500 pounds to increase zero-emission vehicle sales in New Jersey, as well as achieve 40% to 75% zero emission truck sales by 2035.
In New Jersey, school districts manage their own school bus fleets or subcontract to regional bus fleet managers. Few districts have pursued electrification so far, given the capital costs and time involved. Six years after the first grants, there are an estimated 25 electric school buses on the road out of over 300 electric or low-emission buses approved for state and federal grants.
Breathing the fumes from diesel school buses is so bad for our children’s health that we must find a way to speed up adoption. The Transportation Committee of the NJ Chapter of the Sierra Club offers technical and economic expertise to interested school districts.
The state of New Jersey says it is committed to decarbonizing the transportation sector through electrification. Currently NJ Transit trains are dual-mode diesel and electric; NJ Transit buses are predominantly diesel. In 2019, the state enacted a law requiring NJ Transit to start buying zero-emission buses and make all bus purchases zero emission by 2032. The law states that at least 10% of NJ Transit bus purchases on or after December 2024 must be zero-emission buses.
These buses will be prioritized for use in low-income, urban, and environmental justice communities. Six electric NJ Transit buses are running in Camden; however, further purchases await funds allocation and the necessary charging infrastructure.
In much of the world, long-distance passenger and freight railroads are an important component of the transportation sector and a priority for electrification, but not in the United States. Only 1% of the Amtrak passenger rail network is fully electrified: the corridor between Boston and Washington, which fortunately includes New Jersey. Elsewhere, Amtrak uses dual-mode (diesel/ electric) locomotives, as does Canada’s passenger rail system, VIA Rail. Freight trains in North America run almost exclusively on diesel.
By comparison, at least 56% of the European Union’s rail network is electrified. India has electrified roughly 98% of its broad gauge railway network, which accounts for 98% of the railroad track in the country. The country is also supporting railway electrification by adding solar panels!
The funding for the capital investment required for electrification in the United States just isn’t there. American freight lines are owned by corporations, and Amtrak is chronically underfunded by the federal government. Sadly, South Jersey’s long-promised light rail system, the Glassboro-Camden Line, will run on diesel, despite some public pressure for electric.
Resource
Sierra Club guidance for electric school bus purchases: https://shorturl.at/cBbih