North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) was one of 12 governors and the only southern leader signing on to a recent letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to require that “all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold are zero-emission no later than 2035.”

Cooper’s goals for North Carolina are more modest; a 2018 executive order sets a 2025 deadline for getting 80,000 light duty EVs on roads in the state. But as of the end of 2020, the state had only about 24,000 battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles registered, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s ZEV registration data. Also, the Alternative Fuels Data Center lists only 996 public and 238 private charging stations.

Planning efforts for hitting the governor’s target face significant challenges, including getting strong EV legislation passed in the Republican-held House and Senate, addressing environmental justice concerns and securing funding.

Like other states that have set net-zero goals, North Carolina won’t be able to deliver on its clean energy plan goals — a 70% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050 — without decarbonizing the transportation sector. Cars and trucks were responsible for 32.5% of the state’s GHG emissions in 2017, making transport the second-largest polluter in the state, behind electricity, according to figures from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).

Even so, Jacob Bolin, project manager for Advanced Energy, a nonprofit energy consulting firm, thinks the 80,000 target is “pretty achievable.” He points to increased manufacturing interest in EVs around the country as an indication that the market will keep growing. But, he said, a big barrier for North Carolina is that few EV models are available for purchase in the state, with Tesla dominating sales. People are waiting for more models to be available, Bolin said.

“There needs to be a Tesla level of interest for quite a few different vehicles and manufacturers in order for us to really get to that goal over the next four years,” he said.

Outsized environmental impacts

In addition to urging zero-emissions passenger cars by 2035, the governors’ letter to Biden also recommends a 2045 deadline for all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to be run on clean energy. Cooper addressed this issue in July 2020, when he joined 14 other states and the District of Columbia in a memorandum of understanding, which committed the signees to forming a multi-state task force, creating an action plan and transitioning government fleets to zero-emission vehicles.

Although passenger vehicles account for the majority of vehicle miles traveled in North Carolina, Stan Cross, electric transportation policy director for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, said in a recent blog post that trucks and buses have outsized environmental impacts.

“Commercial trucks, which make up 7% of annual vehicle miles traveled in North Carolina, account for 19% of the state’s nitrogen oxide emissions,” he wrote.

Decarbonizing transportation would have many health benefits for North Carolinians. If all passenger vehicles sold by 2040 were ZEVs, with medium- and heavy-duty vehicles following soon after, then in 2050, the state could save $1.6 billion in health costs while avoiding 141 premature deaths, nearly 2,400 asthma attacks and more than 10,500 lost workdays, according to the American Lung Association.

However, SACE estimates that North Carolina has about 61 electric transit buses on the road, comprising only 5% of the state’s fleet, indicating significant progress still needs to be made to fulfill the MOU’s aspirations.

New legislation

Three recent bills in the North Carolina legislature would, if passed, help encourage and promote the EV transition. Senate Bill 592 would create a $3,000 tax credit for consumers purchasing an EV. Waiting to be heard in the Rules and Operations of the Senate committee, the bill was introduced by Sens. Michael Garrett, Wiley Nickel and DeAndrea Salvador, all Democrats.

Some EV incentives exist in North Carolina. The state’s electric cooperatives offer rebates of up to $3,500 on the Nissan LEAF, and individual cooperatives offer additional incentives. The state’s municipally-owned utilities also provide matching grants to help members develop EV plans for their communities.

S.B. 670, another bill in the Senate Appropriations/Base Budget committee, would establish a fund for EV education and adoption. Offering a glimmer of bipartisan support, the bill was introduced by Republican Sen. Jim Burgin. It would provide $240,000 per year for three years to the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association Charitable Foundation to “expand public awareness, understanding and comfort with electric vehicle and other zero emission vehicle technology.”

In the other chamber, House Bill 342, sponsored primarily by Democrats joined by Republican Rep. John Faircloth, would amend the state building code to require new one- and two-family homes to include an EV-ready parking space and wiring that would allow installation of a Level 2 (240 volt) charger. This bill is being considered by the Local Government committee on land use, planning and development.

“We’re also working on getting this through the Building Code Council,” said Ward Lenz, the executive director of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association.

Lenz personally has seen the benefits of building in EV wiring when houses are being constructed. He was charged $55 to get the correct outlet installed in his garage when he was building his house. “If you were to do that after construction,” he said, “where the electrician has to modify the breaker panel, it’ll cost $800 to $1,000. That’s why we’re trying to set things up so all a new homeowner has to do is plug in.”

To get the bill passed, however, Lenz is prepared for the long haul. “I don’t know of anything that goes through the Building Code Council without a fight.”

Information Without Money

A main focus of the multi-state MOU is the negative impacts medium- and heavy-duty vehicles have on communities of color. “MHDVs are a widely acknowledged, but unaddressed, environmental justice problem that directly and disproportionately impacts disadvantaged communities located near freight corridors, ports and distribution centers,” the memorandum says.

Equitable implementation of the MOU has been a focus for the DEQ Secretary’s Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board. At a recent meeting, DEQ Secretary Dionne Delli-Gatti emphasized that the work is ongoing, and she expects to continue working closely with the advisory board in the future.

One of the board’s chief concerns is to make sure people’s voices are heard. In comments submitted to DEQ, the board wrote that the agency “needs to engage EJ and diverse communities to better understand their needs and priorities concerning transportation.”

Encouraging access to low-cost public transportation was a key imperative for the board, especially for essential workers and for people in rural communities. In some of these places no public transportation infrastructure exists yet, said Veronica Carter, councilmember for the town of Leland.

“It’s going to cost a whole lot of money to get us where you want us to be,” she said.

Thinking about what’s possible is also difficult without knowing how much money might be dedicated for these projects, said James Johnson, director of the Urban Investment Strategies Center at the University of North Carolina. The MOU is a voluntary commitment with no money attached, and according to DEQ representatives, it is unclear what funds would be available.

“Information without money creates problems,” Johnson said. “It creates aspirations you can’t live up to.”

Expanding resources and infrastructure critical moving forward

One of the only dependable sources of state-sponsored funding for EVs and charging infrastructure comes from DEQ-distributed Volkswagen settlement money. The DEQ received a total of $92 million, which it will be distributing evenly over three phases of two years each.

Phase one began in 2018 and provided more than $26 million for a variety of projects, including about $7 million for electric school and transit buses. However, the settlement money hasn’t been used exclusively for electrification. Roughly $11 million went to purchase diesel and propane school and transit buses that meet tailpipe emissions standards, which critics say prioritizes short-term economics over long-term emissions reductions.

Most recently, in March, DEQ awarded a second round of funding, totaling $496,000, to provide rebates for 29 Level 2 charging projects. Rebates are continuing to be processed as part of the $1.15 million available for light-duty EV Level 2 charging infrastructure.

Planning for the distribution of $30 million in second phase funds is set to begin this year, and DEQ will solicit further input before releasing the plan.

Duke Energy has begun promoting electric transit buses as well, announcing on Tuesday a new partnership with the Charlotte Area Transit System to put 18 electric buses on the road by the end of the year. The North Carolina Utilities Commission also approved a $25-million Duke pilot program in 2020 that includes additional electric bus funding.

While other limited funding is available from the NCDOT and pilot projects like Duke’s, “it is still those VW mitigation funding opportunities that are really driving the bulk of new installations,” said Bolin.

Once the Volkswagen funds run out in 2024, Bolin is uncertain how expensive infrastructure like DC fast charging stations will be funded. It will be crucial, he says, to find a way to create a charging ecosystem that is balanced and accessible.

“There are environmental justice considerations baked into it at a very integral level,” he said. “This is going to be really important both from the light-duty perspective and for public transportation and school buses as well.”