Nearly two decades ago, in 2006, SEPTA bought its very first hybrid bus with hopes of eventually transitioning the region’s public transit system to clean energy. The agency attempted to go all-electric in 2016, when its board approved the purchase of 25 electric buses from Proterra, one of the largest electric bus manufacturers at the
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As climate change caused flooding and extreme heat in the region and elsewhere, Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration set its sights on reducing Philly’s emissions. Before the pandemic, the City of Philadelphia operated a fleet of approximately 5,500 vehicles — everything from sedans and SUVs to street sweepers and garbage trucks. These spewed over 50,000 metric
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When president Donald Trump signed an executive order to halt federal spending on January 27, its impacts hit close to home. Despite the decision being rescinded two days later, the fate of funding for environmental work remains murky due to the vague language and unclear legality of the sweeping order. It left sustainability-focused groups, including
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Over the past year, Philadelphia has received over $21 million in federal funding to expand its electric vehicle charging network. EV ownership has boomed in the city — the number of registrations increased from 475 in 2018 to 5,870 in 2023, according to PennDOT — but there are too few charging stations to meet demand.
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Mayor Cherelle Parker leads Philadelphia at a key point in the fight against climate change. By 2030 — that is, in a mere five years — the City hopes to have slashed municipal emissions in half and power municipal buildings entirely with renewable energy. If things go according to current sustainability plans, a Philadelphia whose
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What’s a fossil fuel utility to do in a rapidly warming world? That was the question posed by a study the City released jointly with Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), the country’s largest municipally-owned gas utility, in 2021. The answer? Diversify and decarbonize. The study recommended that PGW pilot three strategies: expanding its weatherization services, converting
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Home solar isn’t essential to home electrification, but for those with the financial means, it offers environmental and budgetary benefits, says Cora Wyent, senior director of research at the electrification nonprofit Rewiring America. “We’re trying to switch our whole grid to renewable electricity, and anywhere we can convert to solar is good,” Wyent says. “You’re
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While the federal inflation reduction act currently provides homeowners thousands of dollars of electrification incentives through tax credits, that is only one piece of a larger savings puzzle. The next biggest piece are federal rebates established under the IRA. Unlike the tax credits, which require homeowners to have enough taxable income in order to benefit,
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Sam Calisch has electrification bona fides. There’s the MIT engineering degree, the years spent in a lab tinkering with electromagnetic devices and his time on Capitol Hill as a scientist-turned-advocate, successfully campaigning for the inclusion of historic climate measures in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. So why is his new gig all about the humble
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