How U.S. Congress Can Get Cities Moving
Originally published on the NRDC Expert Blog.
By Sarah Kline, Federal Transportation Consultant to NRDC.
The Biden administration has set an ambitious climate goal for America: a 50 percent decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030. To reach this goal, changing the way we move must be key since transportation is the largest contributor of GHGs in the United States.
Fortunately, cities are already leading the way. My colleagues and I have been working since 2018 with 25 cities as part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies American Cities Climate Challenge. Along with local partners, the cities have made significant strides in adopting climate-friendly transportation policies to encourage people to bike, walk, or use public transit instead of driving.
Cities are the natural leaders as they oversee land use, including the location of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, and local infrastructure, like streets and sidewalks, and may also provide transit service. But cities cannot tackle the climate crisis alone. The federal government has the tools to support bottom-up climate action and bring solutions to the national scale.
Here are two ways the federal government can help cities accelerate reductions in transportation emissions. In a future installment, I’ll discuss how the federal government can empower more local climate action.
1. Level up federal transit funding to match federal highway funding.
Bus Lanes. Photo by Caroline Yang for NRDC.
One of the most effective ways of reducing emissions is increasing transit use so that more people can get to jobs, schools, health care, and other places without driving. Many of the Climate Challenge cities have taken bold steps. St. Petersburg, Florida, is building the first bus rapid transit (BRT) line in the Tampa Bay Area, which will provide service between downtown and the beach. Charlotte, North Carolina, plans to build a 26-mile Silver Line that links the airport to the region’s light rail system, connecting communities of color to Charlotte’s uptown, thousands of jobs, and many other essential destinations. San Antonio voters passed a ballot measure in 2020 to dedicate a portion of an existing sales tax to expanding transit. Likewise, Cincinnati voters replaced a portion of the city’s earnings tax with a 0.8% increase to the county’s sales tax to fund the Southern Ohio Regional Transit Agency (SORTA) and infrastructure projects. The success of these and other ballot measures demonstrate the growing demand across the country for clean transportation options.
But cities are still limited in what they can deliver, due to the overall low level of funding. They’re forced to build out transit systems at a snail’s pace, one line at a time, with cobbled-together funds, meaning it can take decades to deliver the transit network that residents want. The federal transportation program has exacerbated this problem: For every $4 spent on roads and highways, just $1 has been spent on transit. It’s time for the federal program to level up investments in transit to match highways. That way, cities can realize transit projects and reap the benefits of greener transportation that much sooner.
2. Fund the transition to electric vehicles.
Increasing the use of zero-emission vehicles is one of the most effective tools for cutting emissions. Several cities, including St. Louis, Chicago, Boston, and Indianapolis, have adopted or are exploring EV readiness ordinances to ensure that new homes and buildings are prepared for an EV future.
Orlando, Florida, installed 100 electric chargers, pivoted its municipal light-duty fleet to EVs, and attracted federal funding for 140 EV buses. The city’s utility also hired an EV specialist to oversee incentives for EV adoption programs.
Philadelphia introduced 25 electric buses and is working on a clean fleet plan, while Pittsburgh debuted its first two electric buses and partnered with its electric utility to install two chargers. Charlotte added its first five battery electric buses at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, which will result in an annual decrease of about 50,000 gallons of diesel fuel, saving an estimated $90,000 each year. Los Angeles is in the process of adding 155 electric buses to its fleet.
Though cities are transitioning to electrification, it comes at a price. Purchasing an electric bus — not to mention installing the charging infrastructure — costs more than a diesel bus. Although these upfront costs are recouped over time through lower operating expenses, they can be a burden for strapped local governments. The only federal grant program focused on low- and no-emission bus purchases represents less than half of one percent of the federal transportation program. To accelerate fleet conversions, a significant increase in federal grants for EVs and charging infrastructure is needed, such as the $174 billion proposed by the Biden administration in the American Jobs Plan.
Image by Electrify America.
The Time Is Now
The U.S. Senate just passed a major Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, and pivoted to an even bigger budget reconciliation package. There is a lot of work to do over the next month, especially with current transportation law expiring on September 30th. These bills should be a one-two punch that helps knock the funding shortfalls in transit and electrification and give cities the tools they need to make immediate and lasting progress in reducing transportation emissions.
MINI has partnered with lifestyle brand, Deus Ex Machina, to develop this. It’s called the Skeg, and it’s a high-performance, racing-inspired electric concept car that’s sure to lighten the mood – by shedding fully 15% of its mass in the quest for speed.
One of a pair of exclusive, one-off concepts based on MINI’s John Cooper Works cars. The Deus Ex Machina Skeg celebrates MINI’s storied racing history with what the company calls, “a clean, minimal, and quiet rebellion,” that draws on materials, technologies, and philosophies from the world of surfing.
The electric MINI JCW Skeg is stripped to its essentials, with much of the steel and aluminum bits replaced with lightweight fiberglass to maximize acceleration while driving the minimalist aesthetic home. The end result weighs 15% less than the standard car – but makes the same stout 190 kW (258 hp) as the production car.
Surf’s up
The interior is stripped back to the barest essentials, reflecting BMW’s vision of a surf culture that prioritizes function over form. MINI claims the end result resembles a mobile surf shop, with fiberglass trays for wetsuits, specially shaped bins, neoprene seats, and other touches that “bring the surf culture into the interior.”
For their part, the BMW and MINI styling team seems pretty proud of its minimalistic electric endeavor. “In this extraordinary collaboration … every single detail has been crafted with artisanal precision and expertise,” says Holger Hampf, Head of MINI Design. “This has resulted in unique characters that are clearly perceived as belonging together through their distinctive design language and use of graphics.”
The concept retains the production version’s 54.2 kWh li-ion battery pack, up to 250 of WLTP range with the production aero kit, sprints from 0-100 km (62 mph) in just 5.9 seconds. With 15% less mass, though, that should jump to more than 255 miles, with 0-60 times dropping below 5.5 seconds.
I dig it – but I’d skip the surf bits and just appreciate the raw composite, minimalist interior look for what it is. Take a look at the image gallery, below, then let us know what you think of MINI’s Skeg concept in the comments.
MINI Skeg concept | gallery
SOURCE | IMAGES: BMW MINI.
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Environment
Volvo Penta teams up with e-power to equip Boels with next-gen Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS)
Veteran marine and industrial power solutions company Volvo Penta has joined forces with energy solutions provider e-power to build battery energy storage systems (BESS). Volvo Penta’s battery systems for energy storage will power BESS units built by e-power that can be catered to a range of applications, most notably construction rental clients like Boels Rentals in Europe.
Volvo Penta is a provider of sustainable power solutions that currently serves land and sea applications under the Volvo Group umbrella. As more and more of the world goes all-electric, the global manufacturer has also adapted, sharing cultural values with Volvo Group to engineer new and innovative sustainable power solutions.
Nearly 100 years later, Volvo Penta remains an industry leader in marine propulsion systems and industrial engines. As more and more of the world goes all-electric, the Swedish manufacturer has also adapted, sharing cultural values with Volvo Group to engineer new and innovative sustainable power solutions.
For example, all Volvo Penta diesel engines now run on hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO), reducing well-to-wheel emissions by up to 90% across the marine and industrial power industries. On the zero-emissions side, Volvo Penta has expressed its dedication to fossil-free power solutions, including battery electric components to serve heavy-duty applications such as terminal tractors, forklifts, drill rigs, and feed mixers, to name a few.
To leverage its battery electric value chain, Volvo Penta has also ventured into battery systems for energy storage (or BESS subsystems). These energy-dense, purpose-built BESS subsystems can provide portable, sustainable energy for all-electric charging and reduce grid dependency.
Volvo Penta to deploy battery systems for energy storage
Volvo Penta recently announced a strategic partnership with e-power, a Belgian power solutions provider. Together, Volvo Penta and e-power will develop a scalable Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) for Boels Rental.
The collaboration continues a long-standing partnership between all three companies. Boels – one of the largest construction rental companies is a long-time customer of e-power generators that utilize Volvo Penta engines. As the company shifts toward electrification and sustainability, it will again turn to those companies to deliver reliable performance.
Volvo Penta’s BESS subsystem comprises battery packs, a Battery Management System (BMS), DC/DC converters, and thermal management, combining to offer a compact, high-density, and transport-friendly solution optimized for rental operations. The company shared that this BESS design is integration-ready, enabling other OEMs like e-power to adapt and scale systems to customer-specific needs. Per e-power business support director, Jens Fets:
We’ve built our reputation on reliability and efficient power systems. Working again with Volvo Penta, this time on battery energy storage, allows us to meet the growing demand for energy in a silent, low-emissions, compact and mobile design—especially in rental applications.
The deployment of these new battery energy storage systems will help Boels cater to its customers’ growing demand for clean, silent, and mobile energy solutions in construction and other industrial applications.
Aside from being more quickly adaptable to customer needs, Volvo Penta says its BESS architecture marks an overall shift in rental power systems. This is welcome news for all who support a cleaner, more sustainable future across all industries.
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That didn’t take long! Just a few hours after Mercedes revealed the screen-heavy interior of its upcoming 2026 GLC EV, photos of the new crossover’s exterior – and that controversial grille! – leaked on Instagram and Reddit. We’ve got them here.
Two days ahead of the GLC EV’s officially schedule global debut, images that reportedly show the new 2026 Mercedes undisguised have leaked on Instagram and Reddit. They show the blocky new light-up grille on the nose of a very smooth, jellybean-like crossover shape that, despite Mercedes’ insistence that it’s moving away from the EQ series’ design language, looks an awful lot like an EQ Mercedes.
Check out the leaked images from kindleauto’s Instagram account, below, and see if you agree with that assessment.
If you need to see more before you feel comfortable commenting on the new SUV’s looks, there’s a few more angles over on the r/mercedes_benz subreddit.
Leaked exterior pictures of the upcoming GLC EV
byu/Quick_Coyote_7649 inmercedes_benz
As with everything else on the internet, take those unofficial images with a grain of salt and maybe wait until the GLC EV’s official reveal in a few days’ time before casting your final vote on the new look – but there’s very little reason to believe the new Mercedes will look terribly different from what you see here.
Will the new grille and tech-forward interior with its massive, 39″ screen and MB.OS software be enough to turn the tide for Mercedes-Benz, enabling it to finally gain some traction in the electric crossover market? That remains to be seen, but the recently updated Tesla Model Y and crisply-styled new BMW iX3 with its 500 miles of range will make it an uphill battle, for sure.
We got a sneak peek at the new GLC back in July, when Mercedes-Benz Group CEO, Ola Källenius said that, “We’re not just introducing a new model – we’re electrifying our top seller.” Back then, we learned that the new GLC EV would have a wheelbase 3.1″ longer than the current ICE-powered model, as well as more head- and leg-room for its occupants and an extra 4.5 cubic feet (for 61.4 total) of cargo space.
Källenius also promised an innovative new 800V electric architecture and the latest battery tech, which will enable the electric GLC to add around 260 km (~160 miles) of WLTP range in just ten minutes thanks to more than 300 kW of charging capability.
SOURCES | IMAGES: kindleauto; Quick_Coyote_7649.
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