States announce major push to get to 20 million installed heat pumps, a cleaner alternative to gas furnaces that also provide AC

Published

2 years ago

September 21, 2023

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A coalition of 25 state governors announced a major push to reach 20 million deployed heat pumps by 2030, they said in New York City on Thursday.

That would represent a quadrupling of the 4.8 million heat pumps that were installed in the United States in 2020, according to a analysis of the announcement from RMI, independent, non-partisan, nonprofit clean energy think tank.

Heat pumps are energy efficient replacements for fossil fuel powered furnaces and air conditioners. They use electricity to transfer heat, as opposed to generate heat, and they can either heat a building when it is cold outside or cool a building when it is hot outside.

Compared to a gas boiler, heat pumps reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% when operating on emissions-intensive electricity and as much as 80% compared when operating on cleaner electricity, according to the International Energy Agency. The operation of buildings accounts for 30% of global energy consumption and 26% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions, according to the IEA.

Heat pumps can also save consumers money — around $300 a year in the United States, according to the IEA. In places like Europe, where gas prices are higher, having a heat pump can save customers around $900 a year, the IEA says.

The commitment to reach a total of 20 million heat pumps installed by 2030 comes from a bipartisan group of governors that represent 60% of the U.S. economy and 55% of the U.S. population and which collectively call themselves the U.S. Climate Alliance. The governors of Washington, New York, and California started the U.S. Climate Alliance in 2017.

“Look, I think all Americans have certain rights, among those rights are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of heat pumps,” Washington Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, said on Thursday.

“And the reason this is so important to Americans is pretty simple: We want to be warm in the winter. And we want to be cool in the summer. And we want to prevent the climate from collapsing all year long,” Inslee said. “And there is no greater invention in human history to do those three things than a heat pump, not only because it can keep you warm in the winter, but it can keep you cool in the summer.”

Inslee said this greatest invention is “kind of unfortunately named” because while it is called a heat pump, it has can both heat cold spaces and cool warm spaces.

And “right now people are having as much trouble staying cool in the summer as they are staying warm in the winter,” Inslee said. “We’re starting to need air conditioning in Seattle, Washington. That means we got a problem.”

Indeed, from June 26 to July 2, 2021, Seattle had an “unprecedented” heat wave during which 100 people died from the heat, according to the Washington State Department of Health.

About 10% of households in the United States do not have air conditioning, and it’s especially prevalent in disadvantaged communities, according to a 2022 report from the Brookings Institution. To that end, 40% of the benefits of Thursday’s announcement will go to disadvantaged communities, the governors said.

“I’m so cognizant of the fact that we are the first generation to really feel the effects of climate change,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Thursday. “We’re not talking about an impending threat. We’re talking about something that is in the here, and now.”

At this point, putting a gas furnace in a new dwelling is the equivalent of building a stable to house your horse instead of a garage to house your car, Inslee said.

“Gas is an old, antiquated, dirty, dangerous product,” Inslee said. “Climate change fundamentally is a fossil fuel problem. The source of climate change is fossil fuels. The source of climate change in our homes and offices is gas hookups, those gas hookups need to stop, and they need to stop today.”

“Whether it’s Georgia or it’s Maine, whether it’s the east coast or the west, this is a technology that works, and it works to reduce costs in a very aggressive way,” White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi said on Thursday. About half of what a household spends on energy goes towards heating and cooling, Zaidi said.

States in the U.S. Climate Alliance will pay for these heat pump installations with a combination of financial incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and with policy efforts in each individual state that is part of the coalition.

Maine, for example, has been remarkably successful in installing heat pumps with its own legislative action.

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Wisconsin gets 26 new fast-charging stations with $14M of grants

Published

11 hours ago

November 18, 2025

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Wisconsin gets 26 new fast-charging stations with M of grants

Wisconsin is getting another boost in DC fast charging thanks to $14 million in recovered federal grants for 26 sites statewide. The funding comes through the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, part of President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The award follows a legal battle earlier this year, when Governor Tony Evers (D-WI) joined other states in a lawsuit to force the Trump Administration to release over $60 million that Wisconsin was owed from the NEVI Formula Program. A federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s illegal attempt to obstruct the NEVI program in June, clearing the way for planned NEVI EV charging projects to continue.

This round of sites fills in EV charging station coverage gaps following the initial awards announced in May 2024. Round one granted $22.4 million for 52 projects; 11 of those chargers are already online, and another 16 have been cleared for construction.

Across both award rounds, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) has now allocated more than $36.4 million toward 78 total projects. The first NEVI-backed fast charging stations opened earlier this year at Kwik Trip stores in Ashland, Menomonie, and Chippewa Falls.

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The 26 new charging stations will be built along Wisconsin’s Alternative Fuel Corridor and sited at convenience stores, restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, and other travel stops. They’ll service the more than 37,000 EV drivers registered in the state, as well as road‑trippers and visitors, and will have a minimum of 150 kW per port.

Round two awardees include Tesla, Kwik Trip, and Universal EV. A full list of the 26 fast charging locations can be found here.

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Tesla Robotaxi had 3 more crashes, now 7 total

Published

12 hours ago

November 17, 2025

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Tesla Robotaxi had 3 more crashes, now 7 total

Tesla reported three more crashes involving its Robotaxis in Austin, Texas – now bringing the total to 7 incidents despite low mileage and in-car supervisors preventing more accidents.

Since the launch of the ‘Robotaxi’ service in Austin, Texas, where Tesla moved the supervisor from the driver’s seat to the passenger seat, it now has to report crashes to NHTSA.

In the first month of operation in July, Tesla reported three crashes with its Robotaxi service.

The automaker reported one more Robotaxi crash last month, and this one was interesting because it coincided with Tesla announcing that the Robotaxi fleet had traveled 250,000 miles from its launch in late June to early November.

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It revealed Tesla’s current Robotaxi crash rate, which is about 2x higher than Waymo’s, despite in-car supervisors that prevent an unknown number of crashes.

Now, Tesla has reported to NHTSA three more incidents that happened with the Robotaxi fleet in Austin in September:

Report ID	Incident Date	Incident Time (24:00)	City State	Crash With	Highest Injury	Severity	Alleged SV	Pre-Crash Movement	CP Pre-Crash Movement	Narrative
13781-1178	7 SEP-2025	13:08	Austin TX	Animal		No Injured	Reported	Stopped	NM Crossing Roadway	[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1178	6 SEP-2025	03:43	Austin TX	Non-Motorist: Cyclist	Property Damage.	No Injured	Reported	Stopped	Moving Alongside Roadway	[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1178	4 SEP-2025	20:42	Austin TX	Passenger Car	Property Damage.	No Injured	Reported	Proceeding Straight	Backing	[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1168	7 SEP-2025	01:25	Austin TX	Other Fixed Object	Property Damage.	No Injured	Reported	Making Left Turn	NaN	[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1150	7 JUL-2025	03:45	Austin TX	SUV	Property Damage.	No Injured	Reported	Stopped	Proceeding Straight	[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1145	9 JUL-2025	12:20	Austin TX	Other Fixed Object	Minor	W/O Hospit	alization	Other, see Narrative	NaN	[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]
13781-1137	5 JUL-2025	15:15	Austin TX	SUV	Property Damage.	No Injured	Reported	Making Right Turn	Making Right Turn	[REDACTED, MAY CONTAIN CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS INFORMATION]

Unlike other companies reporting to NHTSA, Tesla abuses the right to redact data reported through the system. The automaker redacts the “narrative” for each reported crash, preventing the public from knowing how the crashes happened and who is responsible.

Based on the limited information in Tesla’s reports, we know that one of the new crashes involved a Robotaxi driving into a car backing up, another involved a cyclist, and the last one involved an unknown animal.

Electrek’s Take

My favorite thing about reporting on those is the messages from Tesla fans who say: You don’t know how many of those Robotaxi are responsible for?

It’s funny because I agree, but whose fault is that? Tesla could do like every other company and report the narratives.

Waymo does, and it’s clear that it isn’t responsible for many of the crashes they are involved in. I am sure that’s the case with some of those Tesla Robotaxi crashes.

However, Waymo has hundreds of millions of rider-only autonomous miles, and Tesla has a few hundred thousand, all with a supervisor on board, a finger on a killswitch, ready to prevent further crashes. Who knows how many more crashes Tesla would have had without them?

I expect a few because humans generally have a crash, whether they are at fault or not, every 700,000 miles. Tesla has 7 in probably ~300,000 miles, which should be worrying to anyone, whether the Robotaxis were responsible or not.

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Hyundai is cooking up a new off-road SUV, and it sure looks electric

Published

13 hours ago

November 17, 2025

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Hyundai is cooking up a new off-road SUV, and it sure looks electric

Hyundai is bringing “something big” to the LA Auto Show this week, and the teaser points to a slick new off-road electric SUV. Here’s our first look.

What is this off-road Hyundai SUV?

The LA Auto Show is just days away, and Hyundai is gearing up to steal the spotlight once again. Last year, it was the IONIQ 9, Hyundai’s first three-row electric SUV. What will it be this year?

Hyundai gave us a sneak peek of a new “extreme off-road show vehicle,” the Crater Concept, ahead of its upcoming debut.

Although details are still pretty slim at this point, the sketch shows a high-riding, rugged SUV, clearly designed for off-roading with massive tires and aggressive wheel arches.

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Hyundai didn’t say what powertrain the off-road SUV will use, but given the closed-off grille and no visible tailpipes, all signs point to it being electric in some way. It could be a battery-electric (EV) or even a fuel-cell-electric vehicle (FCEV).

The Crater Concept looks a bit like the new Nexo, Hyundai’s dedicated hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The updated Nexo introduces Hyundai’s new “Art of Steel” design language, which was first shown on the Concept THREE electric hot hatch in September.

Hyundai said the design theme “combines resilience with artistic form,” which exudes strength and sophistication.

The dour dot lamps on the Crater Concept look about the same as Hyundai’s new “HTWO” lamps, exclusive to its FCEVs.

Hyundai said the Crater Concept has been “crafted to amplify the same spirit and robustness found in Hyundai’s XRT production vehicles,” like the IONIQ 5 XRT, Santa Cruz XRT, and new Pallisade XRT Pro.

The design team at Hyundai Design North America also introduced its new design and ideation studio on Monday, codenamed “The Sandbox” internally.

Hyundai’s new creative hub is exclusively dedicated to creating new outdoor adventure vehicles and rugged Xtreme Rugged Terrain (XRT) gear.

Will the Nexo be next? It sure looks like it. Hyundai will reveal the Crater Concept during a livestream press conference at the LA Auto Show on November 20 at 9:45 am PT. Check back for updates.

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