Improved Air Quality:
Transportation is the largest contributor of air pollutants like nitrous oxide (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5). Based on Utah’s triennial emissions inventory, as reported in the Utah Division of Air Quality’s 2021 annual report, heavy-duty diesel trucks produce more than 30% of the state’s on-road air pollution, despite making up only 7.5% of all vehicle miles traveled. Switching to zero-emission freight has the potential to significantly reduce NOx, VOCs, and PM2.5 pollutants in and around the Salt Lake City Inland Port thereby improving the health of 250,000 residents who live within a five-mile radius of the port.
Economic Growth:
Electric vehicles have the ability to increase the disposable income of drivers through the savings realized to power the vehicle as compared to powering an internal combustion vehicle (ICE). While electric vehicles tend to have higher upfront costs than ICE vehicles, they are often less expensive over time, partially from the savings derived to power the vehicle. For example, the cost of regular gas in Utah on May 9, 2024, was $3.83 per gallon, and diesel was $3.66, per AAA. In contrast, Rocky Mountain Power rates are among the lowest in the nation where the typical customer pays between 9 to 11.7¢/kWh in the summer and 8 to 10.4¢/kWh the rest of the year.
When considering that the average fuel tank holds between 10.5 to 18.5 gallons, Utah drivers can expect to pay between $40 and $70 to fill their gas tank whereas it would be $3.50 to $15.33 to fully charge an EV using typical prices in Utah.
When considering that the average fuel tank holds between 10.5 to 18.5 gallons, Utah drivers can expect to pay between $40 and $70 to fill their gas tank whereas it would be $3.50 to $15.33 to fully charge an EV using typical prices in Utah.
For drivers who choose to participate in a market-driven time of use electricity pricing schedule, these costs can drop as low as $1.75 to $7.67 when charging at non-peak times. These prices will charge a vehicle for between 114 and 516 miles of range depending on the vehicle chosen.
Figure 1 shows the relationship between range and cost to charge for all EVs on the market in 2023. Additionally, Figure 2 shows a comparison in cost per 100 miles between vehicles fueled by electricity, gasoline, and diesel.
In February, the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah released an analysis that showed visitors to Utah “spent a record $11.98 billion in Utah’s economy in 2022, generating 98,600 direct travel-related jobs and $1.37 billion in direct state and local tax revenue. The report notes that overall, state visitation and other tourism-related economic indicators remained strong despite surging inflation, high gas prices, and fears of a possible recession.”
Some of the areas most visited in the state are its “Mighty 5” National Parks as shown below in the 2023 visitation numbers released by the National Park Service:
Zion National Park
(4.62 million visitations)
Arches National Park
(1.48 million visitations)
Canyonlands National Park
(800,322 visitations)
Bryce National Park
(2.46 million visitations)
Capitol Reef National Park
(1.27 million visitations)
High volumes of traffic traveling to the national parks located in Utah results in long lines that lead to significant air pollution in these sparsely populated regions that would otherwise enjoy a pollution-free environment. In 2023, the Zion Canyon Shuttle System switched to electric buses to continue serving visitors while reducing traffic congestion and crowding in the park. Given that charging an electric vehicle is less expensive than fueling an ICE vehicle, and knowing there are opportunities for further investment, there is potential for Utah to lead as a destination for electrified transportation tourism while simultaneously reducing emissions-related pollution in our National Parks.
Outside of tourism, Salt Lake City forms a national hub of freight transportation, which led to its priority designation on the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy. According to the American Trucking Association, nearly 8 million people in the U.S. work in the trucking and transportation industry and play a crucial role in upholding the supply chains that support economies throughout the nation. CALSTART, a national nonprofit focused on transportation initiatives, found three-quarters of goods in the country are moved by freight, generating nearly $1 trillion in revenue each year.
Workforce
Development:
With the entire transportation industry at the precipice of this momentous change, we will need to train future generations to build, operate, and maintain these innovative new systems.
We need to explore training and educational opportunities for those in all levels of the workforce, from engineering to production to maintenance. For example, what will the automotive service technicians of the future need? The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects this career path to grow at a rate of nearly 70,000 new positions each year for the next decade. We need to prepare the workforce in terms of training from day 1 as well as advancing certification for experienced mechanics.
In Utah, we are lucky to work with partners throughout the state to determine these needs while working with existing programs in automotive technology and service offered at universities along the Wasatch Front, like Weber State University and Utah Valley University, plus Utah State University’s Statewide Campuses and the Utah System of Higher Education’s (USHE) technical colleges.
As we explore charging methodologies and infrastructure improvements that support electrification, this also leads to an increased need for more training of utility and power production technicians, operators, and engineers as it relates to both Utah’s and other states’ power planning and grid infrastructure.
Improved Grid
Resilience & Electric Generation:
Goals to decarbonize energy in the U.S. by 2035 have been set, but how we get there will likely be determined regionally. The general consensus, as reported by The New York Times in May, is “that there aren’t nearly enough high-voltage power lines being built today, putting the country at greater risk of blackouts from extreme weather while making it harder to shift to renewable sources of energy and cope with rising electricity demand.”
Utah’s current electric power portfolio utilizes a blend of fossil fuels and renewable energy to power its electric generation. As shown in Figure 3, nearly 80% of the electric power generated in Utah is fueled by natural gas and coal. According to the state energy profile analysis published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Utah is home to three of the largest natural gas fields in the country. The state’s electric power sector became the largest consumer of natural gas in 2021 leading to one-third of the natural gas consumed in the state being used to generate 26% of Utah’s electricity in 2022. The EIA analysis shows almost 90% of Utahns use natural gas as their primary heating fuel — the highest consumption of all states in the U.S. — which accounts for 30% of the natural gas consumed in Utah. Similarly, four-fifths of the coal mined in Utah is consumed in the state and was used to generate 53% of the state’s electricity in 2022, down from 75% in 2015.
Production in coal mining, natural gas, and crude oil has been slowing in recent years. However, NYT also reported the country’s electrical grid is not yet prepared for decarbonization. We need to be strategic and future-focused in our planning to find ways to improve our grid now and in years to come without harming the communities that rely on our current energy production methods.
In May, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued the first rules to oversee interstate electricity transmission to promote more high-voltage power lines fueled by renewable energy resources, like wind and solar.
The EIA reported that 16% of Utah’s electricity was generated from renewable resources in 2022, with solar as the majority source at 9%. As carbon-neutral energy demands increase, the state could increase solar as it’s ranked by the EIA as one of the greatest states for solar resources. However, one of the biggest challenges to renewable energy is storing any power generated. It’s most energy efficient and affordable if the energy generated goes directly to source charging delivery, but there’s not always constant generation from renewable resources. Battery storage technology already exists and can be used at scale to counter this disadvantage.
Other alternative energy sources used include hydropower, wind energy, geothermal, biomass, and hydrogen — which could include the Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) project in Delta, Utah. The ACES project is expected to be completed in 2025 and will be the world’s largest hydrogen production and storage facility where hydrogen will be stored underground in two massive salt caverns each capable of storing 150 GWh of energy. The facility will supply the hydrogen feedstock to the Intermountain Power Agency’s (IPA) Intermountain Power Plant (IPP Renewed Project) in Delta. The IPP — an 840 MW hydrogen capable gas turbine combined cycle power plant — will initially run on a blend of 30% green hydrogen and 70% natural gas starting in 2025 and will increase to 100% green hydrogen by 2045.
Noting that nearly all freight transportation runs on oil and gas and demand is projected to grow nearly 50% — 30 billion tons — by 2050, freight will become the highest emitting sector of greenhouse gas emissions. Electrifying freight transportation presents the greatest opportunity to make a positive impact toward improving our air quality while reducing the cost to move goods.
ASPIRE, in partnership with NREL, is currently developing a plan for heavy-duty freight electrification along the Wasatch Front as a recipient of a Department of Energy (DOE) grant to improve heavy-duty freight corridors. This plan will also integrate onsite hydrogen (H2) storage, fueling, and electric power generation at transport terminals or truck stops where hydrogen can provide fuel to generate electric power for battery-electric vehicle charging in the event of a power outage. The hydrogen storage will also enable fueling of heavy-duty trucks designed to operate on battery-electric equipment in areas where electric charging infrastructure is available and then transition to operating on hydrogen fuel to cross vast distances where electric charging may not be readily available.
Regarding hydrogen and fuel cell manufacturing, there are 52 projects in the U.S. to enable a target of $2/kg H2 by 2026 and $80/kW fuel cells by 2030. These efforts are targeted at producing 10 GW per year (1.3M metric tons of H2 per year) and 14 GW per year of fuel cells, corresponding to 50,000 trucks (about 15% of annual sales).
Renewable Innovations, located in Lindon, Utah, produces grid-independent mobile power solutions consisting of H2 storage, fuel cells, battery storage, and chargers to energize electric vehicles in remote locations while providing mobile charging where grid capacity is limited. Love’s Travel Stops operates seven locations in Utah where H2 delivery is part of their strategy. They have indicated interest in building out this H2 infrastructure at their locations but are not likely to make the investment unless they can get a fleet customer to sign up for utilization. A potential Utah strategy is to use local H2 generation where needed to support the grid, followed by direct fuel delivery for vehicles where we begin by focusing on off-road vehicles.
Additionally, electric utilities are planning forays of nuclear power to be introduced into Utah’s energy portfolio. As the second largest source of low-carbon electricity in the world behind hydropower, nuclear power could become a major generator of the electricity needed to power our electrified transportation.
The United States produces more nuclear-generated electricity than any other nation in the world with 20% of the electricity generated in the U.S. coming from nuclear power. This clean energy resource produces zero emissions, protecting our air quality. When compared with solar and wind farms, it requires a very small land footprint. Additionally, nuclear fuel is extremely energy dense, about 1 million times moreso than that of other traditional energy sources. Because of this, the amount of used nuclear fuel is not as big as one might think. According to the Department of Energy, all of the used nuclear fuel produced by the U.S. nuclear energy industry over the last 60 years could fit on a football field at a depth of less than 10 yards. That waste can also be reprocessed and recycled, although the United States does not currently do this.
Evaluating emerging innovations in the nuclear sector will be important to optimizing the future grid.