How Arizona ranks for electric vehicle-friendly policies
The report finds that Arizona has taken some important steps to encourage and enable residents to use electric vehicles but should rapidly step up its efforts
In a first-of-its-kind report, Arizona landed in the middle of the pack among states regarding adopting policies to enable the use of electric vehicles.
The Grand Canyon State ranked No. 25 out of 50 states for creating policies that remove barriers for households and fleet owners to purchase and use electric vehicles, according to a recent report released by the nonprofit American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Policies could include offering incentives to buy EVs, adding more charging options and setting lower electric rates at preferred charging times.
Transportation is responsible for 28% of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and many states have started implementing policies to make electric vehicles more accessible for people and businesses to use in replacement of gas vehicles, according to the report.
The report evaluated state legislatures, commissions and departments of transportation progress in implementing the use of electric vehicles along with the installing the necessary charging stations for all uses with a scorecard. The scorecard then evaluated states’ actions on a 100-point scale on six tiers: Charging infrastructure and goal setting, incentives (such as rebates or tax credits), transportation efficiency, electricity grid optimization, equity and electrification outcomes.
California ranked first place, earning a total of 91 points out of 100. According to the news release, California was the only state to set deadlines for implementing electric transit buses, heavy trucks and commercial vehicles. It’s also one of the few states ranked to offer assistance to low-income drivers to replace their older cars with zero to near-zero emissions vehicles.
In the Southwest region, Colorado scored the highest after setting its goal to have 940,000 electric vehicles on its roads by 2030. The press release also said a utility plan was recently approved to install around 20,000 chargers throughout the state.
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