Piloting an Innovative Approach to Electric Vehicle Accessibility

Electric vehicles (EVs) are the transportation of the future. That future is here — and BlueHub is ensuring that low-income communities transition to EVs and have a voice in the policies and regulations guiding EV use.

Here are some Seemingly Unrelated Facts:

California and Massachusetts will mandate the end of new gas-powered vehicle sales in 2035; other states will surely follow.
A study by the American Automobile Association shows that the average car is driven only 46 minutes a day.
When power demand is projected to spike, like during a heat wave, high cost, often dirty power plants need to be used.
Increasingly, utilities see battery storage as a cheaper, more efficient and cleaner way to meet peak electricity demand needs — and they are willing to pay for it.

Now, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) service companies offer bidirectional chargers that run electricity both from the grid into EV batteries and from an EV battery back into homes, buildings, or the grid itself. In short: Utility companies can harness batteries that otherwise sit idle 97% of the time.

This technology will surely have widespread, positive environmental and economic impacts. And BlueHub is working to ensure that those benefits — including the ability to use utility payments to lower the cost of owning an EV — reach environmental justice communities.

Woman charging a Nissan Leaf electric vehicle using a vehicle-to-everything charger from Fermata Energy.

Drawing on BlueHub’s experience serving low-income communities and our knowledge of emerging clean technology, we conceptualized a new way to increase access to EVs and then brought together the partners needed to make it a reality.

In a first-in-the-nation pilot program, BlueHub is using bidirectional chargers to make EVs affordable for all. Fermata Energy will install and manage their chargers at our test sites at affordable housing developments in Massachusetts.

Residents selected for the pilot will have access to a Nissan Leaf EV, supported by a grant from the Opportunity Finance Network. Local utility Eversource will purchase power from the batteries during high-demand periods through their Connected Solutions Demand Response program, lowering the cost of the EV.

We believe that by tapping the economic value of EV batteries when they sit in the parking lot, residents of affordable housing developments will be able to drive EVs for significantly less than owning an older gas-powered car or using a rideshare service regularly. In tandem, the host property could enjoy savings on its electricity bill, and the neighborhood will have fewer polluting cars that create the exhaust that triggers asthma and respiratory diseases.

As BlueHub gathers new knowledge through this pilot, we will share what we learn about optimal ownership structure and other factors, so that EV use can be widespread in environmental justice communities.

Electric Vehicles Have Broad Benefits

Environmental Justice: better, more affordable cars for those who have historically been left behind. Apartment building: Electricity from EVs can lower building utility costs and act as a backup power source. Electric Vehicles: more than just a car. Driver: EVs are reliable and low cost to own. Drivers will be able to participate in greening, and are prepared for a future when new gas vehicle sales are eliminated. Community: EVs reduce pollution in the neighborhood. Vehicle-to-Everything Technology: making EV's cheaper than gas cars. Grid: The battery from the EV provides electricity during peak times. Utility pays for power, which further reduces energy costs for the housing complex.

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