The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on May 12 announced a notice of intent to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “Fiscal Year 2022 Vehicle Technologies Office Program Wide FOA.” The potential FOA will advance research, development, demonstration and deployment in several areas critical to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, including advancement of electric drive technologies using less rare-earth metal, materials and structures innovations to reduce the weight of battery electric vehicles, electrification of non-road vehicles, improvements in off-road vehicle charging, improved efficiency of engines using low-carbon fuels, and deployment of these technologies among diverse communities.

Energy resilience is one of those things most people don’t think about until it’s too late. Energy resilience is the ability to withstand a crisis that can impact energy and fuel sources. The causes can be natural, like a flood, or human-made, such as the war in Ukraine. With gas and diesel prices reaching record highs, many are pointing fingers of blame while trying to determine how they can save money on fuel. Wisconsin Clean Cities is nonpartisan and we do not lobby, so we won’t add to the debate on the causes for the high gasoline and diesel prices. Rather, we’ll stick close to our mission and continue to offer information on how everyone can do their part to be part of the solution.

Gravely – an AriensCo. brand headquartered in Brillion, Wisconsin – became a Wisconsin Clean Cities member in May 2020. AriensCo was established in 1933 by Brillion, Wisconsin resident Henry Ariens. Since then, the company has been passed down, son to son, for four generations. Over the course of nearly 90 years, the company’s zip code, along with the CEOs’ last names have remained the same. That’s their commitment to local, family-run manufacturing, and they don’t plan on changing.

Electricity can be used to power all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles directly from the power grid. Vehicles running on electricity produce no tailpipe emissions. The only emissions that can be attributed to electric vehicles are those generated in the production process at the power plant. The electric grid is an easily accessible driving energy.