In rural Oregon, electricity prices are low compared to those of gasoline and diesel fuel, as low as 6 cents/kWh. EVmath is a nonprofit that aims to help rural drivers crunch the numbers on buying EVs--beginning with Oregon and Washington. The nonprofit organization wants to show rural drivers that, whatever their politics, it might make sense economically to drive EVs.

Here's an example: A gasoline-fueled car that gets 25 miles per gallon costs about 20 cents per mile at current gas prices. An EV that goes 4 miles/kWh charged at a rate of 6 cents/kWh costs 1.5 cents per mile.

Economics aside, EVs offer a number of benefits to rural residents and businesses. People are using bidirectional EVs, such as the Ford F-150 Lightning, to power pizza ovens, water pumps, power tools and other electric vehicles.

Guests:

Robert Wallace, EV convert who works with rural small businesses in Oregon at Wy'East.

Steve Gutmann, co-founder, EV Math, along with Mark Jacobs

Background information:

Crunch the EV numbers with this EVmath calculator.

Email host Lisa Cohn with podcast episode ideas or comments at Lisa@CleanEnergyWriters.com

Visit her at CleanEnergyWriters

The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Georgia plans to build 18 resilience hubs--and eventually up to 482. Five are moving forward right now. Churches are being offered a menu of options, with the highest level of resilience including solar, storage, bidirectional electric vehicle (EV) charging and energy efficiency.

Since this interview was recorded, the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill" law phased out investment tax credits for solar, wind and EVs, which is expected to undermine the church's ambitious efforts. But the first five hubs are set to be completed, providing sanctuaries for church members and their larger communities.

Some Black community members may see the resilience hubs as "science fiction," so it's important to use the first hubs to educate people about their benefits, said James Gaymon, director of operations for social justice for the Sixth District AME Church in Georgia. He describes the numerous hurricane-sparked outages these communities face in Georgia--at least one a year, with a recent power loss lasting 18 days.

Background reading:

Where Black Communities Fit into the Energy Transition

Low-Income Communities are the First to Lose Power. How RMI is Helping Deploy Resilience Hubs

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At a July 10 conference, "The Great Transformation: A Data Center and Energy Innovation Summit," three panelists and attendees answered the question: Where do renewables go from here, given that the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," will phase out the investment tax credit for solar and wind? Separate from the conference, longtime solar industry member Mike Hall, CEO at Anza, answered the question and provided details about how to deal with President Trump's tariffs.

More on the industry members interviewed for this podcast episode:

Adib Nasle, CEO and co-founder, Xendee

Thomas Lang, CTO and director of business development, AccuSolar

Laurel Hamilton, head of growth at Mayfield Renewables

Mike Hall, CEO at Anza