TCI Regional Policy Design Stakeholder Submissions

We need more and better public transportation, to reduce pollution and mitigate climate change. Also, our roads are too crowded already, as population is growing, we need more people to take public transportation - but it is not always convenient enough, we don't have enough of it.

In the US and in Delaware, transportation is the largest source of air pollution. We need to build a modern, clean, safe, and accessible transportation system for the 21st century. The more we limit pollution from motor fuels, the more jobs we create, the more the economy grows, the healthier our air becomes, and the more lives we save. Delaware should join TCI to fund better transportation infrastructure, reduce traffic, and make my community a cleaner, safer place to live.
Public Health: It is clear that air pollution from cars, trucks, and buses have become a huge detriment to everyone's health. Air pollution has been linked to a variety of health problems, including asthma, heart disease, and lung cancer, and the more ambitious TCI is, the more our community stands to benefit from a cleaner transportation system. I urge Governor Carney to join TCI and push it to be as ambitious as possible, for the sake of my community’s health and livelihood.
We live in Sussex County which is a rural area, I think that TCI is extremely important. When states join TCI, they have the opportunity to invest in rural communities where transportation options are limited. Joining TCI would allow Delaware to ensure that rural communities aren’t left behind in the green transition and stuck behind the wheel of costly, inefficient vehicles. Governor Carney should push for an ambitious TCI program so that rural communities like mine get the solutions they need.
More electric vehicles, cars, trucks, buses etc.

We must end fossil fuel use and increase safe renewables. Delaware must allow homeowners to produce more than %10 over their electric usage so we can retire fossil fuel power plants. We must provide incentives for individuals to install electric storage capabilities to provide power after dark or during windless times. Power companies must be incentivized to install systems that uses excess power to break down water into hydrogen and oxygen. They can sell the oxygen for medical or commercial uses and store the hydrogen to use as fuel when renewables are unable to provide sufficient power to the grid. No greenhouse gases would be produced and all the fuel to provide the electricity would be free.
Delaware must increase the use of electric public transit vehicles. Most routes are short enough to allow this, and longer routes could have charging stations at each end of the route. Drivers would park and charge the vehicle they drove into the end of route station, and move to another vehicle that has been charging. It may require a few more vehicles, but the cost would be partially offset by the lower maintenance costs of the electric vehicles.
We must also initiate a fee for internal combustion vehicles bases on fuel mileage figures. The lower the miles per gallon the higher the fee. This would cause the more polluting vehicles to pay their fair share of the cost of their emissions.
We must encourage more electric vehicle purchases. Businesses must be incentivized to install charging stations for employee electric vehicles and encouraged to use solar or wind power to provide the electricity. They could receive a one time tax rebate for the installation of the chargers and solar or wind facilities. They could also receive tax rebates if the installed power storage facilities.
Delaware must also require that a certain percentage of vehicles from each manufacturer are all electric powered vehicles. We have been trying to purchase a Hyundai Kona electric from a Delaware dealer for almost 2 years now. Despite Delaware being a state that qualifies for them, local Hyundai dealers do not carry them and when we inquire about them, are told that they are not available within 200 miles of the state. We know this is untrue because we have seen them for sale in dealerships within 50 miles in MD and 20 miles in N.J. We don't want to have to deal with a dealership so far away and in a different state.
Delaware must also enact a carbon tax on industries. The fees could be used to pay for health care for individuals harmed by industrial carbon.

Electrification Greenprint

1. Hearts and Minds. Run a campaign to motivate and educate the public about climate change and actions they can take right now (like supporting this list).
2. Commitment. Every city needs to join the Climate Mayors (climatemayors.org) and abide by the Paris Climate Agreement.
3. Community Choice Aggregation (CCA). Default to renewable energy, with an “opt-out” for cheapest energy on electric utility websites. Gradually increase the cheapest rates to subsidize the renewable option until they are equal, then consolidate to 100% green only (epa.gov/greenpower/community-choice-aggregation).
4. Rate Transparency. Impose variable Time-of-Use rates to unmask the higher cost of generation during peak usage. Aware customers will alter behavior to avoid peak rates, shaving peak demand off high generation rates.
5. Community Solar and Wind. Remove restrictions on investing in Municipal Solar and Wind Parks. If someone wants to fund $1,000, let them. Once fully funded, build more on any other undeveloped public spaces.
6. Energy Storage. It’s just as important as other renewable sources, so add it to the Green Energy Program. Homes not suitable for solar panels (like mine) can contribute to grid services and gain emergency backup power by co-funding distributed energy storage in their homes.
7. City Fleet Vehicles. Gradually replace government vehicles with EVs as they age out (driveevfleets.org). Please see the attached presentation that convinced the City of Newark, DE to start transitioning with the purchase 3 EVs in 2020. Update needed for Tesla Cyber Trucks wherever legacy pickup trucks are used now.
8. EV Charging Stations. Install Level 2 car chargers at all city parking facilities, starting with the busiest. One discounted fee for parking and charging. Proceeds to the city’s Green Energy Program after the chargers pay for themselves.
9. Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G). EVs sell power back to the grid during high demand. Nuvve (founded at the University of Delaware) is already installing and operating V2G systems worldwide.
10. Use the VW Diesel Scandal Lawsuit funds to purchase electric city and school buses as the current fleets age out and/or break down.

This bonus item is pretty extreme, but would have a huge impact once the momentum gets going.
11. Carbon Rebates. Expand RGGI to cap GHG emissions from gasoline, diesel, heating oil, and natural gas by applying a state tax. Use it to fund GHG reduction rebates and diversify revenue. Since the federal government is unwilling to stop subsidizing fossil fuels, this is using state power to get it back.

We need a plan that holds large transportation polluters accountable for the pollution they create and invests in clean transportation solutions including:

More public transit and electric vehicle infrastructure in rural areas
Expansion of commuter rail, electric vehicles, and streets in the suburbs that are safe, walkable, and bikeable
Sustainable and equitable housing near transit and electric bus fleets in urban communities

As someone highly concerned about climate change and its impact on our planet, I feel we do need to support this. The concept has a lot of flexibility, as I understand it, so that the poor are not overly and unfairly impacted. It will be vital for policy makers to ensure that such is the case. Bottom line, though, is that we must take action ASAP.

We need cleaner air for everyone!
We also need better transportation in the state of DE.

The Sierra Club is sharing the attached 102 comments from our members and supporters in Delaware supporting finalizing the Draft Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI). Thank you for helping to design a regional policy to limit climate pollution from motor fuels and invest in a modern, clean, transportation future. The evidence is clear: the more we limit pollution from motor fuels, the more jobs are created, the more the economy grows, and the more lives we save. Please sign on to the agreement to implement a strong, equitable regional climate protection policy through TCI. Invest in the communities that have suffered the most from burning gasoline and have the least access to clean transportation options. Stop sending our hard-earned dollars out of the state to oil companies, and choose to create jobs, grow the economy, and save lives for families and businesses. Thank you.

I support the Transportation & Climate Initiative because we need to reduce carbon emissions. We need a more extensive public transportation network and increased numbers of charging stations for electric vehicles.