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Electric mobility seems to be everywhere these days, but does availability equal accessibility? Here at EWEB we’ve determined that the answer is ‘no’ and are working to bridge that gap through EV car shares, community grants and electric bike rebates.
Find Out MoreIn Eugene, we take pride in knowing we have one of the cleanest power portfolios in the nation. Roughly 90% of Eugene's power comes from carbon-free hydroelectric energy. And EWEB has a long history offering robust conversation programs. But we wanted to do more, so we launched Lead Green, a suite of programs for climate innovators looking to support renewable energy and take action on climate change. In the year since Lead Green was launched, we've accomplished a lot we can be proud of.
Find Out MoreLearn some of the many ways EWEB customers support local schools and help inspire kids to explore the wonders of watershed health and clean energy resources.
Find Out MoreOur skilled journeymen are experts in their field, with thousands of training hours and real-world experiences.
Find Out MoreBy upgrading substations – key nodes in the electric grid – EWEB is investing today in a resilient electric grid for the future.
Find Out MoreA wrap up of the May 2nd EWEB Board of Commissioners Meeting
Find Out MoreSeventh graders in the Bethel School District put their handmade wind turbines to the test in a wind power challenge supported by EWEB grants last week.
Find Out MoreThe application period is now open for the Electric Mobility Community Grants. Mobility Grants of up to $25,000 will be awared to five nonprofits, schools and academic intitutions, government and other public agencies to cover costs associated with their electric mobility projects.
Find Out MoreEWEB's Greenpower subscribers voted to award this year's Greenpower Grant to Friends of Trees, a local nonprofit that brings trees to areas of Eugene and Springfield with low tree equity.
Find Out MoreFollow along as the Currin Substation, the first of 10 substations in 10 years, is rebuilt from the ground up as part of EWEB's Capital Improvement Plan for major infrastructure investments to rehabilitate, replace, and install new infrastructure.
Find Out MoreToday and every day, we celebrate and honor the hard work, innovation and dedication of electrical line workers.
Find Out MoreThe EWEB Board of Commissioners discussed prefunding Leaburg, the 2022 State of the Watershed report, and the General Manager's performance evaluation at their April 4th, 2023 meeting.
Find Out MoreIt’s spring-- the time of year when birds are nesting in our trees. EWEB crews take special care to avoid disrupting birds when they’re trimming trees. But tree trimming is a necessary part of delivering safe and reliable power. We went out with a crew to find out how it's done.
Find Out MoreEWEB is excited to announce the eligible candidates for the 2023 Greenpower Grant! The winner of the Greenpower Grant will be voted on by Greenpower subscribers. Learn more about each origanization and their proposal before casting your vote.
Find Out MoreCrews are identifying and addressing equipment failures before wildfire season and doing so mitigates risk of fire ignition.
Find Out MoreAugust 11, 2020
Eugene Water & Electric Board is exploring the impacts of widespread electrification on our community. The analysis is intended to address a growing interest in understanding the relationship between fossil fuels and electricity and potential transitions to address climate change.
Phase 1 of EWEB's Electrification Impact Analysis Report focuses on electrification of small vehicles, and domestic water and space heating.
"The context for EWEB doing this study is that climate change strategies around the country and locally tend to focus on electrifying transportation and buildings as a way to meet goals," Chief Energy Officer Susan Ackerman told EWEB Commissioners during the Aug. 4 Board meeting.
At the public meeting, which streamed live online due to the coronavirus pandemic, EWEB presented preliminary results of Phase 1 of the study, including the following key findings:
Under the highest forecasted electrification rates, EWEB could experience load growth of 54 aMW (around 20 percent increase) by 2050. The potential carbon savings by 2030 is around 109,000 MTCO2e.
"What we are learning in this first phase of this study is that EWEB is well-situated to assist the community with climate goals," said Susan Ackerman, noting that these preliminary results represent early findings which are subject to change between now and final publication, scheduled for fall 2020.
Eugene's Climate Action Plan (CAP) 2.0 sets a goal of reducing community carbon emissions by 790,000 MTCO2e by 2030 and identifies a series of actions that will reduce our community's carbon footprint. But the CAP 2.0 actions alone do not reach the 2030 target.
The early results of EWEB's electrification study indicate that aggressive conversion of light-duty vehicles and residential and commercial space and water heating plays a limited role in closing this gap.
"The good news here is that electrification really does lead to carbon savings," said Susan Ackerman. "But even assuming a high level of electrification there is still quite a gap between what we could achieve in terms of carbon reductions and the City of Eugene's climate action goals."
Put another way, EVs and electric space and water heating are only one small part of the solution.
In the coming months, EWEB will refine our assumptions and early estimates that are reflected in the preliminary Phase 1 study. This will include discussions with City of Eugene staff to better understand the basis for EV-related carbon reductions in the CAP 2.0 report.
Three members of the public, including two volunteers with the group 350 Eugene, provided testimony related to the electrification study during the Public Input portion of the Aug. 4 Board meeting. Two comments encouraged studying the impact of solar PV adoption on EWEB's Electricity Supply Planning efforts, and the third comment related to the potential impacts of local electrification on regional greenhouse gas emissions.
Susan Ackerman clarified that these issues will be addressed in later phases of this work, which will include:
One important outcome of the Electrification Impact Analysis is an analytical model that the utility can use for all resource planning and community decarbonization efforts.
"One of the things that this type of modeling and effort will help with is understanding power resource adequacy issues in the northwest under certain conditions, such as low hydrogeneration, coal plant retirements, and growth in local solar generation," said EWEB General Manager Frank Lawson. "In the next phases of this work, we are going to look at different scenarios and changes to the electric supply side going forward, including characteristics and carbon intensity, both of which will look very different by 2050."
VIEW THE PRESENTATION: If you didn't catch the live stream of the Board presentation and discussion, you can view it here (approximately 40 minutes long).
READ THE FULL REPORT: We have posted the complete draft preliminary report online.
FIND RELATED NEWS AND INFORMATION: Visit our Electricity Supply Planning website to learn more about our efforts to understand the resources, technology, and infrastructure that will be needed to meet customers' future electricity needs.
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