| Our January electrification newsletter was ready to go as thousands of people in Lake Oswego were without power, encased in ice, enduring freezing temperatures, and unsure of when the darkness would end. We concluded that sending the newsletter on its scheduled January date would have been insensitive, obtuse, infuriating—and the poor timing would not help our message.
But hear us out. As our climate continues to change, we will see more weather extremes, more storms and fires, and more planned and unplanned outages.The solution is to switch to clean, renewable energy that produces electricity, not to double down on fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and gasoline.Therefore, our new commitment to you is to offer newsletters with more resilience workarounds that can help us all through these now-predictable periods when we don’t have electricity.
Look for our upcoming newsletter on how to get through your next power outage. But in the meantime, here is a link to an editorial in the Lake Oswego Review from our Electrify LO team member, Duke Castle, on the holy grail to bridge us during these outages—a battery in your garage that can power your home for a couple of days—it also serves to move you around town in style!
And now we present to you January’s newsletter repackaged for February. |
The Electrification Movement is Spreading Across Oregon
We kicked-off Electrify LO just two years ago and we are now joined by Electrifys in Portland, Ashland, Bend, and Corvallis and interested groups in 10 other cities with multiple grassroots collective action projects planned among us. Electrify Oregon was formally established in June 2023 and its website will be launched next month. If you are interested in joining us in our efforts to address the climate crisis, email lganzini@losn.org. Your help is needed and appreciated. |
Lake Oswego City Survey Results—Lake Oswego Residents Say the City Should Do More to Address Climate Change.
The City of Lake Oswego released the results of the 2023 City of Lake Oswego Resident Survey returned from 401 randomly selected Lake Oswego residents. This survey is used to determine resident priorities and areas of concern and to get feedback on key policy issues.
Among 13 general areas that the city should focus on, respondents rated “Effectiveness of efforts to respond to climate change” as third in importance (after sustainability and public safety). In a “combined importance/satisfaction index,” respondents rated “Effectiveness of efforts to respond to climate change” as the single most important area in which it should prioritize investments in services.
The overall take away? Many of you and your neighbors agree that addressing the climate crisis must be a priority for our city government. Let the mayor and city council know you support their efforts to fulfill the city’s Sustainability and Climate Action Plan at CouncilDistribution@lakeoswego.city. |
2022 and 2023 Were Good Years for Electrification—But Not Great
The grid is getting cleaner. Over 80% of new capacity added to the grid now comes from renewable sources. Oregon law dictates that electricity must be 80% clean in Oregon by 2030 and 100% clean by 2040. If you sign up for community solar, 80-90% of your electricity will be clean and you will receive a 5% discount on your PGE bill (higher discounts for low income subscribers). If you sign up for green power, your home electricity will approach 100% clean energy.
Electric machines are surging in sales. In the US in 2023, over 1 million battery-electric vehicles were sold by November, making up 9 percent of U.S. auto sales. Experts say we are now past “the tipping point.” Last year, the sales of heat pump furnaces leapt past fossil gas furnaces for the first time—4.3 millions units compared to 3.9 million. The sales of electric heat pump water heaters increased in proportion to 55% from 51% between 2021 and 2023 compared to fossil gas units.
Americans prefer electric. A survey last year revealed that Americans are showing a strong interest in electric homes with 31% expressing a preference for an all-electric home and 29% for a mostly electric home.
Everything is trending in the right direction.
But trending is not enough. Rewiring America calculates that to meet our 2030 climate goals we need twice as many heat pumps for space heating and water heating and four times as many electric vehicles between 2024 and 2026 as the “business as usual” case. That means we all need to get moving!
What more can you do? We know that many of our newsletter readers are on their electrification journey. Now it is critical to show your friends, family and neighbors your electrification results so that they can see it as a great next step for themselves. In 2024 we hope to roll out several ways to make it easier for you to influence others to electrify. We plan on an Electrify LO yard sign campaign in concert with Portland, Ashland, and Bend. We also want to share with you electrified homes in Lake Oswego, both new and retrofitted, through our Electric House Party program. |
Five Steps to Take Now to Begin Your 2024 Electrification Journey
You want to begin switching over to an all-electric, more sustainable, and ultimately less expensive way of life, but you aren’t sure where to begin? One good first step would be to sign up for Canary Media’s Electrified Life/Demystifying Home Electrification. For example, this month Alison Takemura outlines how to start 2024 with some low stakes steps to begin your electrification journey.
1. Clarify in your own mind why you are motivated to go electric.
The ride can be bumpy, initially expensive, and long, so keeping the benefits in mind can help you stay on course—not only the climate, but comfort, lower energy bills, a healthy and safe home, and personal energy independence. Remember there are easy, inexpensive first steps that can help you feel successful such as purchasing a single burner induction hotplate, subscribing to community solar, purchasing electric landscaping equipment, or buying an outdoor electric grill.
2. Look up incentives.
Electrify Now has all the Oregon incentives listed on one page.You can layer these incentives all in one project.
- Federal incentives through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).Tax credits are available now, and larger rebates for low- and middle-income households will become available as early as mid-2024. Here is a summmary of tax credits and a calculator from Rewiring America with both federal tax credits and potential future rebates.
- Energy Trust of Oregon incentives
- Contractor incentives. Use Electrify Now to find recommended contractors. Read through the recommendations for coupons and discounts. Contractors and discounts are also available through Electrifypdx.
- Finance your home electrification and energy efficiency upgrades with a Portland General Electric on-bill financing loan for up to $30,000 through Craft3—even if your credit is not perfect. Pay for major electrification projects over 15 years.
3. Schedule a home energy audit and consultation.
A home energy audit examines your present situation. It will give you an idea of how efficient your home is and where you might be able to improve its efficiency. Weatherization, insulation, and sealing might allow you to save money because you would need a smaller heat pump or fewer solar panels. A blower door test will help find air leaks within your building envelope. The IRA includes a $150 tax credit for a home energy audit from a qualified professional.
A home energy consultation, on the other hand, gives you a breakdown of costs, cash incentives, and tax credits for home energy upgrades such as adding insulation, upgrading HVAC, or replacing windows. One contractor, Greensavers, offers free energy consultations in addition to audits, electrification, energy efficient windows, insulation, and HVAC services. Schedule a consultation at greensavers.com/community and use the code, LISAADATTO. If you complete a project of $2,500 or more, Greensavers will donate $200 to LOSN. Other companies that offer energy consultations and electrification plans are available at Electrify Now.
4. Make an electrification plan.
Your energy plan can serve as the roadmap to electrify your home over time and make the best use of the incentives. With a plan you are prepared to act flexibly—either preemptively when your appliances are just old and inefficient, or when you need to act quickly because things stop working. If you want to take your first step today, Canopy is a free online platform that can help you figure out which electrification project to tackle first based on information you submit. They provide a step-by-step checklist for making upgrades and maximizing available incentives. They also provide LOSN with anonymized information about how Lake Oswego residents are progressing with their electrification projects, and we report that information back to you in our newsletter. Sign up to start here.
5. Get support.
Canopy also offers advisor services to answer detailed questions and help you make a prioritized plan with follow-up phone support and email encouragement. |
There Are Some Major Changes Coming to the Electric Vehicle World in 2024.
The big changes in EV tax credits
The biggest change in the EV world this year is that many popular models will temporarily lose the full $7500 federal tax credit due to tightening battery requirements in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Passed in 2022 the IRA requires a greater percentage of EV battery materials not be sourced from China and other countries the Treasury Department has labeled a “foreign entry of concern.” Effected vehicles include all of the least expensive Teslas, the Ford Mach-E, Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Blazer EV. The Chevy Bolt and Ford F-150 Lightning still qualify.
The good news is that starting in 2024 dealers can absorb the full tax credit for those vehicles that do qualify and pass the savings on at the time of purchase. To learn more about which vehicles will qualify and how to claim your credit, check out the article on 2024 EV Tax Credits at PlugIn America
Consider leasing
One option to overcome this limitation in tax credits is to consider leasing. Almost all EVs purchased for business purposes are eligible for the full $7500 tax credit, without any of the other IRA restrictions, and, through a quirk in the tax law, the leasing company receives this tax credit and can pass it along to the person leasing the vehicle. If you have never leased, there are other benefits for considering leasing of EVs right now. As pointed out by Andrew Moseman in Heatmap, the EV revolution is young and there are many new EVS coming out. At this point, new developments are coming rapidly, and we don’t know what improvements are coming in EVs or which ones will age well. It might make sense to lease a few years until you can see what works and buy with confidence.
Tesla chargers will become available to all
The other big EV news for 2024 is that virtually all EV manufacturers have signed agreements with Tesla to allow their vehicles to access the Tesla fast charging Supercharger network. This significantly reduces “range anxiety” by making available tens of thousands of what is considered the most reliable and extensive DC fast EV charging network to all of those EV owners. For more on how each manufacturer is making this transition check out this article from Car and Driver. |
Electrify Your Landscaping
LOSN Board member Kathleen Wiens attended the Oregon Gas to Electric Landscaping symposium at the Nike Campus in November 2023. It was sponsored by American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA), the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) and the Oregon Landscape Contractors Association (OCLA).
This well-attended workshop was an informative day of presentations, dialogue and commercial landscaping equipment demos. A leaf blowing contest took place at this workshop and an electric leaf blower came in first place against a gas blower. The landscapers using electric equipment are happy to be using electric, which are quieter and have no fumes. It’s great to see so many landscapers transitioning to electric landscaping equipment.
American Green Zone Alliance is a national leader in low-impact low-noise landscape solutions. You can view the AGZA summary video of this workshop.
Check out the LOSN Electric Landscaping page. We also have an Electrify Your Landscaping committee doing work in our community. |
By the Numbers
|
The 2023 Lake Oswego Home & Vehicle Fair
Our fair was a big success, thanks to those who came out to visit, our volunteers, our sponsors and the LO United Methodist Church.
More than 500 people attended our 6th annual event. As part of National Drive Electric Week, 12 dealers brought 18 EVs for test drives and 35 EV owners brought vehicles. We hosted 7 presentations on electrification and 30-60 people attended each and 20 event exhibitors shared information. We received 2 stories in the The Lake Oswego Review including this front page coverage. Our event was an overall success thanks to 24 volunteers, including support from the LO United Methodist Church.
We’ll soon share details soon about our 2024 Home & Vehicle Electrification Fair. |
|
