Dear Friends –

As 2020 continues to roll on and present us with ever-changing challenges, the Clean Fuels Ohio policy shop has been hard at work to leverage the connections, conversations, and opportunities presented to us through the annual Midwest Green Transportation Forum and Expo that wrapped up just a few short weeks ago.

During the conference, we covered meaningful policy topics such as: midwestern and federal policy opportunities and outlook, utility roles in EV charging, local transportation policy models and campaigns, clean transportation solutions for all, and advanced auto manufacturing and jobs of the future. All of these sessions detailed important conversations taking place within the clean transportation sector – and the conversations we hosted provided valuable insight from our partners and member organizations.

From a discussion with Clean Fuels Ohio’s own Brendan Kelley on what is being done across Ohio at the local level to influence and promote clean transportation solutions, to a keynote address from Lordstown Motor Company’s VP of Business Development, Caimin Flannery, we covered a host of topics relevant to what’s currently happening at home and around the country. With input from folks like Joe Flarida, the Executive Director of Power a Clean Future Ohio – the statewide coalition organization working on a multitude of clean energy policies including vehicle electrification – we were able to share with attendees what current best practices are, where we’ve come from, and what the future looks like as we move forward.

Presenters like Ken Brown from Transportation Energy Partners and Brendan Jordan from the Great Plains Institute told us about larger-scale policy solutions, including some discussion around the exciting idea of working towards the adoption of a “Midwest clean fuels policy” or “low carbon fuel standard” that leverages the markets and industries specific to individual states. Aslyne Rodriguez from the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) and others shared what can done to ensure that lower income communities are no longer disproportionately impacted by pollution and the negative health effects that come with it – ensuring that every step we take towards a clean energy future is inclusive and equitable for everyone, everywhere.

To close out the MWGT, we hosted a session on the opportunity that Ohio currently has to make itself the worldwide hub for the manufacturing of electric vehicles – and what can be done to encourage it. Our panel of experts from the industry and the policymaking arena included individuals from Dana Corporation, JobsOhio, and even Ohio State Senator Sean O’Brien from the 32nd Senate District in Northeast Ohio.

All in all, the policy sessions at this year’s conference represented a broad, diverse, and well-informed set of voices – industry executives, public sector policymakers, and private advocates – who shared expert knowledge, invaluable experience, and pointed us in the right direction to continue working hard every day to advance clean transportation policies in and around Ohio. If you want to hear what these sessions were all about – and gain more insight into the specific conversations that were held – they are all still available for you to watch or listen to via our website, or via the Whova App we used for the MWGT. I hope that you’ll take the opportunity to do this – and that you’ll, like me, learn from this incredible range of speakers and experts.

I left the MWGT excited for what’s yet to come. The impact we can make together is one that will leave a lasting impression on our state – that will move us further into the advanced fuel future, and benefit generations to come. I am more motivated now than ever before to dive in, suit up, and be a tireless advocate for making 2020 the most efficient, meaningful, and cleanest year in Ohio’s transportation sector yet. We’re all in this fight together. I hope you’ll join me.

All the Best,

Tyler C. Fehrman

Policy Director

Clean Fuels Ohio