by Natalie Dickens, Real Times Media
Eager business leaders filled the Michigan Central Station on the morning of Tuesday, October 31, to grab a cup of hot coffee before taking their seats after abiding by the traffic cones and road closures peppered all throughout the city that morning. At the Resilience and Equity in Clean Energy 2023 (RECESS23) Conference, Mayor Duggan addressed the crowd by announcing some exciting news.
“This is different than any road construction that Michigan has ever seen,” he says. “They’re actually installing an electric road charging system.”
At the end of 2022, the Michigan Department of Transportation entered a five-year agreement with Electreon to begin working on a project that will make Detroit the first city in America to implement an electric road charging system (ERS). The structure works by transferring magnetic frequencies to the charging pad underneath a vehicle, and as a result, charges the car as it rides down the street. According to The Center Square, Michigan is expected to spend $1.9 million dollars on its installation.
As Detroiters are becoming conscious of environmental impacts such as air pollution and toxic emissions, many companies have sought to offer solutions to climate change. One major contributor to air pollution is the tailpipe emissions that are released by gasoline-fueled vehicles. With air pollution being one of the leading causes of environmental damage, more people are transitioning to electric vehicles as an efficient and sustainable alternative.
Black and Latino communities are harmed the most by vehicular air pollution, yet only make up 2% of electric vehicle owners. These numbers may sound discouraging, but according to a survey conducted by Consumer Reports, Black and Latino individuals are just as interested in owning electronic vehicles as their White and Asian counterparts. The survey discovered that 38% of Black and 43% of Latino people said that they would “definitely” or “seriously consider” purchasing an electronic vehicle.
Consumer Reports goes on to say that the top concern for all people considering purchasing an EV is where and when they can charge their cars, with the most affordable option being at-home charging. This a major setback because Black and Latino communities tend to have lower homeownership rates and are more likely to seek multi-unit dwelling living, meaning that a good portion of Black and Latino individuals would lack access to the affordable resources that are necessary to maintain an already costly vehicle.
The installation of ERS provides a massive solution to this problem that specifically excludes POC from the clean energy sector. This is a huge development for Detroit as a predominately Black city, and as the car capital of the world. Not only will the city make history yet again, but the installation of the ERS is an indicator that the Black and Latino community are finally gaining recognition as consumers of the sustainability market.