Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Environmental Justice Implications of Public Transit Electrification and Changing Generation Portfolios in Arizona
EPA Grant Number: R840559Title: Environmental Justice Implications of Public Transit Electrification and Changing Generation Portfolios in Arizona
Investigators:
Institution:
EPA Project Officer:
Project Period: October 1, 2023 through April 23, 2025
Project Amount: $649,998
RFA: Drivers and Environmental Impacts of Energy Transitions in Underserved Communities. (2022) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Endocrine Disruptors , Environmental Engineering , Environmental Justice , Early Career Awards , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Air
Objective:
The objective of this project is to understand the pollution implications of different decarbonization scenarios in Maricopa County. The project compiled different scenarios of transportation electrification to understand the pollution emissions of different electrification scenarios. The project analyzed three scenarios: (1) More frequent transit buses that substitute light duty vehicles, (2) Increasing the number of electric school buses, and (3) Increasing the frequency of circulator buses. The choice of scenarios emerged from community engagement workshops organized by Unlimited Potential, a community-based organization in the Phoenix Metropolitan area.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
The following points describe project activities during the funding period:
(1) Model existing disparities in air pollution exposure to public transit infrastructure and electricity generation
We hired a graduate student to help develop a model to calculate pollution exposure linked to public transit infrastructure and electricity generation in Maricopa County. The graduate student, supervised by the three investigators, developed an electricity dispatch model for decarbonization scenarios proposed by the City of Phoenix and community members. This electricity dispatch model is seasonally-adjusted, calibrated with historical data on hourly generation and loads, and creates hourly dispatch curves for different seasons for power plants in Maricopa County. This model allows us to calculate annual total emissions for each power plant. The student used the EPA MOVES model to obtain mobile emissions from the transit bus fleet for each decarbonization scenario. The student adapted a reduced-form atmospheric transport model (InMAP) to obtain PM2.5 concentrations for bus fleet and power plants. With these inputs, the team of researchers obtained PM2.5 concentrations for existing transit infrastructure and electricity generation, and different decarbonization scenarios that emerged from our engagement with community members.
(2) Compile an inventory of public transit decarbonization plans and electricity generation scenarios in the Maricopa County area
Under the supervision of the principal investigators, a graduate student employed with grant funds compiled City of Phoenix transportation plans and mapped routes of potential new bus lines for the plans. A postdoc hired by the grant helped organize community engagement workshops with our lead community-based organization (Unlimited Potential). The postdoc, investigators, and community organization facilitated five initial community-engagement workshops, with a total of 205 participants of 6 different communities (South Phoenix, Maryvale, Estrella, Laveen, Sunnyslope, and Mesa). The community workshops allowed us to understand which decarbonization scenarios community members believe could improve air quality while accounting for their mobility needs. We developed a facilitation guide for the workshops and workshops summaries for each community workshop.
(3) Estimate the spatial and demographic distribution of air quality of these scenarios
Under supervision of the principal investigators, the graduate student and postdoc hired under the grant estimated the air quality impacts of the scenarios that were obtained from the community-engagement workshops and the City of Phoenix transportation plans. The postdoc hired under the grant co-organized community engagement workshops together with Unlimited Potential to share the results of this modeling with the community participants described in task (2). The postdoc, investigators, and community organization facilitated five final community-engagement workshops to share the results of the modeling effort and gather more feedback from community members.
Supplemental Keywords:
distribution of pollution, pollution concentrations, community engagementRelevant Websites:
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Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.