The Forth Mobility Fund is the Backstop Aggregator for the Oregon Clean Fuels Program, a program designed to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels through a market-based mechanism based on the exchange of credits.

Credits can be generated when electricity is used as a transportation fuel by people charging cars at home. Because it is not efficient to try to have thousands of individual households manage these fairly small numbers of credits, Oregon’s program provides that these credits be aggregated and awarded to the electric utility, if it chooses to opt in to the program. If the local utility chooses not to opt-in, those credits are awarded to a Backstop Aggregator chosen through a competitive RFP process by Oregon DEQ.

What follows is a report of how Forth applied the Clean Fuels Program funding.

In 2019, its first full year as Backstop Aggregator, Forth facilitated over 1,497 test drives and rides and 5,436 impressions with consumers through consumer engagement events and activities in Oregon. Many of these engagements were done through Forth’s Electric Showcase, the nation’s first brand-neutral EV showroom. Forth also planned and executed 43 in-person engagements in communities across the State. Forth staff engaged with 27 Oregon utilities or utility associations to provide customer education as well as utility advising on transportation electrification and inform future investments. Forth facilitated an additional 18 events in key areas around Oregon, including Bend, Philomath, Ashland, and Brookings.  Finally, funds from the Oregon Clean Fuels Program have gone to support numerous other programs including those dedicated to electrifying shared mobility, improving transportation options in underserved communities, and supporting the adoption of workplace charging.  The report describes these activities in detail.

In 2019, Forth spent roughly $700,000 on activities to advance transportation electrification in Oregon using Clean Fuels Program revenue. We were able to design and implement a campaign that reached every corner of Oregon. As a mission-driven nonprofit organization, Forth is constantly seeking other opportunities and funds to advance transportation electrification and manages a variety of projects that leverage Clean Fuels funds. All told, over the course of 2019 Forth leveraged over $600,000 in additional investment into educating Oregon consumers about electric vehicles – nearly doubling the impact of its Clean Fuels revenue.

Read the 2019 Annual Report here.