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An Overview of Renewable Natural Gas from Biogas
7/1/2020
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency developed this document to provide biogas stakeholders and other interested parties with a resource to promote and potentially assist in the development of renewable natural gas (RNG) projects. This document summarizes existing RNG operational projects in the United States and the potential for growth from the main sources of biogas feedstock. This document provides technical information on how raw biogas is upgraded into RNG and ultimately delivered and used by consumers. The document also addresses barriers, policies and incentives related to RNG project development.
Assessment of Light-Duty Plug-In Electric Vehicles in the United States, 2010-2019
6/1/2020
This report examines properties of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) sold in the United States from 2010 to 2019, exploring vehicle sales, miles driven, electricity consumption, petroleum reduction, vehicle manufacturing, and battery production, among other factors. Over 1.4 million PEVs have been sold, driving over 37 billion miles on electricity since 2010, thereby reducing national gasoline consumption by 0.34% in 2019 and 1.4 billion gallons cumulatively through 2019. In 2019, PEVs used 4.1 terawatt-hours of electricity to drive 12.7 billion miles, offsetting 470 million gallons of gasoline. Since 2010, 69% of all PEVs have been assembled in the United States, and over 60 gigawatt-hours of lithium-ion batteries have been installed in vehicles to date.
Authors: Gohlke, D.; Zhou, Y.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, April 2020
5/27/2020
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for April 2020 is a quarterly report on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue describes prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between April 1, 2020 and April 15, 2020, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.
Table 2 reports that the nationwide average price (all amounts are per gallon) for regular gasoline has decreased 68 cents from $2.59 to $1.91; diesel decreased 44 cents from $3.05 to $2.61; CNG increased 1 cent from $2.18 to $2.19; ethanol (E85) decreased 53 cents from $2.28 to $1.75; propane decreased 6 cents from $2.79 to $2.73; and biodiesel (B20) decreased 53 cents from $2.89 to $2.36.
According to Table 3, CNG is $0.28 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is $0.37 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.
Foundations of an Electric Mobility Strategy for the City of Mexicali
5/4/2020
The Foundations of an Electric Mobility Strategy for the city of Mexicali aligns with numerous energy, environmental, and transport plans and will help Mexicali meet multiple related goals. Mexicali’s energy mix, with 28% renewables, already enables plugin electric vehicles (PEVs) to reduce the mass of greenhouse gases (GHGs) per km driven 2/3 below that of their conventional counterparts. This GHG benefit will increase should Mexicali take steps to further increase their share of renewables in their electricity supply. Beyond increasing renewables, Mexicali could possibly deploy PEVs so that electric load is added in the right location (depending on further analysis of substations and feeders) and at the right time (between 21:00 and 11:00) in order to minimize grid upgrade costs. There are a handful of charge timing control mechanisms –at various stages of development– that Mexicali could implement. Transport electrification can facilitate mass transit by powering buses, trains, and small vehicles that get people from their homes or work to the transit stations and vice versa. Mexicali could utilize fleets as early PEV adopters in order to gain acceptance and add electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE). Recommended prioritization of different types of fleets are suggested in this report: transit buses, school buses, airport ground support equipment (GSE), refuse trucks, taxis, shuttle buses, campus vehicles, delivery trucks, utility trucks, and finally semitrailers. There are a handful of policy options that Mexicali could use to incentivize fleets to purchase PEVs, including mandates, economic incentives, energy performance contracts, waivers to access restrictions, electricity discounts, and EVSE requirements in building codes. Mexicali’s taxi fleet was an early adopter of PEVs and had experienced some challenges—mostly related to the insufficient range of the taxis due to hot weather.
Authors: Johnson, C.; Nanayakkara, S.; Cappellucci, J.; Moniot, M.
EV Charging Interoperability Recommendations for State Policymakers
5/1/2020
In the context of the electric vehicle charging ecosystem, the term “interoperability” broadly refers to the compatibility of key system components that allow vehicles, charging stations, charging networks, and the grid to exchange information, communicate effectively and work together as part of a seamless charging system. Interoperability is essential to the optimal functioning of the charging network. This document offers recommendations for state policy makers to promote widespread interoperability through state electric vehicle supply equipment grant and procurement contracts or the development of market-wide requirements for public chargers.
Public Electric Vehicle Charging Business Models for Retail Site Hosts
4/29/2020
As the passenger plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) market grows in the United States, public PEV charging stations will become increasingly important to serve the charging needs of millions of drivers. For retailers, PEV charging stations offer an opportunity to produce new revenue streams or expand on existing ones while also advancing broader efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. This brief provides an overview of PEV market growth and the role of public charging options, along with the potential benefits to retailers of hosting PEV charging infrastructure.
Authors: Satterfield, C.; Nigro, N.
Development and Demonstration of a Class 6 Range-Extended Electric Vehicle for Commercial Pickup and Delivery Operation
4/14/2020
Range-extended hybrids are an attractive option for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicle fleets because they offer the efficiency of an electrified powertrain with the driving range of a conventional diesel powertrain. The vehicle essentially operates as if it was purely electric for most trips, while ensuring that all commercial routes can be completed in any weather conditions or geographic terrain. Fuel use and point-source emissions can be significantly reduced, and in some cases eliminated, as many shorter routes can be fully electrified with this architecture.
Authors: Jeffers, M.A.; Miller, E.; Kelly, K.; Kresse, J.; Li, K.; Dalton, J.; Kader, M.; Frazier, C.
Notes: This report is copyrighted and can be accessed through SAE International in United States website.
Natural Gas Vehicle Basics
3/25/2020
Natural gas powers about 175,000 U.S. vehicles and more than 23 million vehicles worldwide.1 Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) are a good choice for high-mileage (high fuel-use) fleets - such as buses, medium- and heavy-duty trucks, and refuse vehicles - that are centrally fueled or operate within a limited area or along a route with natural gas fueling stations. The advantages of natural gas as an alternative fuel include its domestic production, established distribution network, relatively low cost, and emissions benefits
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, January 2020
3/16/2020
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for January 2020 is a quarterly report on the prices of alternative fuels in the U.S. and their relation to gasoline and diesel prices. This issue describes prices that were gathered from Clean Cities coordinators and stakeholders between January 1, 2020 and January 15, 2020, and then averaged in order to determine regional price trends by fuel and variability in fuel price within regions and among regions. The prices collected for this report represent retail, at-the-pump sales prices for each fuel, including Federal and state motor fuel taxes.
Table 2 reports that the nationwide average price (all amounts are per gallon) for regular gasoline has decreased 9 cents from $2.68 to $2.59; diesel decreased 3 cents from $3.08 to $3.05; CNG decreased 2 cents from $2.20 to $2.18; ethanol (E85) remained the same at $2.28; propane increased 3 cents from $2.76 to $2.79; and biodiesel (B20) increased 2 cents from $2.87 to $2.89.
According to Table 3, CNG is $.41 less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is $0.37 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.
R&D Insights for Extreme Fast Charging of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles: Insights from the NREL Commercial Vehicles and Extreme Fast Charging Research Needs Workshop, August 27-28, 2019
3/1/2020
As battery costs have declined and battery performance has improved, the applicability of vehicle electrification has expanded beyond passenger cars to the commercial vehicle sector. However, due to the larger batteries that would be needed for the medium- and heavy-duty (MDHD) sector, the electric charging capabilities to serve these larger commercial vehicles will need to be substantially more powerful than light-duty chargers. More specifically, such 'extreme fast charging' (XFC) will likely need to reach the megawatt scale to provide a full charge in less than 30 minutes in some applications. In addition, the combined cost of electrified vehicles and charging must be competitive with the costs of petroleum-based technologies and other alternatives to encourage widespread adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) among MDHD fleets. Most of these fleets have a commercial mission and demand low total cost of ownership (TCO) (which motivates minimal refueling times) and high performance from their vehicles.
Authors: Walkowicz, K.; Meintz, A.; Farrell, J.
Insights on Electric Trucks for Retailers and Trucking Companies
2/28/2020
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) has partnered with the Retail Industry Leaders Association, Atlas Public Policy, and David Gardiner and Associates to explore the landscape and outlook for electric trucks for freight movement. This joint initiative assesses the market landscape, challenges, and opportunities for electric truck adoption among retailer shippers and their transportation partners.
Authors: Leung, J.; Peace, J.
2017 Bioenergy Industry Status Report
2/20/2020
This report provides a snapshot of the bioenergy industry status at the end of 2017. The report compliments other annual market reports from the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) offices and is supported by DOE's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). The 2017 Bioenergy Industry Status Report focuses on past year data covering multiple dimensions of the bioenergy industry and does not attempt to make future market projections. The report provides a balanced and unbiased assessment of the industry and associated markets. It is openly available to the public and is intended to compliment International Energy Agency and industry reports with a focus on DOE stakeholder needs.
Authors: Moriarty, K.; Milbrandt, A.; Lewis, J.; Schwab, A.
A Decision Support Tool for Planning Neighborhood-Scale Deployment of Low-Speed Shared Automated Shuttles
2/18/2020
Increasing interest and investment in connected, automated, and electric vehicles, and mobility-as-a-service concepts are paving the way for the next major shift in transportation through automated and shared mobility. The initial excitement towards rapid deployment and adoption of automated vehicles has subsided, and low-speed automated shuttles are emerging as a more pragmatic pathway for introducing automated mobility in geo-fenced districts. Such shuttles hold the promise to provide a viable alternative for serving short trips in urban districts with high travel densities. As interest in low-speed automated shuttle systems (to improve urban mobility) increases, the need for tools that can inform communities regarding benefits or dis-benefits of automated shuttle deployments is imminent. However, most of the existing transportation planning and simulation tools are not capable of handling emerging shared automated mobility options. This presentation presents a microscopic simulation toolkit that can be used by cities and communities to plan for the deployment of low-speed automated shuttles systems, as well as other shared mobility options. Labeled as the Automated Mobility District (AMD) modeling and simulation toolkit, the proposed decision support tool can help cities evaluate the mobility and sustainability impacts of deploying shared automated vehicles in geofenced regions. This paper presents a description of the toolkit, as well as a sample scenario analysis for the deployment of low-speed automated shuttles in Greenville, South Carolina. Results from the scenario study demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed simulation toolkit in planning for advanced mobility systems.
Authors: Zhu, L.; Wang, J.; Garikapati, V.; Young, S.
Notes: Presented at the 2020 Transportation Research Board (TRB) 99th Annual Meeting, 12-16 January 2020, Washington, D.C.
