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A Novel and Practical Method to Quantify the Quality of Mobility: The Mobility Energy Productivity Metric: Preprint
2/13/2020
Recent technology innovations are enabling fundamental improvements in mobility systems, including options for new travel modes, methods, and opportunities to connect people with goods, services, and employment. A desire to quantify and compare both existing and emerging transportation options motivated development of the mobility energy productivity (MEP) metric described herein. The MEP metric fundamentally measures the potential of a city's transportation system to connect a person to a variety of services and activities that define a high-quality of life, relative to the convenience, cost and energy needed to provide these connections. Fundamentally derived from accessibility theory, the MEP advances practice by using readily available travel time data (either from web-based application programming interfaces (APIs) or outputs from an urban transportation model) combined with established parameters that reflect the energy intensity and cost of various travel modes, and relative frequency of activity engagement. The construction of the MEP metric allows for aggregation and disaggregation to the appropriate spatial, modal, and trip purpose resolution, as analysis needs dictate. The MEP could be used to compare alternative futures related to technology, infrastructure investment, or policy, providing a much-needed tool for planners, researchers, and analysts.
Authors: Hou, Y.; Garikapati, V.; Nag, A.; Young, S.; Grushka, T.
Notes: Presented at the 2020 TRB Annual Meeting, 12-16 January 2020, Washington D.C.
Focus Forward: 2020 Ethanol Industry Outlook
2/3/2020
RFA's Ethanol Industry Outlook is an annual publication for information on America's ethanol industry. It provides thoughtful analysis of current issues facing the industry, along with current facts and statistics about the production and use of fuel ethanol.
Notes:
This copyrighted publication can be accessed on the Renewable Fuels Association website.
Assessment of BQ-9000 Biodiesel Properties for 2018
1/30/2020
Critical quality parameters from BQ-9000 member companies were analyzed for calendar year 2018. The National Biodiesel Board provided blinded and randomized data sets on 14 critical metrics for biodiesel quality. This report summarizes the results of the parameters and found that overall, biodiesel readily met the ASTM D6751 specification limits in 2018.
Authors: Alleman, T.L.
Assessment of BQ-9000 Biodiesel Properties for 2017
1/30/2020
Critical quality parameters from BQ-9000 member companies were analyzed for calendar year 2017. The National Biodiesel Board provided blinded and randomized data sets on 14 critical metrics for biodiesel quality. This report summarizes the results of the parameters and found that overall, biodiesel readily met the ASTM D6751 specification limits in 2017.
Authors: Alleman, T.L.
Best Practices for Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Installations in the National Parks - Challenges, Lessons Learned, Installation Best Practices, and Recommendations for the National Park Service
12/27/2019
This report captures challenges, lessons learned, and best practices from recent National Park Service (NPS) electric vehicle supply equipment projects based on interviews with NPS employees and stakeholders involved in the projects. The report summarizes notable takeaways and makes recommendations to help ensure the success of future charging installation projects. Preserving this information will be valuable for informing and ensuring the success of future charging installation efforts at national parks, as well as for organizations outside of NPS. Note that this report focuses on light-duty plug-in electric vehicle projects, though NPS is also pursuing medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicle efforts.
Authors: Kelly, K.; Noblet., S.; Brown, A.
Clean Cities Coalitions 2018 Activity Report
12/27/2019
Clean Cities coalition activities resulted in an energy use impact (EUI) of over 1 billion gasoline-gallons equivalent (GGE), comprised of net alternative fuels used and energy savings from efficiency projects, in 2018. Participation in vehicle and infrastructure development projects remained strong, as did alternative fuel use and resulting overall EUI. Clean Cities coalition activities reduce emissions as they impact energy use. Coalition-reported activities prevented 5 million carbon dioxide-equivalent tons of emissions (only greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions are reported here; criteria pollutants and other emissions are not included in this report). Coalitions were successful in securing project grant awards from numerous (non-DOE) outside sources. For other Federal, State, and local agencies and private sector foundations, see funding section on page 25. The 84 project grant awards in 2018 generated $251 million in funds from coalition members and project partners along with $1.9 million in DOE grant funds. Coalitions also collected $1.1 million in stakeholder dues and $2.9 million in operational funds from host organizations. In macro terms, this supplemental funding represents nearly a 7:1 leveraging of the $37.8 million that was included in the VTO Technology Integration budget in Fiscal Year 2018. Clean Cities coordinators spent nearly 121,000 hours pursuing their coalitions' goals in 2018. The average coordinator is quite experienced and has held his or her position for at least eight years. Coordinators logged more than 3,805 outreach, education, and training activities in 2018, which reached an estimated 35 million people.
Authors: Singer, M.; Johnson, C.
Preparing to Plug-In Your Bus Fleet: 10 Things to Consider
12/5/2019
The purpose of this guide is to identify some of the key areas where electric companies and their customers can work together to streamline the fleet electrification process. This guide is applicable to any company that operates a fleet, but it is particularly focused on medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets that likely will have higher power charging needs. Included in this guide is are 10 key considerations that fleets should know about electric companies and fleet electrification.
Notes:
This report is copyrighted and can be accessed on the American Public Transportation Association’s website.
Alternative Fuels Data Center
12/4/2019
The Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) provides a wealth of information and data on alternative and renewable fuels, advanced vehicles, fuel-saving strategies, and emerging transportation technologies. The site features a number of interactive tools, calculators, and mapping applications to aid in the implementation of these fuels, vehicles, and strategies. The AFDC functions as a dynamic online hub, enabling thousands of stakeholders in the transportation system to interact with one another.
Reducing EV Charging Infrastructure Costs
12/3/2019
This report finds that while the cost of hardware components is already falling as manufacturers gradually find ways to lower costs, there are significant “soft costs” that need to be reduced. The costs of permitting delays, utility interconnection requests, compliance with regulations, and the reengineering of projects because they were based on incorrect information, among others, are frequently cited as more significant cost drivers than charging station hardware in the United States.
Authors: Nelder, C.; Rogers, E.
Notes:
This copyrighted publication can be downloaded from Rocky Mountain Institute's website.
Viable Class 7 and 8 Electric, Hybrid, and Alternative Fuel Tractors
12/1/2019
Trucking is at the start of significant changes in powertrains. The purpose of this report is to help clarify in an unbiased way the differences and similarities in a wide spectrum of developing powertrain choices facing fleets. This report focuses on the primary near-term drivetrain choices for the Class 7 and 8 North American heavy-duty tractor market.
Notes:
This copyrighted publication can be accessed through North American Council for Freight Efficiency's website.
Electric Vehicle Capitals: Showing the Path to a Mainstream Market
11/20/2019
This briefing assesses metropolitan area-level data on plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) registrations and identifies the 25 largest PEV markets, which together represent 42% of new passenger PEV sales globally through 2018. To provide a blueprint for other governments, this briefing analyzes the incentives, charging infrastructure, and city promotion actions in these areas that are spurring PEVs into the mainstream.
Authors: Hall, D.; Cui, H.; Lutsey, N.
Notes:
This copyrighted publication can be accessed on The International Council on Clean Transportation's website.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, October 2019
11/18/2019
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for October 2019 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 October 1, 2019 and October 15, 2019, 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 8 cents from $2.76 to $2.68; diesel increased 4 cents from $3.04 to $3.08; CNG decreased a cent from $2.21 to $2.20; ethanol (E85) decreased 8 cents from $2.36 to $2.28; propane decreased 7 cents from $2.83 to $2.76; and biodiesel (B20) increased 1 cent from $2.86 to $2.87.
According to Table 3, CNG is $.48 less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is $0.29 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.
Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Tiger Team Site Assessment Findings from Army Facilities
10/31/2019
This report examines how the U.S. Army can cost-effectively install electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) to prepare for anticipated electric vehicle acquisitions, and summarizes results from 30 EVSE site visits completed at U.S. Army garrisons from 2016 to 2019. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Army, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory deployed Tiger Teams consisting of engineers and fleet experts to review garrison charging needs and develop recommendations for installing EVSE as well as compressed natural gas stations in certain locations.
Authors: Bennett, J.; Hodge, C.; Kurnik, C.; Kiatreungwattana, K.; Lynch, L.; Salasovich, J.
