Publications

Case Study - Propane Bakery Delivery Step Vans

4/1/2016

A switch to propane from diesel by a major Midwest bakery fleet showed promising results, including a significant displacement of petroleum, a drop in greenhouse gases and a fuel cost savings of seven cents per mile, according to a study recently completed by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory for the Clean Cities program.

Authors: Laughlin, M.; Burnham, A.

Assessment of Vehicle Sizing, Energy Consumption and Cost through Large Scale Simulation of Advanced Vehicle Technologies

3/28/2016

The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) supports new technologies to increase energy security in the transportation sector at a critical time for global petroleum supply, demand, and pricing. VTO works in collaboration with industry and research organizations to identify the priority areas of research needed to develop advanced vehicle technologies to reduce and eventually eliminate petroleum use, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide from carbon-based fuels. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the benefits of the DOE-VTO for a wide range of vehicle applications, powertrain configurations and component technologies for different timeframes and quantify the potential future petroleum displacement up to 2045, as well as the cost evolution. While it is not possible to simulate all the different combinations, more than 2000 vehicles were simulated in the study.

Authors: Moawad, A.; Kim, N.; Shidore, N.; Rousseau, A.

Drive Electric Vermont Case Study

3/21/2016

The U.S. Department of Energy's EV Everywhere Grand Challenge is working to identify barriers and opportunities to plugin electric vehicle (PEV) adoption. The Department of Energy developed a case study with Drive Electric Vermont to identify the lessons learned and best practices for successful PEV and charging infrastructure deployment in small and midsize communities. This is a snapshot of the findings.

Authors: Wagner, F.; Roberts, D.; Francfort, J.; White, S.

PEV Workplace Charging Costs and Employee Use Fees

3/1/2016

On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Section 1413(c), which authorizes the General Services Administration to install, construct, operate, and maintain on a reimbursable basis, plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Energy requested that Idaho National Laboratory perform an analysis to estimate charging infrastructure and electricity costs that the federal government would incur. This analysis uses five different PEV charging infrastructure scenarios to provide 10-year total costs, cost per charge event, and cost per kilowatt hour to install and operate PEV charging infrastructure. The five charging infrastructure scenarios provide alternating current (AC) 110-Volt (V), AC 220-V, or direct current (DC) 440-V power from the grid to PEVs. While every electric vehicle charger installation is unique, the costs shown and discussed in this report, as well as the energy used and charge frequencies, are based on the largest research sample of charging infrastructure use in the United States.

Authors: Francfort, J.

Clean Cities Technical Assistance Project (Tiger Teams)

2/18/2016

This two-page fact sheet describes Clean Cities' technical assistance (Tiger Teams) capabilities and projects, both completed and ongoing. Tiger Teams are a critical element of the Clean Cities program, providing on-the-ground consultation to help inform program strategies. The knowledge Tiger Team experts gain from these experiences often helps inform other alternative fuels activities, such as needed research, codes and standards revisions, and new training resources.

Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, January 2016

2/12/2016

The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for January 2016 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, 2016 and January 15, 2016, 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 37 cents from $2.35 to $1.98; diesel decreased 36 cents from $2.59 to $2.23; CNG price is unchanged at $2.09; ethanol (E85) decreased 32 cents from $2.18 to $1.86; propane decreased 5 cents from $2.90 to $2.85; and biodiesel (B20) has decreased 25 cents from $2.66 to 2.41.

According to Table 3, CNG is $.11 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is $0.44 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.

Authors: Bourbon, E.

High Octane Fuel: Terminal Backgrounder

2/10/2016

The Bioenergy Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy sponsored a scoping study to assess the potential of ethanol-based high octane fuel (HOF) to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. When the HOF blend is made with 25%-40% ethanol by volume, this energy efficiency improvement is potentially sufficient to offset the reduced vehicle range often associated with the decreased volumetric energy density of ethanol. The purpose of this study is to assess the ability of the fuel supply chain to accommodate more ethanol at fuel terminals. Fuel terminals are midstream in the transportation fuel supply chain and serve to store and distribute fuels to end users. While there are no technical issues to storing more ethanol at fuel terminals, there are several factors that could impact the ability to deploy more ethanol. The most significant of these issues include the availability of land to add more infrastructure and accommodate more truck traffic for ethanol deliveries as well as a lengthy permitting process to erect more tanks.

Authors: Moriarty, K.

2015 Energy Balance for the Corn-Ethanol Industry

2/1/2016

The ratio of energy in a gallon of ethanol relative to the external fossil energy required to produce the corn and process and ship the ethanol is an important measure of sustainability of the corn ethanol industry. This study presents estimates of the current energy balance based on data collected by the USDA.

Authors: Gallagher, P.W.; Yee, W.C.; Baumes, H.S.

Foothill Transit Battery Electric Bus Demonstration Results

1/27/2016

Foothill Transit is collaborating with the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate its fleet of Proterra battery electric buses (BEBs) in revenue service. The focus of this evaluation is to compare performance of the BEBs to that of conventional technology and to track progress over time toward meeting performance targets. This project has also provided an opportunity for DOE to conduct a detailed evaluation of the BEBs and charging infrastructure. This report provides data on the buses from April 2014 through July 2015. Data are provided on a selection of compressed natural gas buses as a baseline comparison.

Authors: Eudy, L.; Prohaska, R.; Kelly, K.; Post, M.

2016 Propane Market Outlook; Key Market Trends, Opportunities, and Threats Facing the Consumer Propane Industry Through 2025

1/1/2016

The consumer propane market is in the midst of a period of very rapid change. The continuing development of propane engine fuel markets is expected to provide significant growth opportunities. Propane sales to traditional propane markets are expected to stabilize due to lower propane prices. However, traditional markets will continue to face competition from electric technologies, expansions of the natural gas distribution system, long term energy efficiency trends, and other shifts in the competitive market environment that are changing the nature of the consumer propane business. At the same time, significant changes in propane production, transportation infrastructure, and exports continue to require changes to propane marketer supply planning practices. These transformations are compelling propane marketers to adapt to new market conditions while also providing an opportunity to seize new opportunities expected to emerge over the next decade. In this report, ICF evaluates the major market factors driving propane demand, and reviews the outlook for propane markets through 2025.

Authors: Sloan, M.

Clean Cities 2014 Annual Metrics Report

12/22/2015

Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy asks its Clean Cities program coordinators to submit annual reports of their activities and accomplishments for the previous calendar year. Data and information are submitted via an online database that is maintained as part of the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Coordinators submit a range of data that characterize the membership, funding, projects, and activities of their coalitions. They also submit data about sales of alternative fuels, deployment of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), idle-reduction (IR) initiatives, fuel economy activities, and programs to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT). NREL analyzes the data and translates them into petroleum-use reduction impacts, which are summarized in this 2014 Annual Metrics Report.

Authors: Johnson, C.; Singer, M.

High-Octane Mid-Level Ethanol Blend Market Assessment

12/16/2015

For years, the United States government has been promoting increased use of biofuels, including ethanol from non-food feedstocks. However, the country has reached the ethanol blend wall, where more ethanol is produced domestically than can be blended into standard gasoline.

This report evaluates the various paths toward adoption of high-octane ethanol blends in the United States. Modeling indicates the potential for a robust market and the study's findings prioritize barriers and propose associated solutions.

Authors: Johnson, C.; Newes, E.; Brooker, A.; McCormick, R.; Peterson, S.; Leiby, P.; Martinez, R.U.; Oladosu, G.; Brown, M.L.

Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, October 2015

12/10/2015

The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for October 2015 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, 2015 and October 15, 2015, 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 47 cents from $2.82 to $2.35; diesel decreased 34 cents from $2.93 to $2.59; CNG price decreased 3 cents from $2.12 to $2.09; ethanol (E85) decreased 18 cents from $2.36 to $2.18; propane remained unchanged at $2.90; and biodiesel (B20) has decreased 27 cents from $2.93 to 2.66.

According to Table 3, CNG is $.26 less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is $0.49 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.

Authors: Bourbon, E.

Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Current Status 2015

12/10/2015

This report, published annually, summarizes the progress of fuel cell electric bus (FCEB) development in the United States and discusses the achievements and challenges of introducing fuel cell propulsion in transit. Various stakeholders, including FCEB developers, transit agencies, and system integrators, have expressed the value of this annual status report, which provides a summary of results from evaluations performed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The annual status report tracks the progress of the FCEB industry toward meeting technical targets, documents the lessons learned, and discusses the path forward for commercial viability of fuel cell technology for transit buses. The 2015 summary results primarily focus on the most recent year for each demonstration, from August 2014 through July 2015.

Authors: Eudy, L.; Post, M.; Gikakis, C.

Costs Associated with Non-Residential Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment

11/30/2015

As more drivers purchase plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), there is a growing need for a network of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) to provide power to those vehicles. PEV drivers will primarily charge their vehicles using residential EVSE, but there is also a need for non-residential EVSE in workplace, public, and fleet settings. This report provides information about the costs associated with purchasing, installing, and owning non-residential EVSE.