Publications

Sample Employee Survey for Workplace Charging Planning

8/29/2016

Employers considering whether workplace charging is right for their organization or employers considering how many plug-in electric vehicle charging stations to install will want to start by assessing employee demand. Partners in the Workplace Charging Challenge set a minimum goal of providing charging access for a portion of PEV-driving employees and a best practice goal of meeting all PEV-driving employee demand. This sample employee survey will help employers to assess interest in workplace charging, and determine the appropriate type and amount of charging stations to install.

Authors: Committee, N.

Level 1 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at the Workplace

7/1/2016

Level 1 charging (110-120 V) can be a good fit for many workplace charging programs. For electric vehicles typically purchased by most employees, Level 1 charging often has sufficient power to fully restore vehicle driving range during work hours.

Authors: Smith, M.

Utilities Power Change: Engaging Commercial Customers in Workplace Charging

6/29/2016

As stewards of an electric grid that is available almost anywhere people park, utilities that support workplace charging are uniquely positioned to help their commercial customers be a part of the rapidly expanding network of charging infrastructure. Utilities understand the distinctive challenges of their customers, have access to technical information about electrical infrastructure, and have deep experience modeling and managing demand for electricity. This case study highlights the experiences of two utilities with workplace charging programs.

Authors: Lommele, S.; Dafoe, W.

Zero Emission Bay Area (ZEBA) Fuel Cell Bus Demonstration Results: Fifth Report

6/1/2016

This report presents results of a demonstration of fuel cell electric buses (FCEB) operating in Oakland, California. Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) leads the Zero Emission Bay Area (ZEBA) demonstration, which includes 13 advanced-design fuel cell buses and two hydrogen fueling stations. The ZEBA partners are collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. NREL has published four previous reports describing operation of these buses. This report presents new and updated results covering data from January 2015 through December 2015.

Authors: Eudy, L.; Post, M.; Jeffers, M.

EPAct State and Alternative Fuel Provider Fleet Compliance Results

4/1/2016

Series of annual reports from the State and Alternative Fuel Provider Fleet Program about how covered fleets met their Energy Policy Act (EPAct) requirements each year.

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.

Workplace Charging: Charging Up University Campuses

3/4/2016

This case study features the experiences of university partners in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Workplace Charging Challenge with the installation and management of plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging stations.

Authors: Giles, C.; Ryder, C.; Lommele, 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.

Consumer Views on Plug-in Electric Vehicles - National Benchmark Report

2/2/2016

Vehicle manufacturers, U.S. Department of Energy laboratories, universities, private researchers, and organizations from around the globe are pursuing advanced vehicle technologies that aim to reduce the consumption of petroleum in the form of gasoline and diesel. In order to make these technologies most appealing to the marketplace, they must take consumer sentiment into account. This report details study findings of broad American public sentiments toward issues that surround the advanced vehicle technologies of plug-in electric vehicles and is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technology Office in alignment with its mission to develop and deploy these technologies to improve energy security, provide mobility flexibility, reduce transportation costs, and increase environmental sustainability.

Authors: Singer, M.

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.

Using Natural Gas for Vehicles: Comparing Three Technologies

1/4/2016

In the United States, natural gas as a fuel is typically used for medium- or heavy-duty vehicles in centrally-fueled fleets. It has been proposed for greater use as a fuel for light-duty vehicles (LDVs). This can mean burning natural gas in an internal combustion engine like those used in most gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles on the road today. However, natural gas can also serve as the energy source for plug-in electric or hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles. This fact sheet compares some efficiency and environmental metrics for three possible options for using natural gas in LDVs.

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.