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SAF Policy Scorecard: Evaluating State-Level Sustainable Aviation Fuel Policies in the United States
11/1/2024
As several states across the U.S. have begun to adopt or consider policies to expand sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) development, this paper compares key provisions for state-level policies, analyzes the state support available to fund each policy initiative, and assesses the potential of each policy to support federal goals of decarbonization and sustainability. This report also highlights three critical shortcomings in the current U.S. SAF policy landscape: 1) state support for some SAF pathways may not increase overall low-carbon fuel supply; 2) short-term or short-lived policies may impede long-term SAF investment; and 3) existing SAF policy frameworks incentivize the use of SAF without penalizing aviation emissions, violating the “polluter pays” principle.
Authors: Andy Navarrete, Nikita Pavlenko, Jane O'Malley
Enhancing User Experience in Public Electric Vehicle Charging
11/1/2024
With individual states beginning to adopt electric vehicle (EV) sales targets, meeting public charging needs will require increasing the quantity and ease-of-use of publicly accessible EV chargers. This report assesses the current state of public charging infrastructure across the US, Canada, and Europe, with a focus on three key factors: availability, reliability, and interoperability. The report analyzes availability from a viewpoint of public charging’s accessibility as well as its correlation with income, unemployment, and proximity to communities with high percentages of people of color. The report also focuses on reliability-centered policies. Lastly, the report analyzes hardware and software interoperability to identify gaps in current public charging infrastructure.
Authors: Marie Rajon Bernard, Sonsoles Diaz, Irem Kok, Uwe Tietge
Pathways to Commercial Liftoff: Sustainable Aviation Fuel
11/1/2024
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) began publishing its Pathways to Commercial Liftoff Report series, which provides roadmaps for both the public and private sectors to scale the domestic industries of each alternative fuel type, specifically for fuel-related technologies that will accelerate transportation-specific decarbonization. This report, the newest in the series, offers a roadmap for scaling sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The report provides an overview and value proposition; the current state of SAF technologies and markets; pathways towards industry scale; industry action items; metrics to track progress; and more. This document is also intended to exist as a living document, with the DOE updating strategies as research and development progresses.
Authors: Campbell Howe, Elizabeth Rolfes, Dr. Katelyn O'Dell, Dr. Brandon McMurty, Sonali Razdan, Dr. Anne Otwell
Guidance for Ethical Engagement in and with Communities
10/22/2024
“Guidance for Ethical Engagement in and with Communities” is a resource for any organization conducting community engagement, including Clean Cities and Communities coalitions. The resource provides guidance on ethics considerations in the design, structure, implementation, and analysis of engagement activities as well as following up after project completion. These considerations help organizations safeguard the rights and well-being of participants and ensure the integrity and validity of the project results.
Authors: Nicole Rosner
Clean Cities and Communities Alternative Fuel Price Report, July 2024
10/2/2024
The Clean Cities and Communities Alternative Fuel Price Report for July 2024 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 and Communities coalition directors and stakeholders between July 1, 2024 and July 15, 2024, 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 12 cents from $3.65 to $3.53; diesel decreased 20 cents from $4.07 to $3.87; CNG increased 2 cents from $2.90 to $2.92; ethanol (E85) increased 3 cents from $2.96 to $2.99; propane decreased 3 cents from $3.45 to $3.42; and biodiesel (B20) decreased 21 cents from $3.94 to $3.73.
According to Table 3, CNG is 61 cents less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis and E85 is 36 cents more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Carias, L.
Electric Vehicle Sales and the Charging Infrastructure Required Through 2035
10/1/2024
This report estimates the number of electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment needed to support the EV market through 2035. It projects the number of EVs on U.S. roads to reach 78.5 million in 2035 and that nearly 42.2 million charge ports will be needed to support the projected number of EVs. Approximately 325,000 direct current fast charging ports will be needed to support the level of EVs expected to be on U.S. roads in 2035.
Authors: Maiorana, J.; Satterfield, C.; Schefte, K.
ChargeX Prescribed Testing Program at CharIN June 2024 Testival: Outcomes and Future Recommendations
9/30/2024
In June 2024, the ChargeX Consortium, which includes the Argonne, Idaho, and National Renewable Energy Laboratories, organized a voluntary testing program for electric vehicle (EV) and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) manufacturers to trial new technologies in a combined space. This report documents the design and execution of the testing program, outlining effective strategies for future events focused on research and development for EV, EVSE, and EV-EVSE interoperability technology.
Authors: Sam Thurston
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Trends from the Alternative Fueling Station Locator: First Quarter 2024
9/23/2024
Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the United States continues to rapidly change and grow. Using data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fueling Station Locator, this report provides a snapshot of the state of EV charging infrastructure in the United States in the first calendar quarter of 2024 by charging level, network, location, housing density, and disadvantaged community designation. Additionally, this report measures the current state of charging infrastructure compared with a federal infrastructure requirement scenario. This information is intended to help transportation planners, policymakers, researchers, infrastructure developers, and others understand the rapidly changing landscape of EV charging infrastructure. This is the 17th report in a series.
Authors: Brown, A.; Cappellucci, J.; Heinrich, A.; Gaus, M.; Cost, E.
Effects of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations on the Economic Vitality of Local Businesses
9/4/2024
In addition to emissions reductions, electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging stations (EVCS) offer economic benefits to municipalities nationwide. This study, published by Nature Communications, analyzes data from over 4,000 EVCS and 140,000 businesses in California to highlight the economic benefits of EV infrastructure and the role of EVCS as a driver of local economic growth.
Authors: Yunhan Zheng, David R. Keith, Shenhao Wang, Mi Diao, Jinhua Zhao
U.S. EPA Phase 3 Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles
9/1/2024
Heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) contribute 25% of the U.S. transportation sector’s emissions. To reduce these emissions numbers, on April 22, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published new greenhouse gas emissions standards for HDVs, requiring a 60% emission reduction per ton-mile of freight moved by up to 60% for vocational trucks and up to 40% for tractor trucks by 2032 compared with 2027 levels. This report details the projected benefits of the EPA’s ruling and highlights key elements of the plan, such as the emissions standards themselves, as well as finances, fuel use, electric vehicle battery logistics, and more.
Authors: Yihao Xie
Dealership Experiences and Outlooks on Selling, Leasing, and Servicing EVs
9/1/2024
Automotive dealers offer one of the most candid lenses into driver behavior and vehicle purchasing habits. This report highlights prominent observations from seven automotive dealers pertaining to customer electric vehicle (EV) purchases, elucidating the motivating factors behind customer decision-making when it comes to vehicle type, clarifying challenges and opportunities related to EVs, and showcasing resources, policies, and programs that may help to accelerate EV adoption nationwide.
Authors: Nicole Lepre, Jaclyn Lea
Hydrogen Policy's Narrow Path: Delusions & Solutions
8/27/2024
This report examines the growing hydrogen fuel industry within the U.S., providing key takeaways regarding hydrogen’s role in a clean economy, as well as a series of demand-side policy recommendations to boost hydrogen’s uptake in competitive areas, and its adoption in applications where hydrogen is less likely to compete with other alternative clean energy technologies. Where possible, the report offers technology-neutral policy recommendations to support a widescale expansion of hydrogen use. The report ultimately summarizes hydrogen’s use in 12 end-use sectors, detailing hydrogen’s emission reduction potential, infrastructure requirements, social impacts, and strengths and weaknesses.
Authors: Dan Esposito
Impact of Electric Vehicle Charging Station Reliability, Resilience, and Location on Electric Vehicle Adoption
8/1/2024
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021 directed $7.5 billion towards public electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. To ensure that this funding is utilized effectively, public EV chargers must be reliable. Following surveys that demonstrate buyers concern of public EV charging station reliability, this report examines the relationships between EV station reliability, station resilience, electric grid resilience, and EV adoption, synthesizing the impacts of each to determine what works and what does not work when it comes to EV charger development.
Authors: Bonnie Powell, Caley Johnson
