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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.
Two Trillion Gallons: Fuel Savings from Fuel Economy Improvements to US Light-Duty Vehicles, 1975-2018
4/25/2020
The article includes the following highlights. Fuel economy of new light-duty vehicles in the US almost doubled from 1975 to 2018. MPG gains on regulatory tests yielded proportional on-road improvements. This saved 2 trillion gallons of gasoline and 17 billion tonnes of CO2. Fuel economy and ghg standards drove about 4/5 of the fuel savings. Indirect impacts, e.g. rebound effect, were relatively small.
Authors: Greene, D. L.; Sims, C. B.; Muratori, M.
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.
Right-of-Way Charging: How Cities Can Lead the Way
4/1/2020
As transportation electrification accelerates, right-of-way charging, or the installation of electric vehicle chargers in the areas between neighboring properties, will be critical for meeting charging demand. This report outlines the case for right-of-way charging and the strategic approach that cities can take to implement right-of-way charging in their communities, outlining strategic approaches, barriers and challenges for implementation, best practices for designing right-of-way charging programs, and case studies of municipal right-of-way charging projects.
Guidebook for Deploying Zero-Emission Transit Buses
4/1/2020
The zero‐emission bus market, including electric buses and fuel cell electric buses, has seen significant growth in recent years. Zero-emission buses do not rely on fossil fuels for operation and have zero harmful tailpipe emissions, improving local air quality. The increase in market interest has also helped decrease product pricing. This guidebook is designed to provide transit agencies with information on current best practices for zero-emission bus deployments and lessons learned from previous deployments, industry experts, and available industry resources.
Authors: Linscott, M.; Posner, A.
Notes: This report is copyrighted and can be accessed through the National Academy of Sciences 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
Charging Infrastructure Requirements to Support Electric Ride-Hailing in U.S. Cities
3/24/2020
This working paper assesses the charging infrastructure needs to support the growth of electric ride-hailing in U.S. cities. The analysis quantifies the amount and type of infrastructure needed and specifically analyzes the extent to which electric ride-hailing fleets can take advantage of underutilized public charging infrastructure capacity.
Authors: Nicholas, M.; Slowik, P.; Lutsey, N.
Notes:
This copyrighted publication can be accessed on The International Council on Clean Transportation's website.
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.
Potential Biomass-Based Diesel Production in the United States by 2032
2/28/2020
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers the availability of feedstocks for fuel production when determining the yearly volume obligations under the Renewable Fuel Standard. The amount of biomass-based diesel (BBD) that can be produced in the United States without increasing diversion effects on other uses should be one of the crucial factors that the agency considers in future volume rulemakings. This study provides insights for EPA in setting future volumetric obligations for BBD as well as advanced biofuel and total renewable fuel categories.
Authors: Zhou, Y; Baldino, C.; Searle, S.
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.
A Convergence of Public-Private Benefits in Denver: Surveys and Analyses to Inform Urban Mobility-, Energy-, Infrastructure- and Behavior-Related Innovation
2/24/2020
Cities, public transit agencies, and new private ride hailing services seek to understand emerging traveler dynamics, the shifting demographics of urban travelers,and new energy-efficient mobility opportunities. This includes exploring how new infrastructure investments, public and private mobility services, and smart-phone mobility apps are reshaping behaviors, demands (e.g. mobility-on-demand services), travel experiences and energy-efficient urban travel preferences. Currently, cities and metropolitan regions are providing and experimenting with many new mobility options, technologies, and personalized information services at the intersection of urban mobility, energy, and infrastructure systems (e.g., new commuter rail). To date, technology alone has not been able to crack the nut of 'creating faster trip times, less congestion, safer streets, and cleaner air for its citizens through fewer cars on the road'. This paper focuses on this gap by offering new concepts and potential for integrated approaches. Accommodating more vehicles miles traveled in cities, without increases in person miles traveled (PMT), could be costly, generating: 1) tremendous demands for new infrastructure, land, road space, materials, and energy; 2) higher traffic fatality risks; and 3) worsening air quality. Therefore, this study focuses on reducing single occupancy vehicle use by enhancing integrated mobility, helping transit and ridehailing increase occupancy in ways that also reduce energy use, and improve quality of life for urban travelers and communities. This study focuses on a survey of urban travelers in Denver, as a representative case study for metropolitan regions experiencing rapid growth, ageing populations, increased urban sprawl, traffic-related delays, and inefficient energy use per PMT.
Authors: Sperling, J.; Duval, A.; Kwasnik, T.; Young, S.
Notes: Presented at the ITS World Congress 2017, 29 October - 2 November 2017, Montreal, Canada
