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Technology Maintenance Readiness Guide for Zero-Emission Buses
1/10/2019
Transit agencies all over the United States are deploying zero-emission buses (ZEBs), including battery electric buses and fuel cell electric buses. Air quality is the primary driver for adopting ZEBs, especially in states where legislation has been passed to regulate vehicle emissions. The U.S. Department of Energy, through its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), tracks the progress of these advanced technologies as they are being developed and demonstrated. NREL works with transit agencies and their manufacturing partners to conduct independent third-party evaluations to validate performance under real-world service and report on the status of the technologies toward entering the market. The results are intended to help transit agencies understand the technology status and make informed purchase decisions.
Increasing Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Deployment: Electricity Rate Design and Site Host Options
1/1/2019
Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) provide customer, environmental, energy grid, and national security benefits. However, limited access to charging infrastructure remains a major hurdle to more rapid PEV adoption. While most PEV charging occurs at home, additional publicly located charging stations – both Level 2 and direct current (DC) fast charging stations – are needed. This paper presents a range of options to increase the deployment of DC fast charging infrastructure, either through rate design or through implementation by the site host. Given the early stages of DC fast charging infrastructure deployment, learning-by-doing is an important option to consider.
Notes:
This copyrighted publication can be accessed through the Brattle Group's website.
Fuel Cell Buses in U.S. Transit Fleets: Current Status 2018
12/31/2018
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. The report provides a summary of results from evaluations performed by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This annual status report combines results from all FCEB demonstrations, 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 data from these early FCEB deployments funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation, state agencies, and the private sector help to guide future early-stage research and development. The 2018 summary results primarily focus on the most recent year from August 2017 through July 2018.
Authors: Eudy, L.; Post, M.
Zero-Emission Bus Evaluation Results: County Connection Battery Electric Buses
12/10/2018
The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT's) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) supports the research, development, and demonstration of low- and zero-emission technology for transit buses. FTA funds research projects with a goal of facilitating commercialization of advanced technologies for transit buses that will increase efficiency and improve transit operations. DOT's Research, Development, and Technology Office (OST-R) also has an interest in zero-emission bus (ZEB) technology deployment and commercialization. OST-R is coordinating and collaborating with FTA on the evaluation process and results by providing funding to cover additional evaluations. FTA and OST-R are collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to conduct in-service evaluations of advanced technology buses developed under its programs. NREL uses a standard evaluation protocol for evaluating the advanced technologies deployed under the FTA programs. FTA seeks to provide results from new technologies being adopted by transit agencies. The eight evaluations selected to date include battery electric buses (BEBs) and fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) from different manufacturers operating in fleets located in both cold and hot climates. The purpose of this report is to present the results from Central Contra Costa Transit Authority (County Connection) deployment of four BEBs in Concord, California. NREL's evaluation of the BEBs at County Connection was funded by OST-R.
Authors: Eudy, L.; Jeffers, M.
The Plug-In Electric Vehicle Tax Credit
11/7/2018
Buyers of qualifying plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) may be able to claim a federal income tax credit of up to $7,500. This fact sheet provides an overview of the PEV tax credit and briefly discusses relevant economic policy considerations.
Authors: Sherlock, M.F.
Clean Cities Coalitions 2016 Activity Report
10/10/2018
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) national network of Clean Cities Coalitions advance the nation's economic, environmental, and energy security by supporting local actions to promote the use of domestic fuels within transportation. The nearly 100 Clean Cities coalitions, whose territory covers 80% of the U.S. population, bring together stakeholders in the public and private sectors to use alternative and renewable fuels, idle-reduction (IR) measures, fuel economy improvements, and new transportation technologies as they emerge. To ensure success, coalitions leverage a robust set of expert resources and tools provided by national laboratories and DOE. Each year, Clean Cities coordinators submit annual reports of their activities and accomplishments for the previous calendar year. Data and information are submitted via an online tool 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; use of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs), plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs); IR initiatives; fuel economy improvement activities; and programs to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT). NREL analyzes the submitted data to determine how broadly energy use in the U.S. has shifted due to coalition activities, which are summarized in this report.
Authors: Johnson, C.; Singer, M.
Foothill Transit Agency Battery Electric Bus Progress Report, Data Period Focus: Jan. 2018 through Jun. 2018
10/8/2018
This report summarizes results of a battery electric bus (BEB) evaluation at Foothill Transit, located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles. Foothill Transit is collaborating with the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. The focus of this evaluation is to compare the performance and the operating costs of the BEBs to that of conventional technology buses and to track progress over time. Previous reports documented results from April 2014 through December 2017. This report extends the data analysis through June 2018. NREL plans to publish progress reports on the Foothill Transit fleet every six months through 2020. performance and the operating costs of the BEBs to that of conventional technology buses and to track progress over time. Previous reports documented results from April 2014 through December 2017. This report extends the data analysis through June 2018. NREL plans to publish progress reports on the Foothill Transit fleet every six months through 2020.
Authors: Eudy, L.; Jeffers, M.
Value to the Grid from Managed Charging Based on California's High Renewables Study
10/1/2018
Managed charging of plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) loads has the potential to use renewable energy more effectively, shave peak demand, and fill demand valleys while serving transportation needs. However, to date the potential value to the grid from managed charging has not been fully quantified. This paper quantifies value to the grid from managed charging by using three levels of managed loads for 13 terawatt-hours of annual load from three million PEVs in a 2030 California grid scenario.
Authors: Zhang, J.; Jorgenson, J.; Markel. T.; Walkowicz, K.
Notes: This IEEE Transactions on Power Systems article (Vol. 34, Issue 2, (March 2019): pp. 831-840) is copyrighted by IEEE and can be accessed through IEEE Xplore.
Policies that Impact the Acceleration of Electric Vehicle Adoption
9/26/2018
To better understand the influence of policy initiatives that relate to electric vehicles (EVs) have on accelerated deployment, this project focused on a number of successful public and private initiatives and policies designed to encourage the adoption of EVs and related infrastructure. This report highlights programs that have influenced adoption, provides a critique of best practices, and includes references to databases EV policy initiatives.
Authors: Kettles, C.
Transitioning to zero-emission heavy-duty freight vehicles
9/26/2018
This report compares the evolution of heavy-duty diesel, diesel hybrid, natural gas, fuel cell, and battery electric technologies in the 2025-2030 timeframe. It synthesizes data from the research literature, demonstrations, and low-volume commercial trucks regarding their potential to deliver freight with zero tailpipe emissions. Additionally, it analyzes the emerging technologies by their cost of ownership and life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions for the three vehicle markets of China, Europe, and the United States.
Authors: Moultak, M.; Lutsey, N.; Hall, D.
Notes:
This copyrighted publication can be accessed on The International Council on Clean Transportation's website.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, July 2018
9/25/2018
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for July 2018 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 July 1, 2018 and July 16, 2018, 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 increased 21 cents from $2.67 to $2.88; diesel increased 21 cents from $3.03 to $3.24; CNG increased 4 cents from $2.18 to $2.22; ethanol (E85) increased 14 cents from $2.21 to $2.35; propane decreased 2 cents from $2.83 to $2.81; and biodiesel (B20) increased 19 cents from 2.87 to $3.06.
According to Table 3, CNG is $.66 less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is $0.17 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.
Ethanol Basics
9/11/2018
Ethanol is a widely used, domestically produced renewable fuel made from corn and other plant materials. Ethanol can be blended with gasoline in different amounts. In fact, more than 98% of gasoline sold in the United States contains ethanol to oxygenate the fuel and help to reduce air pollution. Using ethanol in fuel also helps the nation increase the use of domestic alternative fuels, thereby potentially reducing reliance on imported oil. Gasoline and gasoline blendstocks can also use ethanol as an octane enhancer to increase vehicle performance.
A Life-Cycle Analysis of the Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Corn-Based Ethanol
9/5/2018
This analysis, conducted by ICF for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This report has analyzed the current GHG profile of U.S. corn ethanol and two projected emissions profiles for 2022. The starting point is the GHG life-cycle analysis (LCA) done by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2010 for U.S. corn ethanol as part of its Regulatory Impact Analysis (RIA) for the Revised Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2). In the RIA, EPA projected that in 2022, the life cycle emissions associated with ethanol would be 21 percent lower than those of an energy equivalent quantity of gasoline.
