Publications

Methanol as an alternative transportation fuel in the U.S.: options for sustainable and/or energy-secure transportation

11/28/2010

Methanol has many attractive features for use as a transportation fuel which include: it is a liquid fuel that can be blended with gasoline; it is a high octane fuel; it is a safe fuel with toxicity comparable to gasoline; it can be produced from renewable biomass; it can be easily introduced into the fuel instructure system.

Authors: Bromberg, L.; Cheng, W.K.

U.S. Climate Action Report 2002: Third National Communication of the United States of America Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

5/1/2002

This report identifies existing and planned U.S. policies and measures toward greenhouse gas reduction and global warming. It also indicates future trends in greenhouse gas emissions, outlines expected impacts and adaptation measures, and provides information on financial resources, technology transfer, research, and systematic observations.

Notes: Copies of this document can be downloaded from the U.S. EPA Web site at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/oar/globalwarming.nsf/content/ResourceCenterPublicationsUSClimateActionReport.html#toc. To purchase copies of this report, visit the U.S. Government Printing Office Web site at http://bookstore.gpo.gov. Phone orders may be submitted at 1-866-512-1800 or 1-202-512-1800.

Alternative Fuels and Vehicles Offer Solutions to Imported Oil, Air Pollution, Climate Change

4/1/2002

A fact sheet describing available alternative fuels vehicles and the fuels themselves, written primarily for individual motorists.

Authors: LaRocque, T

Alternative Motor Fuels and Vehicles: Impact on the Transportation Sector

7/10/2001

This document is the testimony given by Jim Wells, Director of Natural Resources and Environment, U.S. General Accounting Office, before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance. The statement discusses the extent of alternative fuel vehicle acquisition and fuel use, some of the barriers inhibiting greater use of alternative fuels and vehicles, and the federal tax incentives used to promote the use of alternative motor fuels and vehicles in the U.S.

Taking an Alternative Route: A Guide for Fleet Operators and Individual Owners Using Alternative Fuels in Cars and Trucks

4/1/2001

DOE has prepared this guide to help you determine whether your fleet is covered by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA) and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct), and to provide information on available alternative fuels and vehicles. With this information, fleets can shorten the time it takes to improve air quality and pave our nation's road to energy independence by using AFVs certified to meet EPA's Clean Fuel Fleet standards as well as the mandated EPAct requirements.

State Alternative Fuel Vehicle Incentives: A Decade and More of Lessons Learned

2/1/2001

This report assesses the effectiveness of state incentives and suggests incentives that might encourage new vehicle technologies. It does not assess whether a state should promote alternative fuel vehicles or whether such vehicles are the most effective means to reduce air pollution. Rather, the analysis analyzes the effectiveness of state incentives of the past decade and describes the characteristics of effective alternative fuel vehicle incentives and the fiscal implications for a state that is committed to support an effective alternative fuel vehicle program.

Authors: Brown, M.;Breckenridge, L.

On the Road in 2020: A Life-cycle Analysis of New Automobile Technologies

10/1/2000

This report is a description of work done at MIT during the past two years to assess technologies for new passenger cars that could be developed and commercialized by the year 2020. The report does not make predictions about which technologies will be developed nor judgments about which technologies should be developedissues for the marketplace and for public policy that are not examined here.

The primary motivation for this study was the desire to assess new automobile technologies which have the potential to function with lower emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) widely believed to contribute to global warming. The GHG of most concern here is carbon dioxide (CO₂), but methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) can also be important. If public policy or market forces result in constraints on GHG emissions, automobiles and other light-duty vehiclesa key part of the transportation sectorwill be candidates for those constraints since the transportation sector accounts for about 30% of all CO2 emissions in OECD countries, and about 20% worldwide.

Notes: Copies of this document can be downloaded from the MIT Laboratory for Energy and Environment Web site at: http://lfee.mit.edu/publications/PDF/el00-003.pdf.

Today's Biopower

6/1/2000

Fact sheet that provides an overview of the U.S. Department of Energy's Biopower program. Describes the research and development and outreach and education efforts of the program.

Authors: U.S. DOE Biomass Program

Limited Progress in Acquiring Alternative Fuel Vehicles and Reaching Fuel Goals

2/1/2000

with the first deadline approaching for EPAct's petroleum replacement goals the GAO was asked to review progress towards achieving EPACT goals. gao was asked to determine the progress made in acquiring alternative fuel vehicles and using altnerative fuels to meeting the act's fuel replacement goals. Also, GAO determined the impediments to using alternative fuel vehicles and the measures that can be taken to address those impediments in order to reach the act's replacement goals.

Alternative Fuel Vehicles: Real-World Perspectives from the Federal Fleet

7/1/1998

Vehicles that run onfuels other than gasoline, or "alternative fuel" vehicles (AFVs), offer great promise for improving air quality and lessening our nation's dependence on imported oil. But if they are to fulfill this promise and replace traditional gasoline vehicles on a large scale, they must meed the needs of the people using them, and consumers must have access to"real-world" information about them. Do they drive as well as gasoline vehicles? Are their refueling stations as convenient as the corner gas station? Can we expect the same reliability that we've come to expect from our gasoline vehicles? How better to answer these questions than to ask the people who are actually running the AFVs? So in 1996, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national labortory, designed a nationwide study to capture the opinions of federal fleet managers and drivers onthe performance, reliability, driveability, and acceptability of AFVs. NREL put together this short brochure to serve as a "quick look" summaryof the surveys and their results.

Authors: Whalen, P

Plant/Crop-Based Renewable Resources 2020: A Vision to Enhance U.S. Economic Security Through Renewable Plant/Crop-Based Resource Use

1/1/1998

Vision written by the U.S. agricultural, forestry, and chemical communities based on a workshop in December, 1996. The vision outlines what plant/crop-based resources are, and how investment and utilization of these resources could be developed by the year 2020.

Authors: U.S. DOE Biomass Program

Effects of Uncertainty in SAPRC90 Rate Constants and Selected Product Yields on Reactivity Adjustment Factors for Alternative Fuel Vehicle Emissions

7/1/1996

Tropospheric ozone is formed in the atmosphere by a series of reactions that involve volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen (NOx). NOx emissions are composed primarily of NO and NO2, but hundreds of VOCs are being emitted. Generally, VOCs promote ozone formation; however, the rate and extent of ozone produced by VOCs vary considerably.

Authors: Bergin, M.S.;Russell, A.G.;Yang, Y.J.;Milford, J.B.;Kirchner, F.;Stockwell, W.R.

CleanFleet Final Report Fleet Economics, Vol. 8

12/1/1995

The costs that face a fleet operator in implementing alternative motor fuels into fleet operations are examined. Five alternatives studied in the CleanFleet project are considered for choice of fuel: compressed natural gas (CNG), propane gas, California Phase 2 reformulated gasoline (RFG), M-85, and electricity. The cost assessment is built upon a list of thirteen cost factors grouped into the three categories: infrastructure costs, vehicle owning costs, and operating costs. Applicable taxes are included. A commonly used spreadsheet was adapted as a cost assessment tool. This tool was used in a case study to estimate potential costs to a typical fleet operator in package delivery service in the 1996 time frame. In addition, because electric cargo vans are unlikely to be available for the 1996 model year from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), the case study was extended to the 1998 time frame for the electric vans. Results of the case study are presented in cents per mile of vehicle travel for the fleet. Several options available to the fleet for implementing the fuels are examined.

Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988

11/21/1995

Clean Fuels Paving the Way for America's Future: A Source for Information on Clean Burning Alternative Transportation Fuels

4/1/1995

With so many alternative fuels being promoted by various groups, it is important for legislators, the public and all interested parties to understand the different fuels that are available, how they are made, how they are used and their impact on the environment. This brochure is intended to help legislators at all levels to make informed decisions and for the media, with a responsibility of informing the public, to be educated on these issues. The fuels covered in this brochure include: ethanol, ethyl tertiary butyl ether, methanol, methyl tertiary butyl ether, biodiesel, gasoline additives and combustion modifiers, electric vehicles, natural gas and propane. It also summarizes regional and state clean fuel policies and regulations.