Alternative Transportation Refueling Infrastructure in the United States 2014: Status and Challenges
1/13/2015
Lack of adequate refueling infrastructure is a major barrier to the success of alternative motor fuels. A transition from fossil petroleum to alternative, low-carbon transportation fuels appears to be necessary to mitigate the adverse impacts of global warming, strengthen energy security and meet air quality standards. Finding effective combinations of business models and public policies to accomplish a transition to alternative fuels poses a new and difficult challenge. Focusing on highway vehicles, this paper reviews the motivation for transition to alternative fuels, the current status of alternative fuel refueling infrastructure in the U.S., the costs of such infrastructure and business models and policies that have been proposed to achieve a successful transition. The goal of this paper is to serve as a basis for innovative thinking and discussion rather than as a comprehensive analysis of the issue. Infrastructure for producing and delivering fuels to refueling stations is equally important but is outside the scope of this paper.
Authors: Greene, D.L.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, October 2014
12/23/2014
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for October 2014 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 October 1, 2014 and October 15, 2014, 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 1 reports that the nationwide average price (all amounts are per gallon) for regular gasoline has decreased 36 cents from $3.70 to $3.34; diesel decreased 14 cents from $3.91 to $3.77; CNG price decreased 1 cent from $2.17 to $2.16; ethanol (E85) decreased 35 cents from $3.23 to $2.88; propane increased 1 cent from $3.07 to $3.08; and biodiesel (B20) has decreased 17 cents from $3.98 to 3.81.
According to Table 2, CNG is $1.18 less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is $0.73 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.
Increasing Biofuel Deployment and Utilization through Development of Renewable Super Premium: Infrastructure Assessment
11/25/2014
A high octane fuel and specialized vehicle are under consideration as a market opportunity to meet federal requirements for renewable fuel use and fuel economy. Infrastructure is often cited as a barrier for the introduction of a new fuel. This report assesses infrastructure readiness for E25 (25% ethanol; 75% gasoline) and E25+ (more than 25% ethanol). Both above-ground and below-ground equipment are considered as are the current state of stations, codes and regulations, and materials compatibility.
Authors: Moriarty, K.; Kass, M.; Theiss, T.
Workplace Charging: Comparison of Sustainable Commuting Options
11/18/2014
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from employees' commutes, also known as Scope 3 emissions, is a top priority for many organizations interested in minimizing their carbon footprint. Scope 3 emissions are indirect GHG emissions from sources not owned or directly controlled by the organization but are related to their activities, including emissions from an employee's commute. Employers interested in investing in GHG emissions reduction efforts may want to compare the benefits of workplace charging to other commuter emission reduction investments such as subsidized public transportation or carpooling. The GHG emissions reduction benefit of workplace charging per dollar is comparable to, and in some cases greater than, other commuting options.
Authors: Brown, A.
U.S. Department of Energy's EV Everywhere Workplace Charging Challenge, Progress Update 2014: Employers Take Charge
11/17/2014
Through the Workplace Charging Challenge, more than 150 partner organizations are accelerating the development of the nation's worksite PEV charging infrastructure and are supporting cleaner, more convenient transportation options within their communities. Challenge partners are currently providing access to PEV charging stations for more than 600,000 employees at more than 300 worksites across the country and are influencing countless other organizations to do the same.
Using Recent Land Use Changes to Validate Land Use Change Models
11/14/2014
Economics models used by California, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the EU Commission all predict significant emissions from conversion of land from forest and pasture to cropland in response to increased biofuel production. The models attrib-ute all supply response not captured by increased crop yields to land use conversion on the extensive margin. The dramatic increase in agricultural commodity prices since the mid-2000s seems ideally suited to test the reliability of these models by comparing actual land use changes that have occurred since the price increase to model predictions. Country-level data from FAOSTAT were used to measure land use changes. To smooth annual variations, changes in land use were measured as the change in average use across 2004 to 2006 compared to average use across 2010 to 2012. Separate measure-ments were made of changes in land use at the extensive margin, which involves bring-ing new land into agriculture, and changes in land use at the intensive margin, which includes increased double cropping, a reduction in unharvested land, a reduction in fallow land, and a reduction in temporary or mowed pasture. Changes in yield per harvested hectare were not considered in this study.
Authors: Babcock, B.A; Iqbal, Z.
Geography of Existing and Potential Alternative Fuel Markets in the United States
11/3/2014
When deploying alternative fuels, it is paramount to match the right fuel with the right location, in accordance with local market conditions. We used six market indicators to evaluate the existing and potential regional market health for each of the five most commonly deployed alternative fuels: electricity (used by plug-in electric vehicles), biodiesel (blends of B20 and higher), E85 ethanol, compressed natural gas (CNG), and propane. Each market indicator was mapped, combined, and evaluated by industry experts. This process revealed the weight the market indicators should be given, with the proximity of fueling stations being the most important indicator, followed by alternative fuel vehicle density, gasoline prices, state incentives, nearby resources, and finally, environmental benefit. Though markets vary among states, no state received 'weak' potential for all five fuels, indicating that all states have an opportunity to use at least one alternative fuel. California, Illinois, Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Washington appear to have the best potential markets for alternative fuels in general, with each sporting strong markets for four of the fuels. Wyoming showed the least potential, with weak markets for all alternative fuels except for CNG, for which it has a patchy market. Of all the fuels, CNG is promising in the greatest number of states--largely because freight traffic provides potential demand for many far-reaching corridor markets and because the sources of CNG are so widespread geographically.
Authors: Johnson, C.; Hettinger, D.
Progress Report: Standardization Roadmap for Electric Vehicles - Version 2.0
11/3/2014
In January 2014, the American National Standards Institute Electric Vehicles Standards Panel (ANSI EVSP) resumed work to assess existing and needed standards and conformity assessment solutions to enable electric vehicles and charging infrastructure to be deployed throughout the United States. This report assesses progress to address the standardization gaps identified in the Standardization Roadmap for Electric Vehicles - Version 2.0 (May 2013). It also includes updates on significant standardization activity related to the issues identified in the roadmap.
PEV Outreach Resources for Your Employees
11/3/2014
After you've installed plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging stations at your work site, you'll want to educate your employees on why and how they can take advantage of this employee benefit. This collection of resources by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Workplace Charging Challenge provides tools, tips, and networks to support employer efforts to engage PEV- and non-PEV driving employees alike.
Authors: Workplace Charging Challenge
ADA Requirements for Workplace Charging Installation
11/3/2014
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination in public places against individuals with disabilities. As an employer installing plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging stations, also known as electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), you need to follow special design guidelines to accommodate people with disabilities, as required by the ADA.
Authors: Workplace Charging Challenge
Workplace Charging Request for Proposal Guidance
11/3/2014
This Guidance provides a description of the types of requirements to be included in an employer's workplace charging request for proposal (RFP). This Guidance is not intended to be a sample or manual for acquiring electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), but rather to serve as a reference for an employer to consider when acquiring EVSE as part of a workplace charging program.
Authors: Workplace Charging Challenge
Model Year 2015: Alternative Fuel and Advanced Technology Vehicles
10/30/2014
The fact sheet details the model, vehicle type, emission class, transmission type/speeds, engine size, and fuel economy of a variety of flexible fuel vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, all-electric, and extended range electric vehicles, as well as CNG and propane vehicles.
Clean Cities 2013 Annual Metrics Report
10/20/2014
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 2013 Annual Metrics Report.
Authors: Johnson, C.; Singer, M.
National Clean Fleets Partnership
9/16/2014
Clean Cities' National Clean Fleets Partnership establishes strategic alliances with large fleets to help them explore and adopt alternative fuels and fuel economy measures to cut petroleum use. The initiative leverages the strength of nearly 100 Clean Cities coalitions, nearly 18,000 stakeholders, and more than 20 years of experience. It provides fleets with top-level support, technical assistance, robust tools and resources, and public acknowledgement to help meet and celebrate fleets' petroleum-use reductions.