SunLine Expands Horizons with Fuel Cell Bus Demo
5/1/2006
Sunline Transit Agency, a joint powers authority that provides public transit and community services to California's Coachella Valley, was an early adopter of alternative fuels for bus operations. SunLine replaced its diesel fleet with CNG buses and has worked to further reduce emissions. SunLine is currently testing a prototype fuel cell bus.
AC Transit Demos Three Prototype Fuel Cell Buses
5/1/2006
The Alameda-Contra Costa (AC) Transit District is currently collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrogen, Fuel Cells & Infrastructure Technologies Program on the evaluation of the three fuel cell buses. The hybrid system used is a series configuration, meaning the powerplant is not mechanically coupled to the drive axle.
Hybrid Electric Vehicle Fleet and Baseline Performance Testing
4/3/2006
The U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA) conducts baseline performance and fleet testing of hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). To date, the AVTA has completed baseline performance testing on 7 HEV models and accumulated 1.4 million fleet testing miles on 26 HEVs. Tested models include: Toyota Gen I and Gen II Prius, and Highlander; Honda Insight, Civic and Accord; Chevrolet Silverado; Ford Escape; and Lexus RX 400h. The baseline performance testing includes dynamometer and closed track testing to document the HEV's fuel economy and performance in a controlled environment. During fleet testing, two of each HEV model were driven to 160,000 miles per vehicle. At the conclusion of the 160,000 miles of fleet testing, fuel economy tests were rerun and each HEV battery pack was tested. The paper discusses the testing methods and results.
Authors: Francfort, J.; Karner, D.; Harkins, R.; Tardiolo, J.
Notes: Paper is available for purchase from SAE.
King County Metro Transit Hybrid Articulated Buses: Interim Evaluation Results
4/1/2006
This is an interim technical report comparing and evaluating new diesel and diesel hybrid-electric articulated buses operated as part of the King County Metro Transit fleet in Seattle, Washington. This report covers the first six months of a planned 12-month evaluation.
Authors: Chandler, K., Walkowicz, K.
Estimated Use of Gasohol - 2004
4/1/2006
This one-page table provides estimated use of the total amount of ethanol used in gasohol in the 50 states in 2004. The total was 3.6 billon gallons of ethanol used in gasohol blends.
A Preliminary Assessment of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles on Wind Energy Markets
4/1/2006
This report presents a very preliminary analysis of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) that can be charged from or discharged to the electric grid. These vehicles have the potential to reduce gasoline consumption and carbon emissions from vehicles, as well as improve the viability of renewable energy technologies with variable resource availability. This paper is an assessment of the synergisms between plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and wind engery used to generate the necessary electricity.
Authors: Short, W.; Denholm, P.
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority: Compressed Natural Gas Transit Bus Evaluation
4/1/2006
The objective of this report is to provide a reasonable comparison between currently available compressed natural gas and standard diesel transit buses. The report includes operational, maintenance, and performance data for each study fleet operating from the same depot. The evaluation was conducted in 2004. Transit agencies considering use of alternative fuel and advanced propulsion technology transit buses are the primary audience for this information.
Authors: K.Chandler; E.Eberts; M.Melendez
Oil Bypass Filter Technology Evaluation Final Report
3/1/2006
This report is the final of 12 Oil Bypass Filter Technology Evaluation reports that document the feasibility of using oil bypass filter technologies on 17 vehicles in the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) fleet. This evaluation was conducted by INL for the U.S. Department of Energy FreedomCAR & Vehicle Technologies Program.
Almost 1.3 million test miles were accumulated, with the four-cycle diesel engine buses accumulating 982,548 test miles and the gasoline filter systems were tested onboard 11 of the buses and the six Chevrolet Tahoes for 1,173,552 miles. Refined Global Solutions (RGS) oil bypass filter systems were tested onboard three buses for 112,168 miles. The performance of the puraDYN and RGS oil bypass filter systems are not compared; both were used as test mules to support the goal of reducing petroleum consumption by using oil bypass filter systems in government fleets.
Depending on the assumptions employed, INL found that oil bypass filter systems for diesel engine-equipped buses have a positive payback between 72,000 and 144,000 miles. The positive payback period for the gasoline engine Tahoes is between 66,000 and 69,000 miles.
Authors: Zirker, L.; Francfort, J.; Fielding, J.
Transitioning to a Hydrogen Future: Learning from the Alternative Fuels Experience
2/1/2006
A wealth of practical knowledge concerning alternative fuel technologies, products, national policies, and market introduction exists within industry, regulated fleets, and voluntary programs. Issues relating to consumer choice, capital investment, business decision making, manufacturing, and infrastructure construction will need to be understood in the alternative fuels context if the hydrogen transition is to occur efficiently. The overall objective of this project is to assess relevant knowledge within the alternative fuels community and recommend transitional strategies and tactics that will further the hydrogen transition in the transportation sector and help avoid stranded assets in the alternative fuels industry.
Authors: Melendez, M.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report - February 2006
2/1/2006
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report provides regional alternative and conventional fuel prices for biodiesel, compressed natural gas, ethanol, hydrogen, propane, gasoline, and diesel. The Alternative Fuel Price Report is a snapshot in time of retail fuel prices.
Lessons Learned from Alternative Transportation Fuels: Modeling Transition Dynamics
2/1/2006
Much attention has been given to the use of hydrogen as an alternative transportation fuel, but hydrogen was certainly not the first fuel considered as an alternative to gasoline for transportation applications. Options ranging from all-electric vehicles to those running on natural gas, propane, ethanol, and biodiesel have also received both industry and government attention. Unfortunately, previous government efforts to encourage widespread adoption of alternative fuel vehicles have been largely unsuccessful. The National Academy of Engineering suggested that 'DOE might have its greatest impact by leading the private economy toward transition strategies rather than to ultimate visions of an energy infrastructure markedly different from the one now in place.'
This report focuses on understanding how analytical system modeling coupled with actual data from previous alternative-fuel experiences could improve our understanding of the dynamic forces governing the transition to an alternative-fueled vehicle system.
Authors: Welch, Cory
Estimation of Fuel Use by Idling Commercial Trucks
1/22/2006
Extended idling by commercial trucks represents a significant use of our petroleum resources, and much of this oil use could be avoided by installing idle-reduction technologies, by adopting vehicle scheduling policies, or simply by turning the trucks off. Until now, attention has been focused on overnight idling by tractor-trailers with sleepers, which represent a very visible andobvious target for conservation and emission-reduction efforts. However, commercial trucks of all sizes idle for extended periods (0.5 hour or more) during their workdays, for a variety of reasons, such as while drivers wait to pick up or drop off a load or as a means of providing a warm haven for workers fixing utilities or roads in inclement weather. The quantity of petroleumused by such trucks may be far greater than that used by sleepers idling overnight. Although the length of time these vehicles idle is considerably shorter than the 6?10 hours that sleepers idle, the sheer number of vehicles more than makes up for it.
The sum of overnight and workday idling of trucks may consume well over 2 billion gallons of oil (mostly diesel) annually in the United States. To develop an accurate estimate of idling fuel use, data on vehicles and fleets in many industries would have to be collected. Cost-effective technologies exist for reducing overnight idling, but the fewer hours trucks idle per day while working will be somewhat of a barrier to their use in non-sleepers, because the payback period will be longer than the two years that the trucking industry requires.
Authors: Gaines, L.; Vyas, A.; Anderson, J.
Credit for New Qualified Alternative Motor Vehicles (Advanced Lean Burn Technology Motor Vehicles and Qualified Hybrid Motor Vehicles)
1/13/2006
On January 13, 2006, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued guidance regarding the tax credits for light-duty (less than 8,500 lbs. GVWR) lean-burn and hybrid electric vehicles. The guidance establishes the procedures that manufacturers must use to certify that their vehicles qualify for the tax credit. The IRS plans to issue additional guidance at a later date to address procedures for qualifying alternative fuel vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, and heavy-duty hybrid vehicles.
The guidance provides procedures whereby a manufacturer may certify to the IRS that its vehicles qualify for the tax credits enacted in EPAct 2005. The guidance also provides procedures for reporting on the total number of qualifying vehicles that have been sold. Upon receiving the required information, the IRS will issue an acknowledgement. A manufacturer that has submitted the proper certification and received an acknowledgement from the IRS may then certify to customers/puchasers that the vehicles qualify for tax credits. For taxpayers to claim the credit, they must place the vehicle in service after December 31, 2005. The taxpayer also must be the original user of the vehicle (first purchaser or lessee) and the vehicle must be predominately used in the U.S.
New York City Transit Hybrid and CNG Transit Buses: Interim Evaluation Results
1/2/2006
This report focuses on compressed natural gas (CNG) and diesel hybrid electric bus propulsion systems in New York City Transit buses. Both of these propulsion systems are alternatives to standard diesel buses and allow for reductions in petroleum use and emissions (usually focused on reductions of particulate matter and oxides of nitrogen). CNG propulsion is an alternative to diesel fuel use, and diesel hybrid propulsion allows for increased fuel economy, which, in turn, is a reduction in petroleum use.
Authors: Chandler, K.;Eberts, E.;Eudy, L.