Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, January 2015
3/17/2015
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for January 2015 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, 2015 and January 15, 2015, 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 $1.04 from $3.34 to $2.30; diesel decreased 71 cents from $3.77 to $3.06; CNG price decreased 5 cents from $2.16 to $2.11; ethanol (E85) decreased 67 cents from $2.88 to $2.21; propane decreased 16 cents from $3.08 to $2.92; and biodiesel (B20) has decreased 63 cents from $3.81 to 3.18.
According to Table 2, CNG is $.19 less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is $0.82 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.
Clean Cities 2015 Vehicle Buyer's Guide
2/11/2015
Drivers and fleets are increasingly turning to the hundreds of light-duty, alternative fuel, and advanced technology vehicle models that reduce petroleum use, save on fuel costs, and cut emissions. This guide provides a comprehensive list of the 2015 light-duty models that use alternative fuels or advanced fuel-saving technologies.
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.
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.
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.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, July 2014
7/31/2014
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for July 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 July 1, 2014 and July 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 increased 5 cents from $3.65 to $3.70; diesel decreased 6 cents from $3.97 to $3.91; CNG price increased 2 cents from $2.15 to $2.17; ethanol (E85) decreased 18 cents from $3.41 to $3.23; propane decreased 24 cents from $3.31 to $3.07; and biodiesel (B20) has decreased 3 cents from $4.01 to 3.98.
According to Table 2, CNG is $1.53 less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is $0.86 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, April 2014
6/3/2014
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for April 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 April 1, 2014 and April 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 increased 31 cents from $3.34 to $3.65; diesel increased 8 cents from $3.89 to $3.97; CNG price increased 6 cents from $2.09 to $2.15; ethanol (E85) increased 37 cents from $3.04 to $3.41; propane increased 19 cents from $3.12 to $3.31; and biodiesel (B20) has increased 5 cents from $3.97 to $4.01.
According to Table 2, CNG is $1.50 less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is $1.17 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.
EPAct State and Alternative Fuel Provider Fleet Compliance Methods
3/25/2014
Fact sheet outlines the state and alternative fuel provider fleet compliance options. Under Standard Compliance, covered fleets must acquire a certain percentage of AFVs each year based on the number of light-duty vehicles they purchase. Alternative Compliance allows covered fleets to obtain a waiver from Standard Compliance to implement petroleum reduction measures in their vehicle fleets in lieu of the AFV acquisition requirements.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, January 2014
3/4/2014
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for January 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 January 1, 2014 and January 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 11 cents from $3.45 to $3.34; diesel decreased 2 cents from $3.91 to $3.89; CNG price remained the same at $2.09; ethanol (E85) also remained the same at $3.04; propane increased 16 cents from $2.96 to $3.12; and biodiesel (B20) has decreased 5 cents from $4.02 to $3.97.
According to Table 2, CNG is $1.25 less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis, while E85 is $0.95 more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.