2022 Public Transportation Fact Book
1/1/2023
The Public Transportation Fact Book, published annually, contains national aggregate statistical data covering all aspects of the transit industry in the United States and Canada. Major sections include an overview of U.S. transit facts, transit finances and operating statistics by modes of travel, transit vehicle characteristics and deliveries, facts and numbers relating to federal grants and the Federal Transit Act.
Authors: Dickens, M.
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This copyrighted publication can be accessed on the American Public Transportation Association's website.
Electric Vehicle Charging Station Permitting Guidebook
1/1/2023
This guidebook aims to streamline and simplify the deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations regarding planning, permitting, installation, operation, and maintenance of EV charging stations in California, discussing context, federal and state requirements, and recommendations and best practices. The best-case scenario for the state includes local governments that are committed to having strong building standards and EV-related planning; a streamlined and transparent permitting process; a predictable energization process; and well-informed EV charging station developers.
Authors: Hickerson, H; Goldsmith, H
Ready Set Go! 2023 Ethanol Outlook
1/1/2023
While the U.S. economy experienced turbulence in 2022, the ethanol industry’s financial performance was strong and biorefineries continued to stimulate crucial economic activity in communities across the country. Consumer price inflation was the highest in decades, spurred in part by record gasoline prices that put a damper on fuel demand. However, the ethanol content of gasoline (i.e., the ethanol “blend rate”) continued to increase due to its cost-competitiveness and the expanded availability of E15 and flex fuels. And, as international markets also faced high fuel prices and tight supplies, ethanol exports rose sharply. As a result, ethanol production increased to more than 15.4 billion gallons and has now almost rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. This report looks at the state of the ethanol industry in 2022 and focus areas for 2023.
Estimating the Breakeven Cost of Delivered Electricity To Charge Class 8 Electric Tractors
12/30/2022
As electrification of transportation expands, it is important for owners and operators of class 8 tractors to understand the wide range of impacts that may result from this momentous change. These considerations include operational implications, such as energy requirements and charging power needs as well as financial impacts such as the initial capital investments and operational and maintenance costs. This study considers, under a select number of specific scenarios, how all these factors can be accounted for and summarized in a breakeven cost to charge class 8 tractors.
Authors: Bennett, J.; Mishra, P.; Miller, E.; Borlaug, B.; Meintz, A.; Birky, A.
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Trends from the Alternative Fueling Station Locator: Second Quarter 2022
12/23/2022
The U.S. Department of Energy's Alternative Fueling Station Locator contains information on public and private nonresidential alternative fueling stations in the United States and Canada and currently tracks ethanol (E85), biodiesel, compressed natural gas, electric vehicle (EV) charging, hydrogen, liquefied natural gas, and propane stations. Of these fuels, EV charging continues to experience rapidly changing technology and growing infrastructure. This report provides a snapshot of the state of EV charging infrastructure in the United States in the second calendar quarter of 2022 (Q2). Using data from the Station Locator, this report breaks down the growth of public and private charging infrastructure by charging level, network, and location. Additionally, this report measures the current state of charging infrastructure compared with two different 2030 infrastructure requirement scenarios. This information is intended to help transportation planners, policymakers, researchers, infrastructure developers, and others understand the rapidly changing landscape of EV charging infrastructure. This is the tenth report in a series.
Authors: Brown, A.; Cappellucci, J.; White, E.; Heinrich, A.; Cost, E.
Public Electric Vehicle Charging Station Utilization in the United States
12/12/2022
The utilization of electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment is a key driver of charging station economics, but current trends and factors related to the utilization of public charging infrastructure in the United States are not well understood. This study analyzes EV charging data from 3,705 nationwide public Level 2 and direct current fast charging stations over 2.5 years (2019–2022), observing utilization patterns over time. This study fills a critical research gap by reporting updated public charging station utilization statistics and analysis for the U.S. market.
Authors: Borlaug, B.; Yang, F.; Pritchard, E.; Wood, E., Gonder, J.
Electric Vehicle Batteries and Recycling
12/1/2022
Demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is increasing. Electricity is cheaper and cleaner than conventional fuel, and EV maintenance costs are low. Also attractive are EVs' instant torque and quiet operation. In addition to advantages for individual drivers and for fleets, the multiple fuel sources used to generate the electricity that powers EVs create more energy resilience for the transportation sector, which supports national security. With this uptick in EV demand comes questions about their batteries, how they are made, their safety, and what happens to them at the end of a vehicle's life.
Authors: Argonne National Laboratory
Environmental Justice Impacts of Zero Emission Vehicles
12/1/2022
Zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) have great potential to improve public health, air quality, energy independence, and sustainability; however, challenges do exist with respect to affordability of ZEVs and equitable access to charging infrastructure. In addition to technological and infrastructure challenges, there is the question of how to best align policy interventions with equity (e.g., ensuring access for lower income groups), environmental justice (EJ), and global public good (e.g., emissions reductions).The goals of this research are to highlight the existing disparity in ZEV ownership, quantify the EJ benefits of ZEVs, and provide policy and program recommendations that various government agencies can implement to enhance the EJ outcomes of their ZEV policies.
Florida Alternative Transportation Fuel Resilience Plan
12/1/2022
Many counties and cities in Florida are developing resilience plans to help them minimize damage from hurricanes and accelerate recovery. Fuel diversification can add to Florida’s transportation resilience because if the supply of one fuel gets disrupted during a hurricane, there is a good chance that the supplies of other fuels are still available. The Florida Alternative Transportation Fuel Resilience Plan aims to address these factors and create a strategy for how three alternative fuels (natural gas, propane, and electricity) can best be employed to improve transportation resilience in Florida. It does this through a combination of literature review and stakeholder engagement for best practices, vehicle technology recommendations, the creation of three tools (with descriptions and brief guides included), and charting how stakeholders coordinate to overcome these hurdles.
Authors: Johnson, C.; Cappellucci, J.; Spath Luhring, L.; St. Louis-Sanchez, M.; Yang, F.; Brown, A.; Sipiora, A.; Kolpakov, A.; Li, X.; Li, Q.; White, S.; Gonzales, J.; Erin Nobler, E.; Wood, E.
Local Government Playbook: How Counties, Cities, and Towns Can Support EV Infrastructure and Leverage Federal Investments
12/1/2022
This report is designed to support local governments as they develop and implement electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure deployment programs and implement programs funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to achieve their transportation electrification goals. This report discusses near- and long-term policy recommendations for local governments, outlines how local governments can engage in state and regional planning, discusses best practices for stakeholder and community engagement, and discusses infrastructure site planning.
United States EV Market Summary: Q1 and Q2 2022
12/1/2022
Atlas Public Policy presents a market summary report for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities network. This report summarizes major developments in transportation electrification in the United States with a focus on activities during the first and second quarters of 2022.
Authors: Lepre, N.
Evaluation of Performance Variables to Accelerate the Deployment of Sustainable Aviation Fuels at a Regional Scale
11/19/2022
An increase in jet fuel consumption and its associated emissions across the world have led to the need for alternative technologies to produce sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). One option to produce SAFs is to utilize waste or biomass-based feedstocks that has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% or more compared to conventional jet fuel. However, there is a lack of understanding of how the synergistic effects of key performance variables could hinder or help the deployment of aviation fuels on a regional scale. Here, we assess the implications of key variables–including type and quantity of waste/biomass feedstock availability, cost of SAF production, life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, policies, and fuel/infrastructure logistics–on the deployment of SAF at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Our sensitivity analysis shows renewable fuel incentives and feedstock price to be key performance variables affecting the production cost and deployment of SAF.
Authors: Bhatt, A.H.; Zhang, Y.; Milbrandt, A.; Newes, E.; Moriarty, K.; Klein, B.; Tao, L.
NREL Fleet Analysis Support Through Technology Integration Collaboration
11/7/2022
This study leveraged the partnership between the United States Department of Energy's (DOE) Clean Cities Coalition Network and the Association for the Work Truck Industry (NTEA) to launch a vehicle and fleet analysis project that assisted fleets in identifying opportunities to save energy, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and meet environmental goals via short term data logging and analysis. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) sought to establish a process that included initial data acquisition, provided data storage, and developed analytic methods to inform fleets of areas of opportunity based on approximately 30 days of in use vehicle performance data. However, long-term the project will require ongoing funding to fully develop and maintain the data sharing platform and to produce more complex analysis.
Authors: Lynch, L.; Payne, G.
Assessment of Light-Duty Plug-in Electric Vehicles in the United States, 2010 – 2021
11/1/2022
This report examines properties of electric vehicles (EVs) sold in the United States from 2010 to 2021, evaluating range, energy efficiency, costs, and performance. Given the vehicle characteristics, this report estimates miles driven, electricity consumption, petroleum reduction, and greenhouse gas emissions attributable to EVs. It also explores vehicle manufacturing and battery production, considering supply chains from battery cells to assembly.
Authors: Gohlke, D.; Zhou, Y.; Wu, X.; Courtney, C.