Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Trends from the Alternative Fueling Station Locator: First Quarter 2024
9/23/2024
Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in the United States continues to rapidly change and grow. Using data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fueling Station Locator, this report provides a snapshot of the state of EV charging infrastructure in the United States in the first calendar quarter of 2024 by charging level, network, location, housing density, and disadvantaged community designation. Additionally, this report measures the current state of charging infrastructure compared with a federal infrastructure requirement scenario. 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 17th report in a series.
Authors: Brown, A.; Cappellucci, J.; Heinrich, A.; Gaus, M.; Cost, E.
Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Trends from the Alternative Fueling Station Locator: Fourth Quarter 2023
7/1/2024
Electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure continues to rapidly change and grow. Using data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Alternative Fueling Station Locator, this report provides a snapshot of the state of EV charging infrastructure in the United States in the fourth calendar quarter of 2023 by charging level, network, and location. Additionally, this report measures the current state of charging infrastructure compared with a federal infrastructure requirement scenario. 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 sixteenth report in a series.
Authors: Brown, A.; Cappellucci, J.; Heinrich, A.; Cost, E.
Powering Progress: Advancing Transportation Electrification in Rural Southeastern Communities
7/1/2024
This report follows up on a 2022 Electrification Coalition report, Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Rural Communities, in addressing common roadblocks to transportation electrification in the rural, Southeast U.S. by providing case study examples of how communities have overcome these challenges. As rural communities are particularly susceptible to the effects of oil-dominated transportation systems, examples of successful electrification pathways are critical to wide-reaching EV deployment.
Pollutant Emissions from Light-Duty Vehicles Across North America: A Comparative Analysis
7/1/2024
Drawing on remote sensing data from the Real Urban Emissions Initiatives as well as the Clean Air Strategic Alliance’s ROVER III campaign, this report provides up-to-date vehicle emissions data for several pollutants (hydrocarbons [HC], carbon monoxide [CO], and nitrogen oxide [NO]) in Colorado, Virginia, Mexico City, and Alberta, Canada. The report compares data by vehicle category (i.e., light-duty vehicles, personal vehicles, and taxis), vehicle manufacturer, vehicle acceleration, and more. By providing emissions measurement information, such as the ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure during which measurements were taken, the report offers insights into how different climatic conditions may affect vehicle emissions.
Authors: Kira O’Hare; Michelle Meyer; Yoann Bernard
Customer-Focused Key Performance Indicators for Electric Vehicle Charging
6/18/2024
Electric vehicles (EVs) are a rapidly growing portion of the light-duty vehicle market, but their sustained success is closely linked to the reliability and ease-of-use of public EV chargers. To mitigate issues such as long wait times, difficulties starting charging sessions, and slow charging speeds, this report recommends two sets of numerically defined key performance indicators (KPIs) based on customer pain points that will help streamline the transition to clean vehicles. These KPIs target the following: charger access, starting and completing a charge, and charger-related safety and comfort.
Authors: Casey Quinn; Sarah Cardinali; Jason Clifford; Kaleb Houck; Kristi Moriarty
Best Practices for EV Carsharing Programs
6/1/2024
Carsharing programs are common throughout the U.S., but few so far have focused on electric vehicles (EVs). Over the past six years, Forth Mobility has developed and trialed several EV carshare programs to identify and better understand the best practices and roadblocks to implementing these programs in underserved areas, such as in low-income and rural communities. This paper shares lessons learned by analyzing the following subject areas: revenue planning; site host, technology platform, and vehicle type selection; educational outreach; marketing strategies; and community organization partnerships.
Authors: Connor Herman
Physical Safety and Security at Electric Vehicle Charging Sites
6/1/2024
As electric vehicle (EV) demand grows, so does the need for more robust EV charger safety and security. EV charger host sites must work to uplift driver and passenger confidence by incorporating design elements that promote greater safety and security. This help sheet outlines various best practices for public EV chargers. While the help sheet indicates the higher monetary costs attributed to greater safety and security measures, it also clarifies the greater repeat customers rates that result from these improvements.
Solar Power + Electric Vehicle Charging: Capturing Synergies in Minnesota
6/1/2024
A suite of aggressive climate action legislation, including a series of solar development commitments, has contributed to Minnesota reducing the carbon intensity of its power sector by 29% over 2013 levels. However, the carbon footprint of each sector has not dropped equally. In 2018, the transportation sector overtook power generation as the leading emissions producer statewide. The same focus on solar energy—combined with electric vehicle (EV) use—offers a vital opportunity for Minnesota to decrease transportation emissions. The analysis in this report examines the underdeveloped synthesis between solar production and EV charging, presenting seven key findings paired with relevant recommendations to transform the market and decrease transportation-based emissions.
Authors: Brian Ross; Katelyn Bocklund; Matthew Prorok; Dane McFarlane; Abby Finis
Embedding Equity into Community EV Readiness Planning
6/1/2024
New electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure presents an opportunity to imbed greater equity into surrounding communities. Doing so ensures that all community members are heard during the nationwide clean transition, and also streamlines the process of securing funding from federal offices that prioritize equity-based initiatives such as Justice40. This help sheet examines pathways to more effectively embed equity considerations into EV charger development, including strategies for community outreach, zoning, needs assessments, receiving funding, and more.
Grid-Constrained Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Sites: Battery-Buffered Options
6/1/2024
America’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network is growing quickly, but many rural regions across the country experience electrical grid restraints that complicate the EV charger build-out. Government agencies must still devise strategies for deploying chargers in these locations where electrical grid capacity is more limited. This technical assistance case study provides guidance on battery-buffered options for EV charging sites with limited grid capacity, including infrastructure solutions, project economics, energy specification methods, technical considerations, and other relevant strategies.
Navigating Options for Transportation Electrification and Solar Charging: Steps and Lessons Learned in Montana Communities
6/1/2024
Drawing on analysis and outreach in three Montana communities (Missoula, Bozeman, and Whitefish), this report provides guidance and best practices for other towns and cities across the country on how to effectively implement electric vehicle (EV) transportation options into their communities. The report incorporates logistical considerations—vehicle types, chargers, electricity generation—and useful strategies—effective stakeholder engagement, coordinating EV charging and renewable energy generation, and more—to cover the technological, economic, and environmental aspects of the transition to EVs.
Authors: Andrew Valainis; Kyla Maki; Chase Jones; Natalie Meyer; Amy Cilimburg
Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office Multi-Year Program Plan
5/31/2024
The Multi-Year Program Plan sets forth the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office's (HFTO's) mission, goals, and strategic approach relative to broader clean energy priorities of the U.S. Department of Energy. Aligned with the priorities in the U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap, the Multi-Year Program Plan identifies the challenges that must be overcome to realize the full potential of clean hydrogen and fuel cells and explains how HFTO's research, development, and demonstration activities will help to overcome those challenges in the near-, mid-, and longer-term.
Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report, April 2024
5/15/2024
The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel Price Report for April 2024 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, 2024 and April 15, 2024, 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 2 reports that the nationwide average price (all amounts are per gallon) for regular gasoline has increased 59 cents from $3.06 to $3.65; diesel increased 13 cents from $3.94 to $4.07; CNG decreased 5 cents from $2.95 to $2.90; ethanol (E85) increased 41 cents from $2.55 to $2.96; propane decreased 4 cents from $3.49 to $3.45; and biodiesel (B20) increased 11 cents from $3.83 to $3.94.
According to Table 3, CNG is 75 cents less than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis and E85 is 20 cents more than gasoline on an energy-equivalent basis.
Authors: Bourbon, E.