Loading...
Protecting Public Health: Plug-In Electric Vehicle Charging and the Healthcare Industry
10/10/2016
In 2014, the U.S. transportation sector consumed more than 13 million barrels of petroleum a day, approximately 70% of all domestic petroleum consumption. Internal combustion engine vehicles are major sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs), smog-forming compounds, particulate matter, and other air pollutants. Widespread use of alternative fuels and advanced vehicles, including plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), can reduce our national dependence on petroleum and decrease the emissions that impact our air quality and public health. Healthcare organizations are major employers and community leaders that are committed to public wellbeing and are often early adopters of employer best practices. A growing number of hospitals are offering PEV charging stations for employees to help promote driving electric vehicles, reduce their carbon footprint, and improve local air quality.
Authors: Lommele, S.; Ryder, C.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Clean Cities Project Awards
10/3/2016
Each Clean Cities project award under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a diverse group of stakeholders who worked together to lay the foundation for their communities to adopt alternative fuels and petroleum reduction strategies. This document provides a snapshot of the impact of each project and highlights the partners and Clean Cities coalitions who helped transform local and regional transportation markets through 25 projects impacting 45 states.
Authors: Kelly, K.
Sample Employee Survey for Workplace Charging Planning
8/29/2016
Employers considering whether workplace charging is right for their organization or employers considering how many plug-in electric vehicle charging stations to install will want to start by assessing employee demand. Partners in the Workplace Charging Challenge set a minimum goal of providing charging access for a portion of PEV-driving employees and a best practice goal of meeting all PEV-driving employee demand. This sample employee survey will help employers to assess interest in workplace charging, and determine the appropriate type and amount of charging stations to install.
Authors: Committee, N.
Level 1 Electric Vehicle Charging Stations at the Workplace
7/1/2016
Level 1 charging (110-120 V) can be a good fit for many workplace charging programs. For electric vehicles typically purchased by most employees, Level 1 charging often has sufficient power to fully restore vehicle driving range during work hours.
Authors: Smith, M.
Utilities Power Change: Engaging Commercial Customers in Workplace Charging
6/29/2016
As stewards of an electric grid that is available almost anywhere people park, utilities that support workplace charging are uniquely positioned to help their commercial customers be a part of the rapidly expanding network of charging infrastructure. Utilities understand the distinctive challenges of their customers, have access to technical information about electrical infrastructure, and have deep experience modeling and managing demand for electricity. This case study highlights the experiences of two utilities with workplace charging programs.
Authors: Lommele, S.; Dafoe, W.
Emissions Associated with Electric Vehicle Charging: Impact of Electricity Generation Mix, Charging Infrastructure Availability, and Vehicle Type
4/11/2016
With the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with the transportation sector, policy-makers are supporting a multitude of measures to increase electric vehicle adoption. The actual level of emission reduction associated with the electrification of the transport sector is dependent on the contexts that determine when and where drivers charge electric vehicles. This analysis contributes to our understanding of the degree to which a particular electricity grid profile, vehicle type, and charging patterns impact CO2 emissions from light-duty, plug-in electric vehicles. We present an analysis of emissions resulting from both battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles for four charging scenarios and five electricity grid profiles. A scenario that allows drivers to charge electric vehicles at the workplace yields the lowest level of emissions for the majority of electricity grid profiles. However, vehicle emissions are shown to be highly dependent on the percentage of fossil fuels in the grid mix, with different vehicle types and charging scenarios resulting in fewer emissions when the carbon intensity of the grid is above a defined level. Restricting charging to off-peak hours results in higher total emissions for all vehicle types, as compared to other charging scenarios.
Authors: McLaren, J.; Miller, J.; O'Shaughnessy, E.; Wood, E.; Shapiro, E.
Assessment of Vehicle Sizing, Energy Consumption and Cost through Large Scale Simulation of Advanced Vehicle Technologies
3/28/2016
The U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) supports new technologies to increase energy security in the transportation sector at a critical time for global petroleum supply, demand, and pricing. VTO works in collaboration with industry and research organizations to identify the priority areas of research needed to develop advanced vehicle technologies to reduce and eventually eliminate petroleum use, and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide from carbon-based fuels. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the benefits of the DOE-VTO for a wide range of vehicle applications, powertrain configurations and component technologies for different timeframes and quantify the potential future petroleum displacement up to 2045, as well as the cost evolution. While it is not possible to simulate all the different combinations, more than 2000 vehicles were simulated in the study.
Authors: Moawad, A.; Kim, N.; Shidore, N.; Rousseau, A.
Drive Electric Vermont Case Study
3/21/2016
The U.S. Department of Energy's EV Everywhere Grand Challenge is working to identify barriers and opportunities to plugin electric vehicle (PEV) adoption. The Department of Energy developed a case study with Drive Electric Vermont to identify the lessons learned and best practices for successful PEV and charging infrastructure deployment in small and midsize communities. This is a snapshot of the findings.
Authors: Wagner, F.; Roberts, D.; Francfort, J.; White, S.
Workplace Charging: Charging Up University Campuses
3/4/2016
This case study features the experiences of university partners in the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Workplace Charging Challenge with the installation and management of plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging stations.
Authors: Giles, C.; Ryder, C.; Lommele, S.
PEV Workplace Charging Costs and Employee Use Fees
3/1/2016
On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Section 1413(c), which authorizes the General Services Administration to install, construct, operate, and maintain on a reimbursable basis, plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) charging infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Energy requested that Idaho National Laboratory perform an analysis to estimate charging infrastructure and electricity costs that the federal government would incur. This analysis uses five different PEV charging infrastructure scenarios to provide 10-year total costs, cost per charge event, and cost per kilowatt hour to install and operate PEV charging infrastructure. The five charging infrastructure scenarios provide alternating current (AC) 110-Volt (V), AC 220-V, or direct current (DC) 440-V power from the grid to PEVs. While every electric vehicle charger installation is unique, the costs shown and discussed in this report, as well as the energy used and charge frequencies, are based on the largest research sample of charging infrastructure use in the United States.
Authors: Francfort, J.
Clean Cities Technical Assistance Project (Tiger Teams)
2/18/2016
This two-page fact sheet describes Clean Cities' technical assistance (Tiger Teams) capabilities and projects, both completed and ongoing. Tiger Teams are a critical element of the Clean Cities program, providing on-the-ground consultation to help inform program strategies. The knowledge Tiger Team experts gain from these experiences often helps inform other alternative fuels activities, such as needed research, codes and standards revisions, and new training resources.
Consumer Views on Plug-in Electric Vehicles - National Benchmark Report
2/2/2016
Vehicle manufacturers, U.S. Department of Energy laboratories, universities, private researchers, and organizations from around the globe are pursuing advanced vehicle technologies that aim to reduce the consumption of petroleum in the form of gasoline and diesel. In order to make these technologies most appealing to the marketplace, they must take consumer sentiment into account. This report details study findings of broad American public sentiments toward issues that surround the advanced vehicle technologies of plug-in electric vehicles and is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technology Office in alignment with its mission to develop and deploy these technologies to improve energy security, provide mobility flexibility, reduce transportation costs, and increase environmental sustainability.
Authors: Singer, M.
Foothill Transit Battery Electric Bus Demonstration Results
1/27/2016
Foothill Transit is collaborating with the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate its fleet of Proterra battery electric buses (BEBs) in revenue service. The focus of this evaluation is to compare performance of the BEBs to that of conventional technology and to track progress over time toward meeting performance targets. This project has also provided an opportunity for DOE to conduct a detailed evaluation of the BEBs and charging infrastructure. This report provides data on the buses from April 2014 through July 2015. Data are provided on a selection of compressed natural gas buses as a baseline comparison.
Authors: Eudy, L.; Prohaska, R.; Kelly, K.; Post, M.
