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| Technical Assistance, Incentives, and Funding Opportunities:
Upcoming Events and Activities:
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| Clarksville-Montgomery County School System Becomes Largest Alternative Fueled School Bus Fleet in Tennessee On July 31, Clarksville-Montgomery County School System officially launched their 15 new propane-powered school buses, which will be transporting their first students over the coming school year. The launch event was held at Montgomery Central High School and showcased several of the new buses to the community. These buses mark another step in the school system’s quest to drive down bus maintenance costs, increase fuel cost savings, and to model cleaner, feasible, and cost-effective student transportation options. The vehicles were funded partially through the “ Reducing Diesel Emissions for a Healthier Tennessee” grant program, which Tennessee Clean Fuels manages on behalf of TDEC. For information on the Clarksville-Montgomery County fleet launch, click here. To see the buses in action, watch the fleet launch video here.
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| American Natural Gas Cuts Ribbon on New Middle Tennessee Fueling Station On August 1, American Natural Gas held a ribbon cutting ceremony in collaboration with Tennessee Clean Fuels to unveil its new, public compressed natural gas station in Fayetteville, Tennessee. PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division, which has a locally domiciled fleet of CNG tractor-trailers, will be a major customer at the station. With round-the-clock operation, the fast-fill Fayetteville station has three consumer-friendly dispensers equipped with NGV2 nozzles to optimize the experience for heavy-duty, high-capacity users, as well as NGV1 nozzles for light and medium-duty use. Click here for more information on the new station. Following the ribbon cutting, the Middle-West TN Clean Fuels Coalition held its first stakeholder meeting in Lincoln County at the Fayetteville Public Utilities (FPU) headquarters. During the meeting, members discussed current and upcoming funding opportunities and highlighted a variety of alternative fuel vehicle projects. For more information on the Middle-West TN Clean Fuels Coalition, click here.
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| Tennessee Poised to Play Key Role in Next-Generation Vehicle Production
Far from Silicon Valley’s hotbed of digital disruption, Knoxville, Tennessee has become the seemingly unlikely home for technological firsts in auto manufacturing. Specifically, motor vehicle manufacturing company Local Motors has chosen Knoxville as a site for a “microfactory” that will create vehicles that utilize innovative technology, from self-driving capabilities to 3D-printed components. Previously, the site manufactured a component of Local Motors’ Strati, the world’s first 3D-printed car. To learn more about the Local Motors activities in Knoxville, click here. In Middle Tennessee, Nissan is preparing to roll out its second generation, Tennessee-manufactured Nissan Leaf later this year. The all-electric car is expected to have a range of approximately 200 miles between charges, an improvement upon the first generation’s range of about 107 miles. The vehicle is also expected to be enhanced by Nissan’s ProPilot self-driving technology. Click here for more information.
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| As Traffic Worsens, Vanpooling Group Adds 20 Vans to Its Fleet
Growth can mean gridlock, and the Middle Tennessee ten-county region is currently expected to grow by another million people in less than 20 years. Commuters, sick of traffic, have become part of the solution and have begun to use the vanpooling service VanStar. VanStar gathers people who live and work in the same area to create car pools, providing both a vehicle that can fit up to nine passengers as well as a gas card that all riders can share for fuel refills. All vanpoolers split their costs evenly amongst themselves at the end of the month. Due to increasing demand, VanStar recently added 20 vans to its vanpooling fleet to make room for even more commuters. Altogether, VanStar has had 900 participants use their service over the last two years, saving around 14.5 million vehicle miles traveled. To find out more, watch this news report or visit VanStar’s website.
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| ORNL Utilizes Waste Tires as New Biodiesel Catalyst Ingredient, Chosen to Receive Additional Biodiesel Research Funding
Researchers at ORNL have recently demonstrated that carbon from waste tires can be functionalized with sulfonic acid to catalyze a mixture of fatty acids into biodiesel. ORNL co-author Parans Paranthaman said that the patent-pending approach provides an environmentally benign pathway for inexpensive products to be generated from waste tires and is a step toward large-scale biofuel production. Read more by clicking here. The Center for Bioenergy Innovation (CBI) at ORNL was also one of four bioenergy centers recently chosen by U.S. DOE to advance a new biobased economy with the production of fuels and other products directly from nonfood biomass. In late July, U.S. DOE announced that it will provide $12 million in funding next year to the lab, with the potential for more than $100 million in additional funding over the next five years. CBI will pursue a host of new technologies to alleviate critical cost barriers to sustainable, economically viable production of biobased products and advanced biofuels. To learn more about the award and ORNL’s biofuels research, click here.
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| 30% of U.S. Fleets Now Have Newest Technology Clean Diesel Trucks
According to new research commissioned by the Diesel Technology Forum, 30% of the nation’s trucking fleet now has new clean diesel truck engines, which has yielded significant emission reductions and fuel savings. Almost 3 million heavy-duty diesel commercial vehicles introduced in the U.S. from 2011 through 2016 are now powered by the latest-generation clean diesel engines. Over a five-year period, the newest generation commercial vehicles have saved 4.2 billion gallons of diesel fuel, and reduced 43 million tons of CO2, 21 million tons of NOx and 1.2 million tons of particulate matter. Click here to learn more.
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| UT Students Turn Standard Camero into a Hybrid in EcoCAR3
Students at UT, Knoxville recently completed another round of the EcoCAR 3 challenge, a U.S. DOE Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition with sponsorship from General Motors. EcoCAR 3 is a four-year long competition whereby 16 North American university teams are challenged to redesign a Chevrolet Camaro to reduce its environmental impact while maintaining the muscle and performance expected from this iconic car. The third year of the competition just wrapped up and the UT group came in fifth place. Learn more about UT’s EcoCAR 3 efforts here.
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| TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, INCENTIVES, AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
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| Fast Fleet is a nationwide program that scores fleets to recognize organizations that successfully incorporate and adopt electric vehicle technologies. Fast Fleet requires just two pieces of performance data each year: the total number of electric vehicles in a fleet and the total number of miles driven. Recognition is open to all public and private fleets. To learn more or apply, visit the Center for Sustainable Energy fleet awards website.
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| PERC Expands Propane Autogas Nozzle Incentive
The Propane Education and Research Council (PERC) is expanding its Quick-Connect Nozzle Incentive Program availability to fleets and doubling the incentive amounts for applicants, effective immediately through the end of June. Private fleets and public refueling stations are now eligible to apply for the incentive program, which will provide $100 per tank-side connector and $1,000 per hose-end connector. Unlike older nozzle designs, quick-connect nozzles can be operated with one hand and do not require the user to wear protective eyewear or gloves, making the experience much like a conventional fuel nozzle. For more information and to apply for the incentive, click here.
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| TRB Funding for Transit Innovators
The Transportation Research Board (TRB) is accepting proposals for the Transit Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (IDEA) Program. The Transit IDEA Program provides financial support of up to $100,000 for the early stage development and testing of innovative and unproven concepts and methods for advancing transit practice. The due date for submitting Transit IDEA proposals is November 1. For more information and to view the full funding opportunity announcement, click here.
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| National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium Offers Propane Autogas Course
The National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) launched a new, three-day propane autogas vehicle technician training course, which includes an overview of propane technology, automotive components, and autogas-related systems. According to NAFTC, the course discusses propane characteristics, fuel systems, vehicle compatibility, system components, and safety practices in order to give qualified technicians an in-depth understanding of servicing and maintaining propane autogas-powered vehicles. Funded by the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), this new training is being offered for free to professional automotive technicians. The training will be held September 12-14 in New Britain, Connecticut. Click here for more information.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
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| Webinar: Cost-Benefit Methodologies for Evaluating Multimodal Freight Corridor Investments
The webinar will include a discussion on how to conduct cost-beefit analyses of proposed infrastructure investments for multimodal, multi-jurisdictional freight corridors. Presenters will illustrate how the guidebook may help decision makers and other stakeholders at local, state, regional, and national levels. For more information and to register, contact Reggie Gillum at RGillum@nas.edu.
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| Southeast Diesel Collaborative 12th Annual Partners Meeting
The Southeast Diesel Collaborative is a public-private partnership composed of stakeholders from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Its goal is to improve air quality and public health by reducing emissions from existing diesel engines. From September 13-15, the 12th Annual Southeast Diesel Collaborative Partners’ Meeting will take place in Atlanta, GA. The conference will focus on nationally and regionally significant diesel emissions issues related to freight, public fleets and non-road focus areas. On September 13, OEP Director Molly Cripps will provide an overview of the Volkswagen Diesel Settlement, the Environmental Mitigation Trust, TDEC's process for developing a proposed Beneficiary Mitigation Plan for the State of Tennessee, and TDEC's stakeholder engagement efforts to date. For more information and to register for the event, click here.
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| Run-on-Less Roadshow Takes a National Tour to Showcase the Next level of Tractor-Trailer Fuel Efficiency
In September, seven Class 8 tractor-trailers equipped with recent-model-year Freightliner, International, and Volvo trucks will participate in the first Run on Less roadshow to showcase fuel efficiency technologies. Organized by the North American Council for Freight Efficiency and Carbon War Room, the event will demonstrate how today's tractors-trailers use new technologies to achieve best-in-class fuel economy. These tractor-trailers will run their actual cross-country routes, report fuel savings and carbon emissions reductions in real time, and converge in Atlanta on September 24 at the North American Commercial Vehicle Show. Top drivers will represent diverse trucking fleets, hauling heavy loads through varying terrain across the country. To learn more about tractor-trailer efficiency technologies, click here.
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| Southeast Greenways and Trails Summit
The East Coast Greenway Alliance will hold its first-ever Southeast Greenways & Trails Summit in Durham, North Carolina, on October 1-3. The Summit will bring together transportation planners, elected officials, trail and public health advocates, and others who are working to improve active bicycle and pedestrian networks. For more information and to register, click here.
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| Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference and Expo
The Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference showcases the latest and greatest in advanced vehicles, fuels, and technologies. The conference, which will be held from October 11-13 at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, North Carolina, is a source of on-the-ground experience for increasing fleet efficiency and sustainability, while reducing emissions and costs. For more information and to register, click here.
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| Scrap to Profit Conference
The seventh "Scrap to Profit" conference, an initiative co-sponsored and hosted by the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), will be held on October 25-26 in Nashville. Innovation to drive new and improved scrap tire markets will be a key theme for the conference, which is also supported by the Scrap Tire Research and Education Foundation (STREF), and TDEC’s Office of Sustainable Practices and Division of Solid Waste Management. For more information and to register, click here.
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| Research on Efficiency, Sustainability of Autonomous Vehicles and Shared Mobility
A recent report by researchers at NREL shows that connectivity and automation disruptions could result either in a potential 200% increase in baseline energy consumption or in a 60% decrease in energy use. Similarly, a new report by UC Davis and the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy concludes that key benefits of electric, autonomous vehicles will not be fully realized unless users make the transition from private car ownership to a shared mobility model. While vehicle electrification and automation may produce potentially important benefits with regard to safety, convenience, and sustainability, without a corresponding shift toward shared mobility and greater use of transit and active transport, these two revolutions could significantly increase congestion and urban sprawl. In contrast, by encouraging a large increase in trip sharing, transit use, and active transport through policies that support compact and mixed-use development, cities worldwide could save an estimated $5 trillion annually by 2050. For a closer look at the study, click here. The International Transport Forum recently released a report that examines how cities can manage the challenges of geographical scale and transition to shared mobility services. The report explores how shared mobility can improve accessibility for users with impairments and analyzes the impacts of these services on the use of existing high-capacity public transportation and on access to jobs. For more information and to access the report, click here.
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| Consideration for Corridor and Community DC Fast Charging System Design
A new report by Idaho National Lab focuses on direct current fast charger (DCFC) systems for electric vehicles and how they can be deployed to provide convenient charging for electric vehicle drivers. It considers lessons learned from previous DCFC deployment and data collection activities are shared to describe consumer experience with DCFC systems to date. For more information and to access the report, click here.
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| Social, Economic, Sustainability, and Human Factors in Transit
The Transportation Research Board recently published a journal, which contains eight papers that explore various issues in transit, such as market research of low-income commuters, transit corridor livability, and scenario analyses of social equity implications in transit planning. For more more information and to access the journal, click here.
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| Report on the Role of State Policies under Federal Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards
Resources for the Future has recently released a report that examines the extent to which state policies target emissions of different types of vehicles, and the effects of those policies in decreasing national greenhouse gas emissions in the short and long run. For more information and to access the report, click here.
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| Idling Reduction for Emergency Vehicles: A Case Study
U.S. DOE has released a fact sheet that summarizes the findings from a case study in which emergency vehicle fleets adopted idling reduction technologies. These technologies include battery auxiliary power units (APUs), diesel APUs, electrified parking spaces, and a managed engine stop/start system. To view the results from the case study and to find out more, click here.
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| FHWA Report on Innovative Financing to Support Alternative Fuels Infrastructure
FHWA recently published a report on Innovative Financing to Support Alternative Fuels Infrastructure. The report discusses current efforts by U.S. DOE and FHWA to identify barriers to greater private investment in alternative fuels infrastructure and describes traditional and innovative financing mechanisms that could be used to help address them. For more information and to access the report, click here.
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| Study: EVs Provide Jobs and Economic Benefits for Georgia
A new study commissioned by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) and Plug-In America explores the economic benefits that a state investment of a $2500 tax credit and reduced user fee would bring to the State of Georgia. The results show that $54 million dollars in increased income to the state, 951 full time jobs and $100.4 million in gains to Georgia GDP with the implementation of these policies. Further, it demonstrates no negative impacts. For every public dollar that supports these policies, between $2.25 and $7.59 private dollars are invested back into Georgia and our local economies. To access the full study, click here. For additional information, check out Electrify the South, a new campaign to build support and momentum for growing electric vehicle awareness in the Southeast.
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