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| News and Events: Funding Opportunity Announcement:
Upcoming Events and Activities: Resources and Guides:
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| TDEC Recognized for Participation in Commuter Challenge Nashville Connector, Davidson County’s first transportation demand management program, helps employers and employees in the Nashville region plan for a better commute. From October 22-28, Nashville Connector held its inaugural Commuter Challenge for Nashville’s downtown commuters, encouraging them to not drive alone for at least one trip to work during the week and to instead utilize alternative forms of transportation and/or work remotely. 154 Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) employees participated in the challenge. On November 20, Mayor David Briley recognized TDEC as the winner of the Commuter Challenge Government Agency Award for its exceptional employee participation, which resulted in the following transportation impacts: - 501 fewer vehicles on the road;
- 19,614 vehicle miles traveled (VMT) avoided; and
- 7.9 metric tons of CO2 emissions avoided.
TDEC Office of Energy Programs (OEP) employee Alisha Brewer used alternative transportation options for her 160 mile roundtrip commute for all five days of the Commuter Challenge. She, too, was recognized by Mayor Briley as the TDEC employee with the highest reported VMT reductions during the challenge week.
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| SmartCharge Nashville Seeks EV Driver Participation SmartCharge Nashville is a new research opportunity to help local utility companies prepare Tennessee for greater electric vehicle (EV) adoption. If you drive an EV, SmartCharge Nashville needs your help to understand the needs of current and future electric vehicle owners by gathering information on how EVs charge today. Data gathered by the SmartCharge program will inform development of infrastructure and programs that support EV utilization and maintain low cost, reliable electric service in the future. Participants will gain access to their own driving and charging data, as well as information on emissions reductions achieved by driving an EV, via an online dashboard. Participants will also receive up to $100 in compensation for their participation in the study. Enrollment is open to anyone in the Greater Nashville area who currently drives a plug-in EV and is a customer of either Nashville Electric Service (NES) or Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation (MTEMC). Enrollment is limited, so those interested are encouraged to register soon! More details can be found on the signup website at https://www.FleetCarma.com/SmartChargeNashville/. SmartCharge Nashville is a voluntary program for EV drivers in the greater Nashville area. The program is being managed by FleetCarma ,a company specializing in electric vehicle data collection in partnership with the Tennessee Valley Authority and local utility companies Nashville Electric Service and Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation. Please contact your local power company with further questions about the program.
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| New Propane Autogas Station in Greeneville Alliance AutoGas has opened a new propane autogas station in Greeneville, TN. The station was constructed through a public-private partnership and will serve as a refueling point both for vehicles in the local NET Trans fleet as well as for soon-to-be-converted propane police cars in the City’s police force. Watch the video below for more information on the station. Learn more about propane autogas and other alternative fuels at U.S. DOE’s Alternative Fuels Data Center.
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| City of Knoxville Awarded Transportation Alterantives Grant The Transportation Alternatives Program is made possible through a federally funded program administered by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). Through these grants, TDOT has funded more than $372 million in transportation projects; the program has assisted communities all over the state in their efforts to revitalize downtowns, highlight historic areas, provide alternative means of transportation, and increase opportunities for economic development. A variety of activities—such as the restoration of historic facilities, bike and pedestrian trails, and other non-traditional transportation projects—are eligible for grant funds under the program.
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| University and K-12 Efficient Vehicle Design Competitions Renewed for Upcoming Program Cycles U.S. DOE, General Motors, and MathWorks recently announced the relaunch of the EcoCar Mobility Challenge, a collegiate automotive competition where teams across the U.S. receive a vehicle—for this cycle, a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer donated by General Motors—and work to improve the vehicle’s energy efficiency, automation, and performance, while balancing factors like emissions, safety, utility, and consumer appeal. During the upcoming cycle, teams will have four years to design, integrate, and refine advanced propulsion systems, electrification strategies, SAE Level 2 automation (e.g., automatic acceleration and steering), and innovative connectivity technologies within the Blazer. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is one of twelve universities participating in the challenge. For more information about the program, the participating schools, or the competition sponsors, please visit avtcseries.org. Additionally, organizers of the Chattanooga Green Prix announced that this local competition would be renewed for the 2018-2019 school year. In its 2017-2018 inaugural year, the green|spaces Green Prix program challenged eight K-12 schools to design, build, and race electric-powered F24 or Goblin Style race cars. The program has now expanded to include an additional 20 schools for the upcoming program year. School districts that would like to participate or other parties interested in sponsoring a school’s race car should contact Dawn Hjelseth at Dawn@greenspaceschattanooga.org or 423-648-0963. Watch the video below to see last year’s Green Prix students in action.
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| FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ANNOUNCEMENT
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| School Bus Replacement Grant - Applications Due December 14
TDEC has released its first solicitation for projects under the Volkswagen Diesel Settlement Environmental Mitigation Trust (EMT). Under this solicitation, $8,710,353.78 in EMT funding is available for eligible Class 4-8 School Bus projects. The grant program, managed by TDEC’s Office of Energy Programs, will provide financial assistance to public, nonprofit and private fleets in Tennessee that apply to receive funding to replace a minimum of one eligible School Bus with any new diesel, Alternate Fueled or All-Electric School Bus. School Buses eligible for replacement include 2009 engine model year or older Class 4-8 School Buses sold or introduced into interstate commerce for purposes that include carrying students to and from school or related events. Eligible School Buses may include Type A-D School Buses. - Grants shall not exceed $750,000 per Grantee.
- Eligible applicants include both Government and Non-Government entities. “Government” shall mean a State or local government agency (including a school district, municipality, city, county, special district, transit district, joint powers authority, or port authority, owning fleets purchased with government funds), and a tribal government or native village. More information on applicant eligibility can be found in the Application Manual.
- School Buses eligible for replacement include 2009 engine model year or older Class 4-8 School Buses sold or introduced into interstate commerce for purposes that include carrying students to and from school or related events. Eligible School Buses may include Type A-D School Buses.
- Applications may include a variety of eligible vehicle and/or fuel types.
Applications must be submitted electronically through the TDEC Online Grants System by 4:00 PM CST on December 14, 2018. Please refer to TDEC’s “About the Online Grants System” webpage to learn more about the TDEC Online Grants Management System, including how to register and apply. Awards are expected to be announced in January 2019, and the expected timeframe for grant contracting efforts will be March 2019.
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| UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES
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| Middle-West Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition Meeting in Jackson
Middle-West Tennessee Clean Fuels (MWTCF) will host a coalition meeting from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM on December 7, 2018 at Cypress Grove Nature Park (866 Airway Blvd) in Jackson. MWTCF staff will discuss a number of upcoming funding opportunities (including those under the VW Settlement, the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program, and others) as well as highlight the use of alternative fuels in fleets across Middle and West Tennessee. A tour of the Waste Management CNG refueling facility is tentatively scheduled to occur immediately after the meeting. Click here to register for the meeting.
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| TREEDC 2018 Renewable Energy Summit
The Tennessee Renewable Energy and Economic Development Council (TREEDC) will host its 2018 Renewable Energy Summit at Tennessee Technology University in Cookeville from December 13-14. This conference will feature a mayoral panel on best practices in economic development, energy efficiency, and innovation in renewable energy. Attendees will also hear from state and federal government leaders on the future of renewable energy and transportation, including a presentation from TDEC OEP’s Assistant Commissioner on the VW Settlement in Tennessee. A free networking reception for registered attendees will be held on the evening of December 13. Register for the event here. View the event agenda here.
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| The Transportation Research Board (TRB) will host its 98th Annual Meeting from January 13-17, 2019 in Washington, D.C. Early bird registration for the meeting will end on November 30. The meeting program will feature more than 5,000 presentations in nearly 800 sessions and workshops, addressing topics of interest to policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. Presentations will address all modes of the transportation sector, including those topics that align with the meeting’s 2019 theme, “Transportation for a Smart, Sustainable, and Equitable Future.” Click here to learn more about the Annual Meeting.
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| NASEO 2019 Energy Policy Outlook Conference
The National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) 2019 Energy Policy Outlook Conference will examine the key policies and initiatives needed to drive modernization and resilience across the nation’s energy infrastructure – grid, pipelines, buildings, and transportation. Join top state and federal energy policymakers and private sector leaders from around the country on February 5-8, 2019 in Washington, D.C. for in-depth discussions on the critical investments needed for strong, reliable, and affordable grid, transportation, and buildings systems. Click here to register and learn more about the conference.
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| Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicle 3.0 U.S. DOT recently released the third version of its federal guidance for autonomous vehicles. The latest resource, “Preparing for the Future of Transportation: Automated Vehicles 3.0,” builds upon previous guidance released by U.S. DOT and incorporates results from extensive stakeholder engagement to provide updated voluntary guidance and policy considerations for a range of industry sectors, including manufacturers and technology developers, infrastructure owners and operators, commercial motor carriers, public transit agencies, and State and local governments. AV 3.0 supports the safe development of automated vehicle technologies by: - Providing new multi-modal safety guidance;
- Reducing policy uncertainty and clarifying roles; and
- Outlining a process for working with U.S. DOT as technology evolves.
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| Legislative Primer on Electric Bicycles The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) recently released a legislative primer outlining State electric bicycle (e-bike) laws. E-bikes have grown in popularity in recent years due to their low-speed electric motor, which provides a boost of power to climb hills and thus extends the range of trips where a bicycle can be used. The document reviews current legislation on e-bikes in states throughout the country and provides extensive information on the e-bike classification system along with registration and licensure requirements. NSCL finds that cultural norms, law enforcement of speed limits, physical infrastructure, and other factors will all play a role in determining how legislators will treat adoption and accommodation of e-bikes.
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| Cities Use Bike Share Data to Improve Streets A recent article published by the MIT Technology Review examines how city planners and officials are using ridership data from bike share companies to understand how to best allocate bicycle parking and where to invest in new bicycle infrastructure. For example, the City of South Bend has used local trip data from bike share provider Lime to identify places for new bike paths, protected bike lanes, and formal bicycle drop-offs. This type of collaboration between City officials and private companies shows how cities can leverage bike share innovations to help improve their streets and efficiently invest in multimodal transportation infrastructure.
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