Clarksville

Clarksville’s Department of Electricity, CDE Lightband, joined Seven States Power Corporation (7SPC), TVA, and TDEC for the grand opening of four new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations off of I-24 at 701 Sango Road in Clarksville as part of the Fast Charge TN Network, which aims to upgrade major travel corridors across Tennessee.

Bean Station

Appalachian Electric Cooperative, in partnership with 7SPC, TVA, and TDEC, installed a Fast Charge TN Network station in Bean Station along U.S. 11W.

Atoka

EOS Linx, owner and operator of a solar-supported EV charging network, is partnering with 7SPC to provide public EV charging in Atoka through the installation and operation of a DC fast charger and Level 2 EV chargers along U.S. 51S, a key Tennessee EV corridor. These chargers will be installed later this year.

The Drive Electric Tennessee (DET) “Local Government EV Action Plan” series was created by DET’s Policies & Programs Working Group. This multi-chapter video series was created with municipalities in mind to give local officials an opportunity to learn how to best implement EVs and EV charging infrastructure within their communities.

Along with UTK, the ATEMS-TN coalition currently includes TDEC, TVA, Tennessee State University, Tennessee Tech University, the University of Memphis, UT-Chattanooga, Vanderbilt University, all 40 technical and community colleges governed by the Tennessee Board of Regents, the UT-Oak Ridge Innovation Institute, Tennessee’s Department of Economic and Community Development, TDOT, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, economic development organizations, start-up incubators and accelerators, community organizations, and industry partners including AT&T, Bridgestone, Denso, FedEx, the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), and Volkswagen. The coalition is actively recruiting new members.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the city’s startup accelerator, The Company Lab (CO.LAB), have established a memorandum of understanding to provide students and scientists from the University’s Center for Urban Informatics and Progress (CUIP) with opportunities to apply knowledge in Smart City research and to find solutions to society-scale challenges.

CO.LAB will allow local, regional, and national startups to partner specifically with CUIP via the Sustainable Mobility Accelerator. The selection of companies will be based on their potential to develop or advance solutions within CUIP’s research areas. Over a 10-week development program for leaders of businesses selected to participate, CO.LAB will provide support, expertise, and connections to resources.

Engaging with CUIP means selected businesses will work with the experts behind the nation’s largest “living testbed” for electric vehicles, a system within Chattanooga that enables EV drivers to more readily locate charging stations by recognizing the charge level of individual EVs, volume and pace of traffic, and electric grid power demand to recommend charging stations and types by location.

The U.S. DOE launched the Bioenergy Research and Education Bridge Program (BRIDGES), a case study-based curriculum designed to encourage careers in bioenergy fields. Intended to be taught in diverse settings, the all-inclusive classroom materials within the BRIDGES Program can be used in high school or university courses focused on biology, environmental science, or chemistry.

U.S. DOE’s Bioenergy Technologies Office and its partners have developed four sets of student and instructor guides focused on topical, authentic case study scenarios in the bioenergy field. Each case study explores solutions for a more secure energy future using bioenergy technologies. Additional information and case study materials can be found on the BRIDGES Educator Resources Portal.

Mountain City will be taking steps to become a more walkable place after winning the U.S. Department of Transportation's Thriving Communities Grant. Through First Tennessee Rural Planning Organization’s technical assistance, context-sensitive design solutions will be created for a walkable town center that supports the community’s ADA transition plan. Mountain City will use its funding to improve pedestrian safety around the downtown area as well as to and from schools. 

EPA has announced a technical Request for Information (RFI) on zero-emissions heavy-duty vehicles and port equipment to inform the development of the new Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles and Clean Ports Programs under the Inflation Reduction Act. EPA invites manufacturers, fleets, ports, municipalities, school districts, utilities, and other stakeholders with zero-emission technology experience or understanding to respond to this RFI by June 5.

Recordings of previous Joint Office webinars are available at driveelectric.gov/webinars.

U.S. DOE is hosting a webinar on Bidirectional Charging on May 24 at 3:00 pm Eastern as part of the EVGrid Assist: Accelerating the Transition initiative. The webinar on bidirectional charging will share a glimpse into the future potential of EV batteries, the grid services EVs could provide, as well as challenges to widespread implementation and highlights of actual projects piloting bidirectional capabilities.

Recordings of previous EVGrid Assist webinars can be found at www.energy.gov/EVGridAssist.

Driving EV Leadership Event

MLGW and Tennessee Clean Fuels are hosting a Driving EV Leadership Event on May 25 from 8:00 am to 12:30 pm Central at Shelby Farms Park FedEx Event Center to advise businesses, school districts, and local governments with fleets on State and local transportation electrification initiatives, upcoming funding opportunities, and tips for adding EVs to their fleets. The interactive workshop will include the identification of resources to aid organizations in EV adoption as well as interactive polls to obtain real-time feedback. Immediately after, an EV Car Show with potential Ride & Drive/Ride & Learn opportunities will be held. Registration is required.

U.S. DOE Clean Cities is offering a "Coffee with a Researcher" webinar series for coalitions and stakeholders exploring energy-efficient mobility system (EEMS) topics. This conversational series is open to the public and will create mutually beneficial connections between Clean Cities coalitions, clean transportation stakeholders, and EEMS researchers at national laboratories.

CO.LAB, a nonprofit startup business incubator in Chattanooga, is accepting applications for its new Sustainable Mobility Accelerator with a focus on finding equitable ways to move people, goods, energy, and data. 

The program will support the growth of six startups per cohort, selected twice per year through its network of mentors, technologists, industry experts, venture capitalists, and local corporate partners. Each selected startup will receive a $20k initial investment with additional funding consideration after the program.

Example industries the program will support include:

Applications are due June 30. Additional information is available on the Sustainable Mobility Accelerator’s gener8tor page.  

The U.S. DOT’s Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Program supports the development of a comprehensive safety action plan that identifies the most significant roadway safety concerns in a community and the implementation of projects and strategies to address roadway safety issues.

Eligible entities can apply for Planning and Demonstration Grants to develop, complete, or supplement a comprehensive safety action plan. A safety action plan aims to develop a holistic, well-defined strategy to prevent roadway fatalities and serious injuries in a locality, Tribe, or region. Funding is also available for Implementation Grants to implement projects and strategies identified in a safety action plan to address a roadway safety problem. Eligible applicants include a metropolitan planning organization, a political subdivision of a State or territory, a federally recognized Tribal government, and a multijurisdictional group of entities described in any of the previously mentioned entities.

The U.S. DOT is hosting multiple informational webinars for the program, which will also be recorded and available as resources for applicants. Review the Notice of Funding Opportunity here. Applications are due July 10.

EPA’s 2023 Clean School Bus Grant Program will award approximately $400 million in competitive grant funding to eligible applicants for the purchase of zero-emission school buses, clean school buses, and zero-emission charging infrastructure. Funding is available for two sub-programs, the School District Sub-program for school districts and Tribal applicants and the Third-Party Sub-program for third-party applicants.

EPA is prioritizing applications that will replace buses serving high-need local education agencies, rural areas, Tribal school districts funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and public school districts receiving basic support payments for students living on Tribal land and rural areas.

Applications close on August 22 and must be submitted through Grants.gov. EPA will host webinars to provide potential applicants with an overview of this funding opportunity and how to apply. An informational webinar will take place on May 18 at 1:00 Eastern. Register for the webinar here.

To request no-cost technical assistance or support in completing an application, contact the TN BEEP (Bus Electrification, Education, and Planning) Partnership here: https://www.driveelectrictn.org/beep/. Additional resources are available on the Clean School Bus Grant Program website. For more information about the program, sign up for Clean School Bus Program news or contact cleanschoolbus@epa.gov.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory released a report on “Electric Vehicle Efficiency Ratios for Light-Duty Vehicles Registered in the United States.” EVs use energy more efficiently than gasoline vehicles, a primary attribute enabling other benefits such as improved torque and reduced operating costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

An electric vehicle efficiency ratio (EVER)—representing the distance a given amount of energy propels an EV divided by the distance it propels a gasoline vehicle—is therefore important when calculating the financial and environmental benefits of EVs. This paper calculates the EVER for all 2021 light-duty vehicles registered in the United States. The analysis also benchmarked EVERs across various vehicle classes, drive systems, drive cycles, and horsepower-to-weight ratios. The overall EVER in the United States was calculated as 4.4, meaning that the average EV travels 4.4 times farther on a given amount of energy than the average gasoline vehicle.

Visit the TDEC Office of Energy Programs Website at http://www.tn.gov/environment/energy.

Past Monthly Newsletters: 

April 2023

March 2023

February 2023

For more information or to submit an idea for a future Monthly Transportation Edition, contact:

Audrey Jackson, Communications Officer
TDEC Office of Energy Programs
615-917-6683 or audrey.jackson@tn.gov

OR

Alexa Voytek, Deputy Director, OEP Programs
U.S. DOE State Energy Program / Innovation & Transportation / Communications
TDEC Office of Energy Programs
 615-613-1096 or alexa.voytek@tn.gov

OR

Mark Finlay, Senior Energy Analyst, TDEC Office of Energy Programs
615-772-6011 or mark.finlay@tn.gov

Acknowledgement: This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the State Energy Program Award Number DE-EE0009487

Disclaimer: This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government.  Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.