Press Release
Feb. 19, 2014
Contact: Laura Rehrmann, press@c2es.org, 703-516-4146

C2ES highlights findings from 16 plug-in electric vehicle initiatives

WASHINGTON — Cities and states are building the expertise needed to encourage mass market adoption of electric vehicles, according to a new report prepared by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The report summarizes the lessons learned from 16 government, educational and nonprofit groups that received $8.5 million in Energy Department grants to advance the deployment of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). Participants in projects across 24 states and the District of Columbia spent 18 months assessing the barriers to and opportunities for PEV deployment in their regions and preparing and executing plans.=

“This report is designed to be useful to public officials, business leaders, and any decision-maker interested in unlocking the economic and environmental benefits of electric vehicles,” said C2ES President Eileen Claussen. “Expanding adoption of advanced technology and alternative fuel vehicles will help Americans save money, keep more money in local economies, minimize pollution, and increase energy security.”

“To expand the market for PEVs, we’ll need policies that make it easier to own and operate PEVs, strategically deploy vehicle charging stations, and integrate PEVs into the electrical grid,” said report author Matt Frades. “By laying out strategies for ongoing work and forging new partnerships, the efforts begun across the country under these grants will foster PEV deployment for years to come.”

The C2ES report, “A Guide to the Lessons Learned from the Clean Cities Community Electric Vehicle Readiness Projects,” highlights some of the key findings, including:

• Public outreach about PEVs raises awareness, dispels misconceptions, and supports prudent policy. More information will help consumers make choices and help businesses and governments make decisions about charging station deployment.

• Incentives help overcome the roadblocks to early PEV adoption. Income tax credits and other incentives such as high-occupancy vehicle lane access have spurred PEV purchases

• Access to charging is vital at multi-family residences and workplaces.  These are the two highest priority charging locations after single-family homes, but obstacles include low early demand, lack of familiarity with PEVs, and questions about recovering costs.

• Local governments play a key role in charging station deployment. Both public and private charging infrastructure can be governed by local permitting, inspection, building codes, and zoning, parking, and signage rules.

• Electric utilities should plan for PEV adoption. Utilities will need to ensure the grid is responsive to increased demand from PEVs. They can also explore how PEVs can help manage the grid using emerging technologies.

C2ES collaborated with the Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory on the report to help communities across the country learn from the actions grant recipients took to identify and overcome barriers to PEV deployment.

Read the C2ES synthesis report.

Read the 16 PEV readiness plans: http://www.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/electric_vehicle_projects.html.

Read the DOE blog: 10 Ways Communities Can Pave the Way for PEVs

About C2ES
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an independent nonprofit, nonpartisan organization promoting strong policy and action to address the twin challenges of energy and climate change. Launched in 2011, C2ES is the successor to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. Learn more at www.c2es.org.

Electric Vehicle Readiness Project Highlights

South Coast Air Quality Management District

Region covered: California, with individual plans covering the Bay Area, Central Coast, Sacramento, San Diego, San Joaquin, and South Coast regions
Highlights: More than 500 local planning officials and members of the public attended the California grantee’s community workshops on the basics of PEV technology, ownership and charging. This workshop model could be replicated elsewhere. The grantee also developed a detailed toolkit with links to resources and sample language for local policies.
Report: http://www.pevcollaborative.org/sites/all/themes/pev/files/docs/ca_pev_readiness_report_final.pdf

American Lung Association of the Southwest
Region covered: Colorado
Highlights: The Colorado grantee performed a detailed well-to-wheels life cycle analysis, taking into account emissions from electricity generation, that concluded that the total emissions of greenhouse gases, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides from PEVs driven in the state are consistently lower than emissions from conventional vehicles.
Report: http://www.electricridecolorado.com/

South Florida Regional Planning Council
Region covered: Southeast Florida region, with consideration given to statewide policy and planning
Highlights: With multi-unit residences making up 41 percent of housing in Southeast Florida, the grantee developed fact sheets, seminars, and workshops to help residents make the case for charging stations and help building managers plan for them. The Florida grantee also completed a detailed master plan for a demonstration project for a car-sharing program along the U.S. 1 corridor in Miami Dade County. The plan calls for 15 to 20 percent of the car-share vehicles to be PEVs and for charging stations to be installed at 12 mass transit stations.
Report (Parts 1& 2):
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/pdfs/drive_electric_florida_i.pdf
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/pdfs/drive_electric_florida_ii.pdf

Metropolitan Energy Information Center, Inc.
Region covered: Greater Kansas City area with consideration given to statewide policy and planning
Highlights: The Kansas City grantee developed a model to test for weak points in the electricity distribution infrastructure under various scenarios of PEV adoption. The grantee conducted a technical analysis to support PEV travel between Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita, including identifying charging station sites, and developed a platform to facilitate future corridor development. The grantee also worked with local community colleges to develop curricula for PEV technician training programs.
Report: http://electrifyheartland.org/read-the-plan/

University of Hawaii
Region covered: Maui, Hawaii with consideration given to statewide policy and planning
Highlights: The Maui grantee planned a smart grid demonstration project in which 200 private, car share, and fleet PEV owner partners will interconnect with charge management systems (an electronic system that manages the timing of battery charging). The grantee also produced 12 episodes of a television program to inform the public about PEVs and developed an alliance of stakeholders that continues to collaborate with communities on PEVs throughout the state.
Report: http://maui.hawaii.edu/eva/home/

Clean Energy Coalition
Region covered: Michigan
Highlights: The Michigan grantee developed a toolkit for local communities with detailed recommendations, sample code language, and alternative approaches based on the desired level of action.
Report: http://cec-mi.org/mobility/programs/pluginreadymichigan/

New York City and Lower Hudson Valley Clean Communities, Inc.
Region covered: New York City
Highlights: The New York City grantee investigated the feasibility of fast-charging taxi fleets and worked with managers of car share and retail delivery vehicle fleets to use PEVs. The grantee also developed a training manual on PEV operation and charging for garages and conducted training sessions for attendants.
Report: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/pdfs/nyc_readiness_plan.pdf

Centralina Council of Governments
Region covered: North Carolina, with individual plans covering Greater Ashville, Greater Charlotte, Greater Triangle, Piedmont Triad regions as well as a statewide plan
Highlights: The North Carolina grantee compiled a detailed overview of PEV incentives offered in the state and throughout the country, presented survey results on the incentives that are desirable to fleet owners, and analyzed policy implications for the state. The effort also created structures for partnership and coordination among local and regional governments and stakeholders.
Report: http://www.ncpevtaskforce.org/

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
Region covered: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the District of Columbia
Highlights: The Northeast Regional grantee identified nine ideal types of locations for charging stations, with in-depth site typologies and case studies, to help public planners and private investors understand the opportunities and challenges inherent in each location type. The grantee also developed toolkits for how to best install charging stations, including diagrams and guidelines specific to installation settings (such as on-street parking, garages, and commercial lots). Another toolkit includes case studies and model codes for EV readiness to help local governments prepare for PEV adoption.
Report: http://www.transportationandclimate.org/northeast-electric-vehicle-network-documents

Clean Fuels Ohio
Region covered: Ohio
Highlights: The Ohio grantee analyzed the local economic impacts of fuel savings from PEV adoption and determined that out of every dollar spent on gasoline, only 16.4 cents continues to circulate in the Ohio economy. The Ohio grantee found a $1,300 economic benefit per PEV adopted in the state, in part, because saving money on gas allows consumers to spend locally.
Report: http://www.driveelectricohio.org/evplan/

Oregon Business Development Department
Region covered: Oregon
Highlights: The department staged ride-and-drive events to give consumers firsthand experience with PEVs. It also identified issues that are making organizations reluctant to install charging stations and recommended developing a workplace outreach and information program. The grantee is exploring financing options for public and nonprofit fleets that cannot access tax incentives and proposed a program to loan PEVs to fleet managers to raise awareness.
Report: http://www.evroadmap.us/content/energizing-oregon-plan

Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy
Region covered: Richmond region, with consideration given to Virginia statewide policy and planning
Highlights: The Richmond grantee organized high-profile events to educate the public about PEVs and forged new stakeholder partnerships in the community.
Report: http://www.virginiaev.org/

Center for Transportation and the Environment
Region covered: Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina
Highlights: The grantee analyzed the future need for charging infrastructure in its regions and developed plans for charging station deployment. The analysis indicated that the majority (57 percent) of charging will occur at home, followed by the workplace (26 percent). Only 17 percent of charging is projected to occur at public charging stations.
Report: http://www.cleancitiesatlanta.net/component/content/article/130-electric-vehicle-readiness-workbook

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
Region covered: Philadelphia-Camden-Trenton metropolitan area, including counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey
Highlights: The grantee analyzed household travel survey and demographic data to inform charging infrastructure investment and siting. The grantee concluded that many vehicles in its region can readily be replaced by PEVs and that a majority of the region’s charging demand can be met with residential and workplace charging.
Report (Parts 1 & 2):
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/pdfs/delaware_valley_readiness_plan.pdf
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/pdfs/delaware_valley_readiness_plan_ii.pdf

City of Austin, Austin Energy
Region covered: Central Texas region, including the greater Austin and San Antonio communities, with consideration given to statewide policy and planning
Highlights: The Texas River Cities grantee developed a tool to help electric utilities and private investors evaluate whether and how to invest in charging infrastructure. The grantee developed a best-practices guide, including a checklist and flowcharts that detail the specific roles and responsibilities of business owners, contractors, electric utilities, and government authorities. The grantee also developed a technical planning roadmap for PEV interoperability with the grid that characterizes the devices and systems necessary to enable smart grid applications, identifies and prioritizes all the points where existing and future technologies must interact, and lays out a plan for facilitating smart grid development.
Report: http://www1.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/pdfs/texas_river_cities_readiness_plan.pdf

Center for the Commercialization of Electric Technologies
Region covered: Texas Triangle region including Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston-Galveston, and San Antonio-Austin urban areas, with consideration given to statewide policy and planning
Highlights: The Texas Triangle plan itemized a menu of activities to promote PEV readiness and proposed that the state establish a PEV-Friendly Community program to provide guidance to and recognition of localities that take actions to support PEVs. The grantee also planned demonstration projects for a fleet of electric medium-duty trucks to test their ability to generate extra revenue by selling electricity back to the grid when it is most needed.
Report: http://www.electrictechnologycenter.com/texas_triangle_plan.html