The OurEnergyLibrary aggregates and indexes publicly available fact sheets, journal articles, reports, studies, and other publications on U.S. energy topics. It is updated every week to include the most recent energy resources from academia, government, industry, non-profits, think tanks, and trade associations. Suggest a resource by emailing us at info@ourenergypolicy.org.
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Cars and light trucks in the United States consume about 8 million barrels of gasoline per day, which is more than the total amount of petroleum produced in the United States and accounts for 18 percent of national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Consumption and emissions have been rising at about 1.5 percent per year.
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles could alter these trends. On a vehicle technology spectrum that stretches from fossil fuel–powered conventional vehicles (CVs) through hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) to all-electric vehicles (AEVs), PHEVs fall between the latter two types: they can run either in gasoline-fueled hybrid electric mode …
View Full ResourcePlug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) can use both grid-supplied electricity and liquid fuels. We show that under recent conditions, millions of PHEVs could have charged economically in California during both peak and off-peak hours even with modest gasoline prices and real-time electricity pricing. Special electricity rate tariffs already in place for electric vehicles could successfully render on-peak charging uneconomical and off-peak charging very attractive. However, unless battery prices fall by at least a factor of two, or gasoline prices double, the present value of fuel savings is smaller than the marginal vehicle costs, likely slowing PHEV market penetration in California. …
View Full ResourceThe prospect for electric vehicles (EVs) as a climate change solution hinges on their widespread adoption across the political spectrum. In this paper, we use detailed county-level data on new vehicle registrations from 2012-2022 to measure the degree to which EV adoption is concentrated in the most leftleaning U.S. counties, and how this concentration has changed over time. The results point to a strong and enduring correlation between political ideology and U.S. EV adoption. During our time period about half of all EVs went to the 10% most Democratic counties, and about one-third went to the top 5%. There is …
View Full ResourceThe U.S. transportation sector accounts for one-third of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions—the largest share of all primary sectors, including electricity production, industry, commercial and residential, and agriculture. Electrified transportation has significant potential to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and help tackle the climate crisis.
Electrifying our transportation sector requires bold action to ensure the necessary infrastructure is in place for Americans to be able to ride and drive electric. According to a recent study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1.2 million public
charging stations will be needed to support 33 million light-duty vehicles by 2030. The Infrastructure Investment …
In partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund, Global Optimism, and Systems Change Lab, RMI is pleased to present the first in a series of reports analyzing the exponential growth of renewable energy technologies globally. The series demonstrates why and how major areas of the energy system, from electricity and electric vehicles to hydrogen and heat pumps, are achieving further market penetration and getting us closer to global climate goals, faster than many realize.
In X-Change: Electricity, RMI’s Kingsmill Bond, Sam Butler-Sloss, Amory Lovins, Laurens Speelman, and guest author Nigel Topping, former High Level Climate Champion, make the case that solar …
View Full ResourceEven though heavy-duty trucks make up 4 percent of vehicles on the road in the United States, they are responsible for 20 percent of the transportation system’s pollution. Electrifying trucks nationwide can significantly reduce air pollution and improve health impacts, all while decreasing owners’ operating and maintenance costs.
A growing number of private and public decision makers are considering or are in the process of developing and implementing initiatives to strengthen local EV charging infrastructure so it can support the increasing number of electric trucks. But many, including utilities and fleet owners, are concerned that these efforts won’t be enough.…
View Full ResourceThe trucking industry is a critical part of the economy, transporting 71.6 percent of U.S. goods totaling $10.4 trillion. But trucks are also a significant source of pollution, having emitted seven percent of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2020. Electric trucks can reduce GHG emissions while also providing other benefits, including better safety and improved public health. Major fleets have committed to transitioning at least 30% of their new heavy-duty truck purchases to be zero-emission vehicles, including electric models, by 2030. But many companies are daunted by the extra upfront cost of electric trucks, as well as challenges like …
View Full Resource2022 was a pivotal year of both opportunity and continued risk for the sustainability of the global electric vehicle (EV) battery supply chain. Countries in key markets are elevating their transportation electrification ambitions while also taking steps towards centering environmental protection and human rights in the supply chain. Yet more work is needed to ensure that parties are held to consistently high standards worldwide. Throughout 2022, UC Berkeley’s Center for Law, Energy & the Environment (CLEE), along with ClimateWorks, has conducted outreach to a variety of organizations active in EV battery supply chain sustainability efforts—including human rights and transportation electrification …
View Full ResourceTo support Connecticut’s goal to deploy 125,000-150,000 electric vehicles (EVs) by 2025, the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) established a nine-year statewide EV charging program—administered by Eversource Energy and The United Illuminating Company—that aims to install nearly 65,000 EV charging ports by 2030. On behalf of the Connecticut Office of Consumer Counsel, this Applied Economics Clinic (AEC) white paper reviews EV charging programs in Connecticut and fourteen other states (California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont) and compares those programs’ ability to provide net benefits to consumers …
View Full ResourceElectricity is central to many parts of life in modern societies and will become even more so as its role in transport and heating expands through technologies such as electric vehicles and heat pumps. Power generation is currently the largest source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions globally, but it is also the sector that is leading the transition to net zero emissions through the rapid ramping up of renewables such as solar and wind. At the same time, the current global energy crisis has placed electricity security and affordability high on the political agenda in many countries.
The International Energy …
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