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FTA Awards $49 Million for Fuel Cell Buses The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently announced $49 million in grants to accelerate research and deployment of commercially viable fuel cell buses. The awards were made by the National Fuel Cell Bus Technology Development Program, which was authorized in the recently enacted transportation law Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). Another grant recipient, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in partnership with ISE Corporation, Shell Hydrogen, Booz Allen Hamilton, Ballard and New Flyer,was awarded $8.4 million for advanced bus development and “in-use” evaluation of hybrid fuel cell buses. Two New Flyer manufactured buses will be equipped with a Ballard 155kW automotive fuel cell stack and ISE’s ThunderVolt hybrid drive system. The buses will be tested in the Washington DC area for two years. California-based AC Transit will continue its testing of fuel cell buses in partnership with UTC Power as part of a $3.6 million award. Another project at Logan Airport in Massachusetts will introduce a shuttle bus powered by a Nuvera 82kW fuel cell and ISE Corporation’s hybrid drive with the help of a $4.9 million award from FTA. “By funding this program, Congress has allowed the transit industry to continue its long tradition as an innovator in the areas of alternative fuels and technology,” said FTA Administrator James Simpson. He added, “Through this national program, we can consolidate – and accelerate – the process of making hydrogen buses commercially feasible as cleaner, more energy efficient alternatives.” For more information on the FTA awardees, please seehttp://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage6199.html
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| Mitsubishi Buzzed About Electric Cars Mitsubishi Motors Corporation has announced that it will introduce the third generation of its battery-powered electric car in Japan. The i MiEV is the electric version of the popular four-seater gasoline-powered small car “i”. The electric vehicle, a product of Mitsubishi’s in-wheel Electric Vehicle program, is equipped with a 47kW electric motor capable of 63 hp (horsepower) and 133 lb-ft of torque. The motor is powered by a 330 volt battery with a range between 80 and 100 miles. At present, Mitsubishi has no plans to introduce the car in the United States and Europe. However, the company did not rule out the possibility of bringing the car to U.S. and European markets in 2010 or 2011. The i MiEV will be tested by local utilities to ascertain long-term reliability and other performance benchmarks.
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| DaimlerChrysler Gets Large Hybrid Bus Order DaimlerChrysler Commercial Buses North America, makers of the Orion VII hybrid diesel-electric buses, has received orders totaling 411 buses from agencies in Toronto (Canada), New Jersey and California. The company will supply Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) with 360 hybrid buses, making it the second largest hybrid bus fleet in North America. TTC already operates 150 hybrids manufactured by DaimlerChrysler. In addition, San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI) will receive 30 additional diesel hybrids to add to its fleet of 56 hybrids purchased in 2005. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will make its first foray into the world of hybrids with the purchase of 21 buses for operation at Kennedy, LaGuardia, and Newark airports. With these orders, DaimlerChrysler becomes the largest hybrid bus supplier in the world with 1,470 buses on order or in service. For more information, please visit:
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| Colorado Partners with NREL on Plug-Ins As part of Colorado Tech week in September, the Colorado Governor’s Office of Energy Management and Conservation (COEMC) unveiled the state’s first plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV). The vehicle is a 2006 Toyota Prius hybrid which has been converted into a plug-in hybrid capable of all-electric operation for short distances. Other partners in the project include battery manufacturer A123Systems, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Xcel Energy. The PHEV is equipped with a lithium-ion battery pack and will eventually have vehicle-to-grid (V2G) ability, which means that it can provide power to as well as receive power from the electric grid. NREL and Xcel Energy will conduct a benefit analysis assessing the impacts of PHEVs in the transportation sector. The study will make recommendations on how best to incorporate these vehicles into the electric grid. This research will complement several ongoing and recently published studies from NREL and others on the environmental, economic and energy security impacts of these vehicles. For more information on this project, please see:
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Senators Kerry and Snowe Introduce Bipartisan Climate Change Proposal Just before Congress went into recess, Senators Mark Dayton (D-MN), Barack Obama(D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced the Renewable Fuels Promotion Act (S.4020) which would prevent petroleum retailers from entering into “exclusivity” contracts with fuel distributors that would prevent the sale of renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Exclusivity contracts between fuel distributors and retailers require the franchisee to sell only fuels provided by the distributor. Since most petroleum distributors do not offer ethanol or other renewable fuels, service stations are contractually prohibited from offering renewable fuels to their customers. This is a large barrier to the large scale market penetration of renewable fuels. The bill seeks to amend Title I of the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 2801) to remove restrictions in a franchisee agreement that would prevent installation of a renewable fuel pump on the marketing premises, conversion of an existing tank or pump for renewable fuel use, advertising the sale of the renewable fuel, and retail sale of the renewable fuel at the marketing premises. The bill was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. New York State recently enacted a similar law prohibiting exclusivity contracts from impeding retail sale of renewable fuels in the state. The new law is applicable to E85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline), biodiesel, hydrogen and compressed natural gas (CNG). Violators of the law will be subject to a $1000 penalty. For more information on the Renewable Fuels Promotion Act, please visit:
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| Holland America Plugs In Cruise Ships Cruise ship operator Holland America Line recently announced that it has retrofitted two cruise ships to operate on shore based electric power when docked to reduce diesel-related emissions and fuel consumption. The ships, which regularly dock at the Port of Seattle, will now use power supplied by Seattle City Light for onboard power. The retrofit cost nearly $1 million per ship. In addition, approximately $1.5 million was spent to equip the dock with a hook-up and a transformer. The project is supported in part by a $25,000 grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) and Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. However, Holland America has assumed the remaining costs associated with the project. According to Stein Kruse, president and chief executive office of Holland America, “We are very supportive of Mayor Nickel’s and the Port of Seattle’s initiatives to reduce emissions, which was certainly a driver in making Seattle the test port for this project.” It will cost approximately $5000 for shore power each time the retrofitted cruise ship docks. Seattle City Light will pay up to $10,000 annually to purchase greenhouse gas offsets for this use of shore power as part of the City’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. “Holland America Line has shown environmental stewardship by converting to shore power….City Light applauds Holland America Line’s decision to use clean, hydro-generated electricity when its ships are in port,” said Jorge Carrasco, Seattle City Light superintendent. For more information on Holland America’s initiative, please see:
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Study Links Air Pollution with Increased Risk of Heart Attacks A new study published in the October issue of Environmental Health Perspectives has found that people living close to traffic face an increased risk of heart attacks as a result of exposure to higher concentrations of air pollution. The study, which was led by Harvard researcher Cathryn Tonne, concluded that living in close proximity to traffic increased the chances of a heart attack by 4 percent, while people who lived close to a major roadway faced an even higher risk (5 percent more likely to have a heart attack). Researchers identified 5,049 people in Worcester, MA who had suffered from an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) between 1995 and 2003. They were able to identify an association between exposure to traffic-related air pollution and heart attacks. The study took into account other possible reasons for the heart attacks including gender, age, proximity to stationary emission sources and socioeconomic factors. This study is the latest in a string of reports linking air pollution with adverse health effects.
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Weststart-CALSTART 6th Annual HTUF National Meeting http://www.calstart.org/programs/htuf/htuf_registraion_information.php |
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EDTA Conference & Exposition 2006 |
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