#16
Clean Cities Top 20 Facts
Clean Cities has helped put 20,000 PEVs on the road
Clean Cities has made a significant contribution toward the electrification of transportation, having helped deploy more than 20,000 plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), including plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles.
The deployment of PEVs is a critical strategy to reduce U.S. dependence on petroleum. And, by using these vehicles, Clean Cities stakeholders have displaced more than 50 million gallons of petroleum just since 2010.
But these vehicles don’t just help us kick the petroleum habit—they’re ultra-efficient, which translates to low fuel costs and steep emissions reductions.
Ultra-Efficiency: A look at FuelEconomy.gov’s top 10 EPA-rated 2013 vehicles reveals that all are PEVs, with fuel-economy ratings of 90+ mpge.* In fact, electric vehicles convert about 59%–62% of the electrical energy from the grid to power at the wheels while conventional gasoline vehicles only convert about 17%–21% of the energy stored in gasoline to power at the wheels.
Low Fuel Costs: Almost everywhere in the United States, the cost of grid-supplied electricity is lower than that of gasoline. On average, gasoline costs nearly three times as much as electricity to drive the same distance. Find out how the costs compare in your state by using the Energy Department’s eGallon calculator.
For examples of how Clean Cities coalitions are working with stakeholders to deploy PEVs and the charging infrastructure to support them, see case studies on electrification projects in Arizona, Hawaii, and Missouri.
* PEVs are rated not in miles per gallon (mpg) but miles per gallon of gasoline equivalent (mpge). As FuelEconomy.gov explains, “Think of this as being similar to mpg, but instead of presenting miles per gallon of the vehicle’s fuel type, it represents the number of miles the vehicle can go using a quantity of fuel with the same energy content as a gallon of gasoline.” The mpge unit also allows buyers to compare other types of vehicles, such as those powered by compressed natural gas (because CNG is not measured in gallons).
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory
- For more information:
- Clean Cities Technical Response Service Team
- technicalresponse@icfi.com
- 800-254-6735