Awards Recognize Transportation Emission Reduction Efforts in North Carolina
The 13th annual North Carolina Mobile Clean Air Renewable Energy (CARE) awards and the NC Smart Fleet awards were announced as part ofthe 2019 Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference & Expo held at the Durham Convention Center in Durham, N.C. The Mobile CARE and NC Smart Fleet awards are given by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC).
The Mobile CARE awards recognize transportation emission reduction efforts that are advancing alternative fuel and transportation technology activities in North Carolina. For Mobile CARE, candidates were sought in three main categories: Individual, Policy/Organization, and Fuel/Technology Providers.
This year, the judges selected Lisa Poger, North Carolina Electric Transportation Manager for Duke Energy for the Individual Award; Clean Air Carolina for the Organization Award; and Cummins for the Technology Provider Award.
N.C. Smart Fleet focuses on fleet commitment and accomplishments in reducing petroleum use, thus reducing CO2 emissions and other harmful emissions. North Carolina based fleets (both public and private sector) are recognized by the NCCETC as supporters, leaders or champions based on their sustainability practices.
The following organizations were recognized at the NC Smart Fleet awards event:
Considering alternative fuels for your fleet? Learn more about electric vehicles!
We visited the University of North Carolina at Charlotte last year to talk to Chris Facente, Automotive and Motor Fleet Supervisor, about the university’s fleet of electric vehicles. Check out our video on it here.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte has 115 electric vehicles on its campus, including Polaris GEMs and Nissan Leafs. Facente said they’d like their fleet to be 25 percent electric in about two years.
Electric vehicles are cheaper to run because they don’t require gas and require less maintenance – and they produce no harmful emissions.
Chris Facente
Rick Sapienza, NCCETC Clean Transportation Program Manager
Learn more about electric vehicles and if this option could be right for your fleet at www.cleantransportation.org.
It’s National Drive Electric Week! Are you interested in learning more about electric and hybrid vehicles?
Join the NC Clean Energy Technology Center for National Drive Electric Week at NC State University in Raleigh, September 19-21!
Electric Vehicle Car Show + Ride & Drive on Thursday, September 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Join us for a car show and ride & drive at Venture Plaza on NC State University’s Centennial campus. For this lunchtime event, there will be food trucks, static EVs and PHEVs to look at as well as test drive. If you are an owner, there will be room for up to 10 static vehicles for the static car show. Owners are also welcome to participate in the ride & drive portion of the event. For those who just want to visit and are not part of the Centennial Campus community, pay public parking is available in front of the Hunt Library. This is the same venue as the spring 2019 Earth Day event and will be a similar setup. Come on out have lunch and learn about driving on electricity!
Driver Meet-Up & Car Show on Friday, September 20 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.:Join us for a plug-in electric vehicle driver meet-up, car show, and ride & drive outside the Close-King Indoor practice facility at the corner of Westchase Boulevard and Peter Karmanos Jr. Drive, next to Carter Finley Stadium. Bring your plug-in vehicle. Open to the public.
Electric Vehicle Show & Tailgate on Saturday, September 21, time TBD: Join us for a tailgate and plug-in electric vehicle car show outside the Close-King Indoor practice facility at the corner of Westchase Boulevard and Peter Karmanos Jr. Drive, next to Carter-Finley Stadium. Come learn about electric, plug-in hybrid electric and hybrid electric vehicles, as well as register for a chance to win NC State University Football prizes!
*For game day on Saturday, due to the game day congestion and traffic, if you do not have tickets for the game or parking arrangements, it is not advised that you come visit the plug-in electric vehicle show.
Considering alternative fuels for your fleet? Learn more about propane!
We visited The Produce Box site in Raleigh, North Carolina, last year and talked to Founder Courtney Tellefsen about their fleet of propane vehicles. Check out our new video on it here!
The Produce Box, a produce delivery company in North Carolina, serves about 11,000 families across the state. The company has eight propane trucks, which they said they chose because they burn cleaner and save $20-30K in fuel a year. Propane is also a domestic fuel, as 90 percent of it comes from the US.
Join us for an Alternative Fuel Vehicle Tailgate before the Durham Bulls baseball game on Saturday, July 13 from 5:30-6:35 p.m. outside of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park stadium! Check out a lineup of alternative fuel vehicles, which may include electric, hybrid/plug-in hybrid electric, propane, natural gas, biodiesel or ethanol.
An Energica electric motorcycle charging with a ChargePoint DC Fast Charger in Wallace, NC. – Photo by Chris Maxwell
Are you interested in installing new Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) (electric vehicle charging stations) in your North Carolina community? There are three possible sources of funding to make it happen.
EVSE; an element in an infrastructure that supplies electric energy for recharging of plug-in electric vehicles including electric cars, neighborhood electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids; is deployed throughout the country in key areas for public charging as a supplement to residential charging, according to theUS Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center.
There are three types of electric vehicle chargers – Level 1, Level 2 and DC Fast Charging. Types are classified by the rate at which the batteries are charged. Level 1 provides 2-5 miles of range per 1 hour of charging, Level 2 provides 10-20 miles of range per 1 hour of charging, and DC Fast Charging provides 60-80 miles of range per 20 minutes of charging. Learn more about each type of equipment and developing infrastructure to charge plug-in electric vehicles at the US Department of Energy Alternative Fuels Data Center website here. You can also view the current map of EV chargers in the United States and Canada here.
There are three potential sources of funds to support installation of EVSE in North Carolina:
1. The VW Settlement gives North Carolina $92 million dollars for projects to reduce vehicular air pollution. These funds will be administered by NC DEQ as a part of their beneficiary mitigation plan. Fifteen percent of these funds will be allotted for EVSE (both Level 2 and DC Fast Chargers).
The NCDEQ just released a Request For Proposals (RFP) for VW settlement funds for DC Fast chargers this week. Under the DC Fast Charge program:
• $3.4 million will be available for the installation of Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Charging Infrastructure
• Projects in designated corridors will receive priority to expand the state’s charging infrastructure network
• Projects can be submitted by eligible businesses, incorporated nonprofits, and state, local, tribal or municipal government agencies
Applications will be available on July 1, 2019, and the submission deadline is September 30, 2019. The Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Level 2 Charging program RFP will be released at a later date. Read more about the NCDEQ RFPshere.
2. The NC Clean Energy Technology Center’s Clean Transportation team also has limited grant funding for EVSE. The next Clean Fuels Advanced Technology (CFAT) project RFP will be released in the fall or winter of 2019. Funding will be restricted to projects where there is no ground disturbance involved (such as in a parking deck or where wires and conduit are already in place) – and no digging, trenching, pavement cutting, repaving, etc. is allowed. Take a look at the last round of funding for insights on what the next round may look like, and join the newsletter list to know when the next RFP will be issued by going here. For more information on CFAT funding, contact John Bonitz at jhbonitz@ncsu.edu.
A Hyundai Ioniq EV charging in Hillsborough, NC. Photo By Chris Maxwell
3. Duke Energy plans to invest $76 million to help spur EV adoption across the state, according toDuke Energy. Duke Energy’s proposal to the NC Utilities Commission would help fund the adoption of electric school buses and electric public transportation, and lead to almost 2,500 new charging stations in the state – more than doubling the amount of public stations currently in North Carolina, according to Duke Energy. The initiative is to help meet Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order goals of having 80,000 electric vehicles registered in the state and to reduce the state’s carbon footprint by 40 percent below 2005 levels within the next six years. Duke Energy’s plan includes:
• Residential EV Charging: This program will provide a $1,000 rebate for qualifying Level II charging stations for up to 800 residential customers. Level II charging allows customers to charge their EVs up to six times faster than a standard wall outlet.
• Public Charging: Duke Energy will install and operate more than 800 public charging stations across North Carolina, including DC Fast Charging, Public Level II and multifamily locations, which will expand the state’s network of EV charging stations.
• Fleet EV Charging: The program will provide a $2,500 rebate for 900 qualifying charging stations for commercial and industrial customers who operate fleets that are transitioning to electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles. Municipalities and universities also qualify for these rebates.
• EV School Bus Charging Station: Duke Energy will provide financial support to eligible customers to procure up to 85 electric school buses. Duke Energy will install the associated charging infrastructure.
• EV Transit Bus Charging Station: Duke Energy will install and operate more than 100 electric transit bus charging stations for eligible transit agencies electing to procure electric buses. Electric transit buses eliminate diesel emissions and reduce fuel and maintenance costs for transit agencies.”
Source of electricity is taken into consideration in scoring CFAT grant proposals, with renewable-sourced energy scoring higher. The NC DEQ VW Settlement program will give up to 10 bonus points when RECs are purchased to offset grid electricity purchases. The Duke Energy program is still in early stages of proposal and development, and it is not yet clear what their criteria will be.
The winners of the second annual “Keep Our Air Clean” Student Art Contest have been officially announced! Artwork will appear on billboards around North Carolina.
Elementary School Winner
Elizabeth Leonard | Fourth Grade | Grace Classical School, Jacksonville NC
North Carolina students from kindergarten through college can submit their artwork for a chance to be featured on billboards across the state
***DEADLINE EXTENDED TO SUNDAY, MAY 5***
TheNorth Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) has officially launched the 2nd Annual “Keep Our Air Clean” Student Art Contest, where students in North Carolina from kindergarten through college can submit their artwork for a chance to be featured on billboards across the state!
Artwork should focus on actions that people can take to reduce air pollution from vehicles and help keep our air clean. Examples: walking, biking, using public transportation, using electric vehicles or biofuels, and more. Please make artwork family-friendly and non-partisan. You can learn about the alternatives at cleantransportation.orgorfuelwhatmatters.org.
Artwork in a more horizontal rectangular shape (about the shape of a billboard) is recommended. Recommended dimensions: 400h x 1400w pixels at 72 ppi in RGB mode 400h x 840w pixels at 72 ppi Save as JPG, PNG or BMP at maximum quality
The winner will be chosen based on:
Relevance and appropriateness of the message
Visual design
Public votes on our Facebook account
Art submissions will be accepted through Sunday, May 5. Please submit by emailing Heather Brutz at hmbrutz@ncsu.edu.
Artists who are over 18 or parents/legal guardians submitting on behalf of their children can submit artwork by directly emailing Heather Brutz at hmbrutz@ncsu.edu. You are agreeing to the legal terms below. Teachers submitting artwork on behalf of their students must return a signed permission form.
For more information or any questions, email Heather Brutz at hmbrutz@ncsu.edu.
Legal Terms
By submitting this photograph, image, graphic, or video (collectively the “work”) you hereby agree to the following:
• You certify and warrant that you are the legal guardian of the minor who is submitting the artwork or are the artist and are legally an adult.
• You certify and warrant that the work is your work or your child’s own original creative work and does not violate or infringe the copyright or other proprietary or intellectual property rights of others.
• You retain all copyright and equivalent rights but grant permission for NC State to use, reproduce, distribute, and/or release the work to the public in any manner and in any medium without payment of any fee, and in perpetuity.
• North Carolina State University reserves the right to use contestants’ names and works for educational publicity and/or promotional purposes, including website or exhibition of winning entries. You understand that the works will be shared with reporters covering these awards and for promotion of the competition itself. You hereby give North Carolina State University nonexclusive rights to use yours or your child’s name, likenesses, quotes and submissions for educational publicity and/or promotional purposes. This includes but is not limited to website display, print materials and exhibits.
• You hereby agree to indemnify NC State, its trustees, officers, agents, and employees, from any and all claims, demands, and liabilities (including attorneys’ fees) incurred as a result of a final judgment or settlement or any claim or legal proceeding arising out of or resulting from a breach or claimed breach of the foregoing representations and warranties.
Last week, the City of Greensboro unveiled its first electric buses during a grand opening in Greensboro, NC. Greensboro is officially the first City in North Carolina to use electric buses in its transit system.
The City will have 10 buses in operation in the coming weeks, and plans to have another three to six more buses by the end of the year, bringing the total to 16, or 30 percent of the entire fleet, according to Spectrum News.
According to Rhino Times, this means Greensboro will have the second largest bus fleet on the East Coast behind Philadelphia.
N.C. Department of Transportation Chairman Mike Fox, Proterra CEO Ryan Popple, Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan, and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper were in attendance at the Greensboro unveiling last week.
“This is smarter, this is the way of the future and this is a way for us to make sure we create better paying jobs in North Carolina and become healthier and cleaner while we’re doing it,” Governor Roy Cooper said.
The rechargeable electric Proterra buses are more efficient and more environmentally friendly.
They are 40-foot and powered by batteries that can provide up to 200 miles of transportation before needing a recharge, according to Spectrum News.
The buses are also expected to cost less in both operational and maintenance expenses than a traditional bus, according to WFMY News. It’s estimated that Greensboro will save more than $350,000 per bus per year.
The City said it will take the cost savings from the electric buses and expand service, eventually replacing the entire fleet, according to Spectrum News.
Learn more about the City of Greensboro and the Greensboro Transit Authority on their website here.
