Discipline: Technology and Engineering
Subcategory: Civil/Mechanical/Manufacturing Engineering
Khayree Clark - Savannah State University
Transportation sector is the second leading source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States and one of the most controversial topics concerning transportation is how to mitigate the emissions and negative environmental impacts of vehicles. Plug-in Electric Vehicles (PEVs), including Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs), are believed to be one of the means to improve the sustainability of the road transportation by mitigating emissions. The objective of the research is to quantify the environmental impacts of electric vehicle’s penetration in the U.S., considering the electricity generation mix in each state. We developed state-level models using the Alternative Fuel Life-Cycle Environmental and Economic Transportation (AFLEET) Tool, based on the data from different sources including number of convectional cars, PHEVs and BEVs, gas and electricity prices, electricity generation mix, number of available public electric charging stations, and average vehicle miles travelled in each state in 2015. The results also showed that states with more PEV’s together with more renewable sources of energy have lower levels of emissions from light-duty vehicles. The greatest benefits from PEVs and renewable source of electricity are obtained for Hawaii with 3.3 tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, followed by Montana, and Rhode Island. Alaska, Mississippi, and Georgia have high level of GHG emissions from light-duty vehicles, implying the incompatibility of this technology in these states. Policy makers and transportation planners can use the proposed model to optimize their infrastructural investments.
Not SubmittedFunder Acknowledgement(s): Savannah State University PSLSAMP program
Faculty Advisor: Roxana Javid, javidr@savannahstate.edu
Role: The collecting of the data and producing the models to represent the data. Also doing prior research on the research topic.