TRANSPORTATION 2010

Transportation 2010

Premier Issue Efficient Transportation

Finance | Case study: How Public private partnerships are fuelling innovation for EPRI, Eaton, A123 and Ford.

Impact | Fleet operation benefits of going electric.

Interview | Duke Energy and ConEd talk about the pros and cons of PHEV trucks.

Smart Roads | Smart roads are invisible, but are becoming ubiquitous. Parsons Engineering and Telvent.

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Making Lasting iMpressions

NEWS FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE THIS ISSUE

Transportation

04. Finance | Public private partnerships are fuelling innovation. The story of one such partnership is bringing new technologies to transportation.

15. Impact | Impacts of business fleet

operation by going electric.

16. Interview | Fleet managers from Duke Energy and ConEd talk about the pros and cons of PHEV trucks.

20. Smart Roads | Smart roads are invisible, but are slowly becoming the “new roads” of tomorrow.

THE GREEN ECONOMY Transportation 2010

BUSINESS GREEN

| FINANCE

Hybrid trucks A decade long collaboration combines

with public funds to bring new technolo

By Maryruth Belsey Priebe, special to the Green Economy

private initiative ogies to fruition.

Foresight and determination are absolutely necessary for solving environmental problems. And at times, simply exercising these characteristics is all that’s needed to attract the right partners and funding for getting the job done.

At least that was the case for three organizations that recognized the need for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs)— Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Eaton Corporation, and South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD). With iron will and a clear vision for cleaner commercial transportation, they embarked on a journey that, unbeknownst to them, would eventually land them a hefty American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant many years later.

When EPRI first identified hybrids as important for their member utilities in 1999, the issue of electric commercial vehicles was essentially dead.

Yet the necessity When EPRI first for more efficient identified hybrids as commercial fleets important for their was great. With member utilities in 1999, utility vehicles the issue of electric weighing at times commercial vehicles was

essentially dead.

PHEV

Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle

BEV

“

With public support, it is likely that someday millions of Americans will fill up their vehicles at the plug instead of the pump, saving money and protecting the environment.�

John E. Bryson Chairman and CEO Edison International

Sprinter Delivery Trucks

Battery Powered Electric Vehicle

HEV

Hybrid Electric Vehicle

ICE

Internal Combustion Engine

What is a PHEV? PHEVs or Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, use grid electricity as a transportation fuel, reducing both direct emissions at the vehicle tail pipe, and indirect emissions at the fuel source when they recharge by electricity produced by a portfolio of efficient combustion, non-emitting or renewable generation.

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles combine operational aspects of both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and power assist hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). A PHEV, like a BEV, can be recharged from the electric grid, stores energy in an on-board battery and uses the energy while depleting the battery during daily driving.

Unlike a BEV, a PHEV can use its internal combustion engine in highway driving or when the battery is depleted. Because of this versatility, a PHEV can serve as a direct replacement for a conventional internal combustion engine vehicle or HEV.

$90M Total

$90M $80M $70M

$45.4M US Department of Energy

$50M

$5M

$40M

California commits percentage of ARRA funds

$2.5M EPRI identifies need and takes lead

1999

$32.5M

$5.5M

$60M

$30M

Commitments from purchasers

Eaton takes technical lead

$20M $10M

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

$0M

“

This funding is an important milestone in the advancement of plug-in hybrid vehicles, and Eaton is pleased to be a recipient.

By providing our sustainable, energy-saving technologies to power the vehicles as well as the electrical infrastructure support to help keep them running, we believe we can provide ... the technology ... to move plug-in hybrids to the next level.”

Alexander M. Cutler Chairman and CEO Eaton in excess of 19,000 pounds, and the need for these monstrous engines to run nearly all day to power heavy booms, fuel consumption and likewise greenhouse gas emissions were a big concern. So EPRI took up the challenge to stimulate the development of commercial PHEVs. It wasn’t long before the AQMD caught the vision and co-funded EPRI’s PHEV research.

Independently, Eaton, a diversified power management company, began development of their first diesel hybrid system a few years later. Seeing parallel intersects between their two organizations, EPRI soon contacted Eaton to begin discussions to work together on the development of efficient commercial fleets. The next several years saw continued testing of various commercial vehicles—from a prototype Sprinter PHEV, to a plug-in gasoline hybrid shuttle bus, and eventually a Ford F550 diesel utility truck.

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The Players EPRI Electric Power Research Institute Project manager; Overall project management

Eaton

Companies such as FedEx, UPS, Coca-Cola Enterprises, PepsiCo and Wal-Mart are now using delivery vehicles with hybrid systems. Alexander M. Cutler, chairman and chief

Technical lead; Development of hybrid plug-in system and charging infrastructure

executive officer of Eaton, a global leader in the production of

AQMD

Supporting him are dozens of utility and telecom systems

South Coast Air Quality Management District Project lead; some program management; emissions testing

across North America, including Pepco, American Electric

SCE

hybrid power systems for trucks and buses, says the technology needed to move plug-in hybrids to the next level is here.

Power, Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, Florida Power and Light and more than 50 utility and municipal fleets nationwide.

Southern California Edison Evaluating vehicles and batteries

All have found fleet savings in vehicles that integrate an

A123

recharged overnight.

Battery system

internal combustion engine with an electric motor that can be

Ford OEM chassis and power train technical support

Altec Industry Truck body builder; installation of plug-in hybrid system into individual vehicles; offers ongoing warranties and financial services (leasing) to fleets

The PARTNERS Key Player

Status

Role

Responsibility

Altec Industry

Private Industry

Truck body builder

• Installation of plugin hybrid system into individual vehicles • Ongoing warranties • Financial services (leasing) to fleets

AQMD South Coast Air Quality Management District

California Public Agency

Project lead

• Some program management • Emissions testing

A123

Private Industry

Supplying battery system

Eaton

Private Industry

Technical lead

• Development of hybrid plug-in system • Vehicle charging infrastructure

EPRI Electric Power Research Institute

Nonprofit research and public policy organization

Project manager

• Broad management of project

Southern California Edison

Regulated, investorowned utility

Vehicle purchaser

• Vehicle and battery evaluation

CEC California Energy Commission Provides funds through cost-sharing ARRA awards

US DOE US Department of Energy Funding for transportation electrification through ARRA

ARRA American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Stimulus funding

Time line: Growing a long term partnership 1999

10

n

n

n

n

n

n

n

CARB (The California Air Resources Board) contracts with Eaton and EPRI to develop a plug-in gasoline hybrid shuttle bus

n

FORD provides technical expertise to Eaton for testing of hybrid Ford F550 diesel utility trucks

n

Eaton completes testing of hybrid Ford F550 diesel utility trucks

n

EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute) and Partner Utilities see opportunity to develop hybrid trucks as Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicles

n

EPRI begins research

n

2000

AQMD (California South Coast Air Quality Management District) approves cofunding for EPRI hybrid truck research

n

2003 EATON develops its first diesel hybrid system

n

n

AQMD joins EPRI work on prototype Sprinter hybrid truck

2006

Southern California Edison and other utilities agree to EPRI’s proposal for 6 demonstration hybrid trouble response trucks

n

2007

n

n

n

Eaton and EPRI meet to discuss how to create a compelling case to receive ARRA stimulus funding CEC (California Energy Commission) receives application to cost-share potential ARRA awards A123 brought on as Americanmade battery supplier EPRI undertakes the task of locating fleets willing to commit to purchase hybrid commercial trucks (a combined total of 378 vehicles or over $32.5 million). Proposed DOE funding would allow them to receive each vehicle at a discount of 50%.

Industry buyers agree to future purchase of the last of 50 fleets of hybrid commercial trucks AQMD, with partners that include Eaton and EPRI, submits application for ARRA funds ARRA award of $45.4 million to AQMD announced for plug-in hybrid commercial vehicles developed by Eaton and EPRI; this initial approval will require confirmation at a later date CEC awards grant of $5 to AMQD following ARRA award from the DOE. AQMD re-submits to finalize contractual agreement DOE signed contract released to AQMD

2008

2011

AQMD receives a $984,000 grant to develop and demonstrate a medium-duty gasoline hybrid with Eaton and EPRI

n

US House of Representatives: Eaton testifies on the benefits of hybrid technologies

n

n

Eaton increases battery capacity and adds charger functionality to F550

2009

US DOE (US Department of Energy) releases funding opportunity announcement for transportation electrification through ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) stimulus funding

n

President Obama previews first PHEV utility truck system developed by Eaton and EPRI for Southern California Edison

n

Expected completion of all 378 hybrid vehicles

n

2013

Anticipated completion of 2-year evaluation of hybrid commercial truck fleet; report to be submitted to DOE

n

FUTURE

Extend the hybrid technology to new vehicle platforms and release PHEV in production models

n

Entry of key players Nonprofit Organization Industry State Agency Federal Agency

For utility truck application, the plug-in hybrids are based on the Ford F550 chassis and will have a total range of at least 300 miles. The system will provide fuel economy improvement of up to 70 percent when compared to a standard utility vehicle, with similar reductions in emissions and noise. The entire system can be recharged by plugging it into a standard 120- or 240-volt electrical outlet. In addition, the trucks will be capable of powering auxiliary equipment and tools while stopped at a work site.

President Obama inspecting PHEV truck.

Courtesy Southern California Edison

“

We now see that widespread use of PHEVs could expand the fuel options in our transportation sector and at the same time yield net benefits to our environment.”

Steve Specker President and CEO EPRI

Yet it wasn’t until nearly 10 years after the vision was first conceived that the group got a big break. In March 2009, the US Department of Energy (DOE) announced ARRA funding for the electrification for transportation, putting in motion a dizzying sequence of events that would lead inevitably to the solidification of relationships and research that had been developing for the past decade. And with these new funds, speedy progress could now be made. “It would have been an incremental process [without the stimulus funds], which is much harder,” comments Mark Duvall, Director, Electric Transportation EPRI, Eaton, and AQMD certainly could not have anticipated the events that led to the award of their $45.4 million grant from the DOE, yet by leveraging the work they’d done over the past 10 years, they are now in the position to make significant progress. And once the DOE project is complete in approximately four years, their vision for efficient commercial fleets will have come to fruition, and a production-level fleet will be ready to roll out, available to whoever wants to buy them.

Though the testing phase of the project is not yet complete, the initial designs are impressive.

Unlike traditional utility trucks that run the engine to power the boom for the better part of a day, the new PHEVs can operate for many hours using only

electricity. And they recharge by plugging into either individual smart charging stations or a regular 120V outlet, which can power-up the vehicle overnight. As an added benefit, these trucks no longer contribute to noise or air pollution when on-site, making them attractive especially in residential locales.

More important, the EPRI-Eaton approach—as opposed to existing systems for utility applications— provides regeneration, launch assist and electric power. Regeneration converts the kinetic energy of braking into a useful form of energy, instead of dissipating it as heat as with conventional brakes.

Regeneration is then paired with launch assist, which uses the energy stored through braking for the high power demands of starting, thereby extending battery life. Regeneration, launch assist and the 13

EPRI, Eaton, and AQMD certainly could not have anticipated the events that led to the award of their $45.4 million grant from the DOE, yet by leveraging the work they’d done over the past 10 years, they are now in the right place at the right time.

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“

The production and demonstration of this fleet of vehicles is a significant step in driving PHEV technology beyond the personal transportation platform to a daily work application. This project leverages Eaton’s current hybrid electric system and builds upon nearly three years of ongoing work by Eaton and EPRI to develop PHEV technology for commercial vehicles.”

Mark Duvall, Director of Electric Transportation EPRI

ability of the vehicles to run in battery only mode, dramatically reduces fuel consumption and emissions.

Certainly long-term relationships between key players made for a smooth transition from planning to implementation. This was especially necessary given the constraints of a tight time line: approximately six weeks from the funding opportunity announcement to submission of the proposal. It was also beneficial to be working with organizations that possessed a proven track record with government-funded research and development projects.

Perhaps equally important has been the shared risk inherent in the proposal structure. “These are

tough financial times and we recognize that the costshare requirement was signification in the funding opportunity,” explains Pat Davis, program manager of vehicle technologies at the DOE. “It’s hard for a single entity to put up half of the cost of the project, so getting a team together and each sharing some of the burden was important.” The DOE’s opportunity announcement contained big requirements: domestic manufacturing, production of at least 100 electric, plug-in hybrid, or fuel cell vehicles, long-term evaluation of the finished product, and a cost-share arrangement that would leave only 50 percent of the bill with the federal government.

In the end, there were a total of five financial partners including 50 fleets committing to the purchase of the finished PHEVs, as well as other entities offering technological expertise and manufacturing support. Each came to the table with unique but necessary expertise, and each will benefit from the arrangement. This public–private–nonprofit partnership serves as a model for how to organize diverse groups around a single cause to achieve substantial financial gains. n

Links

Comparing the Benefits and Impacts of Hybrid

The Story in Brief Automakers, utilities, and the public are increasingly interested in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Recent EPRI studies indicate that society could realize significant benefits to the environment and the economy with PHEVs. EPRI studies also point to sizable challenges and opportunities in technology and utility operations. What’s needed is research and development in batteries, the power grid, and generation technologies—and a market that’s ready

Electric Vehicle Options for Compact Sedan and Sport Utility Vehicles - Published by EPRI Plug-In Hybrids on the Horizon: Building a Business Case - Published by EPRI South Coast Air Quality Management District

October 2, 2009 Meeting Agenda, including detailed breakdown of funding for the project

to put substantial numbers of drivers behind the wheel of a PHEV.

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Environmental Impact of PHEV The NRDC (National Resources Defence Council), and EPRI (Electric Power Research Institute) jointly published the Environmental Assessment of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles. They looked at nine scenarios derived from the worst case— expensive, inefficient (high carbon) electricity, and low PHEV adoption, to best case—lower cost, efficient electricity and high PHEV adoption. Their conclusions are summarized below.

Q A

Can the grid support large scale use by the transportation sector?

There is an abundant supply of electricity for transportation; a 60 percent U.S. market share for PHEVs would use 7 percent to 8 percent of gridsupplied electricity in 2050.

Q A

Q A

Is this the best case scenario?

The study looked at 9 scenarios ranging from the most favorable—efficient, low cost electricity, high PHEV adoption—to the least favorable—inefficient (high carbon), expensive electricity and low PHEV adoption. Across all scenarios annual and cumulative GHG emissions are reduced significantly. Annual GHG emissions reductions were significant in every scenario, reaching a maximum reduction of 612 million metric tons in 2050 (High PHEV fleet penetration, Low electric sector CO2 intensity case). Cumulative GHG emissions reductions from 2010 to 2050 can range from 3.4 to 10.3 billion metric tons, and will positively affect every region of the country.

Q A

Will PHEV’s help reduce our dependence on foreign oil?

PHEVs can reduce petroleum consumption by 3 million to 4 million barrels per day by 2050.

Will PHEV really make a difference in air quality and greenhouse gas reduction?

Widespread adoption of PHEVs can improve nationwide air quality and reduce GHG emissions from vehicles by more than 450 million metric tons annually in 2050 -- equivalent to removing 82.5 million passenger cars from the road.

Petroleum use by Sector

RITA: Bureau of Transportation Statistics

“

NRDC believes that a combination of more efficient vehicles, improved battery technology, and a loweremitting electric power plant fleet can produce substantial reduction in global warming pollution from both the electric power and the transportation sectors. Our results show that PHEVs recharged from low- and non-emitting electricity sources can decrease the carbon footprint in the nation’s transportation sector.”

David Hawkins Director, Climate Center NRDC

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BUSINESS GREEN

| INTERVIEW

16

On-the-ground reflections Dan Gable: ConEd on the PHEV project: Fleet Service Manager Interviews with two Mike Allison: Duke Energy Services, Director of Design fleet managers Fleet and Technical Support The excitement of a project like the Eaton-EPRI plug-in hybrid electric vehicle initiative to bring clean-powered bucket trucks to the utility interest certainly has a lot going for it, but what do the fleet managers think about the potential of these new vehicles? To find out, we talked to two fleet managers to get their views on what will come of the program.

What first attracted you to the PHEV project?

DG We’re looking at bringing in additional hybrids and plug-in hybrids so this seemed like a natural fit for our green fleet strategy. We already estimate our savings at about 4,200 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions yearly. Biodiesel is the biggest driver, but we have about 170 hybrid vehicles, a good portion of which are Ford Escape and Prius hybrids. We also have 10 hybrid bucket trucks and 10 Prius plug-in hybrids.

Also, as a part of Exelon, ComEd is committed to the Exelon 2020 strategy to offset the corporation’s entire carbon footprint by 2020. So it definitely provides a fuel

savings benefit, a customer education/outreach benefit, and it supports our environmental strategy.

MA We need to play in the technology enough to know that it will work and that PHEVs are affordable

trucks if they were to get funding. We said we were interested.

How many vehicles did you commit to purchasing?

DG 25 and our sister company, Philadelphia-based Peco, will receive another 20. We’re watching the market and are interested in expanding.

MA We have a hard commitment for 25 of the bucket trucks and This is not a a somewhat soft commitment demonstration type for 10 additional that aren’t buckets—enclosed bodies that of activity—this is a have compressors for our Cincinnati working project. location. These trucks will replace existing trucks that are at the end of their normal lives. This is not a demonstration type of activity—this is a working project.

When do you expect to take delivery of your vehicles?

DG Late 2010 into early 2011.

We need to play in the technology enough to know that it will work and that PHEVs are affordable without grant or stimulus funding.

Additionally... if it’s managed and timed right, it’s additional business without increasing demand on our systems. without grant or stimulus funding. Additionally, because we’re considered a fuel provider by the Energy Policy Act, moving toward plug-in electric vehicles for our company and the public, if that’s managed and timed right, is additional business without increasing demand on our systems.

Also we’re part of the Clinton Global Initiative’s goal to move all vehicle purchases by 2020 to plug-in electrics or plug-in hybrids. We’d been involved with hybrid medium duty trucks for several years and been involved in the WestStart-CALSTART HTUF forum, which has working groups to promote hybrid vehicles in the commercial industry: waste management, telephone, package delivery, and so forth.

We were in touch with Eaton and became aware of the funding opportunities that EPRI was going to apply for. They asked us to commit to buy some

MA We are probably looking at our first truck coming around December 2010. We want some earlier because we like to be involved in working out problems which will lead to fewer issues by the time we get our later trucks.

What was the biggest selling point of adding PHEVs to your fleet?

DG What we’ve found is that about 2/3 of our fuel savings come from when the vehicle operates on the job site in engine-off mode. Being able to operate the aerial boom at a job site saves fuel and is quiet.

Having a plug-in hybrid with a larger battery lets us do more with those electric operations.

MA Our folks like the quiet operation—it’s not as hard to communicate on a job site, and if you’re working in a neighbourhood after hours you don’t have a diesel engine running, creating noise.

Do you anticipate facing any unique challenges?

DG One thing we will need to be cognizant of is training for our mechanics because this will be new technology for them in terms of maintaining the trucks. They need to be properly trained.

MA While the initial cost will be about the same as other trucks that do that work, you can’t take it to the local dealer to have it repaired, but rather 18 you have to work with the engineers one on

17

one to work out any problems and you probably have to have some spare units to offset downtime.

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Would you have committed to purchasing PHEVs if you had been required to pay full price?

DGI think we would have participated, although the number of vehicles would have been less. At the very least, we would have wanted to bring in the vehicles to evaluate the cost-benefit analysis.

MA If everyone had to pay full price, I don’t think there would have been a project. At full price you would never recover [the costs] in fuel savings over the life of the truck. So the low-cost to get into the market was a selling factor.

If you have the ability to get out in the market and demonstrate it’s usefulness and get people familiar with it, that’s money well spent. We have been at the forefront of emerging technologies rather than waiting to see what everyone does.

How do you anticipate the PHEVs to change your company’s work? What advantages will it bring to your business?

MA For our own fleet, it gives us many things. First, reduced fuel—there is a lot more volatility in fuel pricing than in electricity pricing, so we’re guarded against that. Second, from a global standpoint, it makes us more self-sufficient as a country in having the ability to source fuel from countries that are more positive from an energy standpoint.

x 4-6hrs.

What kind of load will these vehicles add to the local utility grid? Can you compare it to the energy used in a home or by a commercial building?

DG With lower-level charging, you’re talking something equivalent to a hair dryer with about 12 hours of charge time. For leveltwo charging, which is what these vehicles will likely take

x 12 hrs.

Image courtesy of: engineeringpatents.net

advantage of, at 240V, the power consumption is equivalent to a large appliance like an electric oven or dryer with a charge time around 4-6 hours. The reason we’d use this level over the lower-level charging is because they’re utility vehicles that are on call 24 hours, especially during storm mode. We want as little down time as possible.

What impact, if any, do you think your PHEVs will have on your business?

MA If we charge them at night and early hours, it would be fairly negligible on our system. Dependent on how many vehicles you may have to do some things with the infrastructure to deal with charging DG It’s going to drive more interaction with our consumers, especially those who adopt the technology, which is why we’re trying to get out in front of electric vehicles by setting up charging stations. Educating our customers on things they need to consider when buying a vehicle and having the smart grid technologies in place to manage the load on the system are also important factors.

We have to stay ahead of the curve by identifying opportunities to provide smart charging stations and managing the load.

MA This is going to be a whole new segment of business. So we use the truck at various events to showcase the technology. We have partnerships with GM and Chevy Volt, in getting the infrastructure ready for new plug-in electric vehicles (non-utility) in terms of charging stations, software for billing, and smartgrid considerations.

Image: www.hometips.com/how-it-works/ clothes-dryers-gas.html

The Fords and other folks of the world will follow what we’re doing and the commercialization of the

Photo courtesy of Aptera: www.aptera.com

Educating our customers on things they need to consider when buying a vehicle and having the smart grid technologies in place to manage the load on the system are also important factors. We have to stay ahead of the curve by identifying opportunities to provide smart charging stations and managing the load.

technology based on the success or nonsuccess of this project.

If there was one additional feature you’d like to see on your PHEVs, what would it be?

DG On www.ComEd. com, we post a lot of information about our environmental strategy, but a lot of our customer interaction involves our field employees.

DG Certainly the larger the battery capacity the more electric engine-off time we could have, particularly with these vehicles given the improvement in fuel economy. So I would say advancements in battery technology are going to be the big driver.

We’re developing an education program for our employees so they know about our green fleet initiatives and how to answer customer questions.

MA There will be some regular plugs on the truck to be used for various tools right on the truck which is an advantage over existing models.

Will you be required to monitor and report on your PHEV performance?

Payload does become a factor with the utility vehicles especially with the vehicle costs. It’s going to be key in the whole sustainability of electric vehicle market.

We’d also like to see the electrification of the accessories such as power steering and air conditioning and power brakes. These normally take their power from belts on the engine but that prevents an all electric drive mode. It would be easier to leave those components in place as is for now but not as effective.

MA We have all agreed to equip the trucks with telematics to record all of the real-time data—fuel use, battery input and output, the time the boom’s in the air, the time idling the truck—and then report back to the manufacturers and the entire group so that we can then report to the DOE as part of the project.

I think down the road you want to be able to build a truck with a smaller internal combustion engine and take advantage of hybrid electric power rather than converting an existing truck, but converting a truck is the only way to get a viable truck to market right now. When you build a truck that’s purposely built as a PHEV, then it is a better product. n

DG EPRI is going to be managing most of the data handling.

Interview by Maryruth Belsey Priebe, special to the Green Economy Edited by A. Tana Kantor, Editor

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Transportation Infrastructure 20

Not eisenhower’s interstate

Critically important in an age of expanding traffic and reduced budgets for new or ever wider roads, companies are developing and deploying Smart Transportation, putting in place the IT infrastructure that is revolutionizing how we commute.

Starting with the now ubiquitous EZ Pass, commuters are benefiting from technologies that make their commute—or vacation—faster and smoother. What they don’t see is the behindthe-scenes changes that are gathering data so that transportation planners and municipalities can design more efficient, less costly and safer highways.

One such company is Telvent, an international firm which innovates transportation, water and power infrastructure technology. As Patrick McGowan, President of Telvent North America, said, “We look at out of the box solutions” to optimize systems that have not been looked at very closely. In the transportation sector, he cited a recent project in Alexandria, Virginia, that was able to route buses efficiently through congested commuter traffic. “It’s a very effective tool. If people know buses are on schedule, they will jump to public transit. That means less vehicles on the road,” he said.

Sajjad Alam is an Intelligent Transportation Manager at Parsons, an international engineering firm that implements major infrastructure plans for public and private entities. He mentioned a project in New York, which ensures that public safety vehicles can get to emergencies by turning street lights green at the approach of

ambulances and fire trucks. New York also has traffic lights that sense traffic patterns on major city streets, so that they can change timing to adapt for morning cars moving in one direction, and evening traffic returning. A recent Parsons project was the design and installation of electronic signs that let commuters know which bridges or tunnels are the most

Measuring flow But the real win is that technology can monitor and measure physical flow. The data helps transportation departments plan for programs which smooth traffic, cut down on pollution from cars idling at tollbooths and stuck in traffic, and lessen wear and tear on an aging physical infrastructure—roads . Without careful examination of data, municipalities cannot evaluate what is the best use for their funds, or what will make the biggest impact on the quality of life for both urban and suburban travelers.

Technology infrastructure is clearing traffic, reducing pollution, and gathering data to make safer and more economical road ways.

As Alam said, the old approach to traffic congestion—more roads—is costly from a financial, land use and environmental point of view. But burdened municipalities, cities and states often don’t see the long term advantage of investing in smart transportation, especially when roads are “kind of working” now. When budgets are being cut for schools, such expenditures fall off the list.

US DOT GRANTS

congested, so drivers can make informed choices and traffic can move efficiently.

Recognizing the need—and the difficulty for funding—such projects, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) apportioned over 25% of the $1.5 billion ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) transportation funds for projects such as electronic infrastructure. Calling these TIGER funds, for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, the grants will be awarded on a competitive basis for projects that have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or region. Funds will be awarded to State and local governments, which will, in turn, bid projects out.

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22

Canaccord Adams, a leading independent financial services firm with operations in research, sales and trading, and investment banking, recommended Telvent as a possible beneficiary in the technology sector. recommended Telvent as a possible beneficiary in the technology sector. John Quigley, Senior Analyst, noted that 35% of the $400 million in TIGER funds are applicable to electronic monitoring. These grants can unlock municipal funds by optimizing their transportation dollars.

It’s a very effective tool. If people know buses are on schedule, they will jump to public transit. That means less vehicles on the road.

Security and Enforcement Countries such as China, India and the Mid East are digitally photographing automobiles for both security and planning for future traffic patterns. For Telvent, 65% of their projects are offshore. Bridges and tunnels are being built with embedded sensors, so that transportation engineers worldwide can have advanced warning in the event of structural changes from weather, aging and traffic, In the United States, digital photography and sensors are being used for enforcement, sending tickets for traffic violations such as speeding or running stop signs. Public opinion has not been supportive, so some states have legislated against them. (See Map). Laws can vary by states and by

Based on: www.iihs.org/laws/cameramap. aspx

municipalities, which must decide whether e-tickets should be reported to insurance companies, and who should pay the fine if the driver is not the owner of the car.

The future As Alam asked, “Wouldn’t you like something to just take you somewhere?” He painted a picture of drivers reading newspapers—or texting—but arriving safely at their destination through automation. “The technology is there, it exists.” He went on to say “Every year there are 40,000 to 50,000 fatalities on the roads. We’ve gotten used to it, and think it’s part of what we do and how we live. But we could prevent that.” The list of possibilities includes cars that slow down when approaching other vehicles on the highway, traffic lights that alert cars, and stop signs that do just that: stop cars.

Major changes in transportation face political push back. Mayor Bloomberg’s proposal for congestion pricing, which would charge cars during rush hour in midtown Manhattan, was defeated by the state legislature. The Governor saw such practices as an unfair burden for New York state enterprises doing business in New York city.

But smart systems are here to stay. Security, already a large market abroad, could start driving US business, especially on corporate campuses and around government facilities. Although adoption is not going to be without battles, making smarter roads and more economic decisions will keep transportation infrastructure a growth sector for some time to come.

THE ALLIANCE TO SAVE ENERGY promotes energy efficiency worldwide to achieve a healthier economy, a cleaner environment, and greater energy security.

For more information on the Alliance to Save Energy, or for valuable energy-saving tips, visit ase.org.

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IDEAS, INTERSECTIONS, SOLUTIONS TO POWER AN ENERGY EFFICIENT ECONOMY

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