Alexander E. Farrell

An innovation and policy agenda for commercially competitive plug-in hybrid electric vehicles

Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) can use both grid-supplied electricity and liquid fuels. We show that under recent conditions, millions of PHEVs could have charged economically in California during both peak and off-peak hours even with modest gasoline prices and real-time electricity pricing. Special electricity rate tariffs already in place for electric vehicles could successfully render on-peak charging uneconomical and off-peak charging very attractive. However, unless battery prices fall by at least a factor of two, or gasoline prices double, the present value of fuel savings is smaller than the marginal vehicle costs, likely slowing PHEV market penetration in California. We also find that assumptions about how PHEVs are charged strongly influence the number of PHEVs that can be charged before the electric power system must be expanded. If most PHEVs are charged after the workday, and thus after the time of peak electricity demand, our forecasts suggest that several million PHEVs could be deployed in California without requiring new generation capacity, and we also find that the state’s PHEV fleet is unlikely to reach into the millions within the current electricity sector planning cycle. To ensure desirable outcomes, appropriate technologies and incentives for PHEV charging will be needed if PHEV adoption becomes mainstream.

A STRATEGY FOR INTRODUCING HYDROGEN INTO TRANSPORTATION

Considerable effort is being expended on research and demonstration projects aimed at introducing hydrogen into the transportation sector as a fuel, generally motivated by concerns about carbon dioxide emissions and petroleum imports (or scarcity). In this paper we focus on one aspect of strategy for introducing hydrogen—the choice of transportation mode.Our analysis suggests that cost of introducing hydrogen can be reduced by selecting a mode that uses a small number of relatively large vehicles that are operated by professional crews along a limited number of point-to-point routes or within a small geographic area.In addition, technological innovation in vehicle design will take place most quickly in modes where individual vehicles are produced to order and each receives significant engineering attention (not those manufactured in vast quantities on assembly lines).The immediate environmental benefits of introducing hydrogen fuel will occur in modes that have relatively less stringent pollution regulations applied to them.These insights, suggest that heavy-duty freight modes would be a less costly way to introduce hydrogen as a transportation fuel and a more effective way to advance hydrogen-related technologies so that they could subsequently be used more widely in light-duty vehicles. r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.All rights reserved.

Risks of the oil transition

The energy system is in the early stages of a transition from conventionally produced oil to a variety of substitutes, bringing economic, strategic, and environmental risks. We argue that these three challenges are inherently interconnected, and that as we act to manage one we cannot avoid affecting our prospects in dealing with the others. We further argue that without appropriate policies, tradeoffs between these risks are likely to be made so as to allow increased environmental disruption in return for increased economic and energy security. Responsible solutions involve developing and deploying environmentally acceptable energy technologies (both supply and demand) rapidly enough to replace dwindling conventional oil production and meet growing demand for transportation while diversifying supply to improve energy security.

Controlling air pollution from passenger ferries: Cost-effectiveness of seven technological options

Abstract Continued interest in improving air quality in the United States along with renewed interest in the expansion of urban passenger ferry service has created concern about air pollution from ferry vessels. This paper presents a methodology for estimating the air pollution emissions from passenger ferries and the costs of emissions control strategies. The methodology is used to estimate the emissions and costs of retrofitting or re-powering ferries with seven technological options (combinations of propulsion and emission control systems) onto three vessels currently in service in San Francisco Bay. The technologies include improved engine design, cleaner fuels (including natural gas), and exhaust gas cleanup devices. The three vessels span a range of ages and technologies, from a 25-year-old monohull to a modern, high-speed catamaran built only four years ago. By looking at a range of technologies, vessel designs, and service conditions, a sense of the broader implications of controlling emissions from passenger ferries across a range of vessels and service profiles is provided. Tier 2-certified engines are the most cost-effective choice, but all options are cost-effective relative to other emission control strategies already in place in the transportation system.

Optimal fleetwide emissions reductions for passenger ferries: An Application of a mixed-integer nonlinear programming model for the New York–New Jersey Harbor

Abstract Emissions from passenger ferries operating in urban harbors may contribute significantly to emissions inventories and commuter exposure to air pollution. In particular, ferries are problematic because of high emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) from primarily unregulated diesel engines. This paper explores technical solutions to reduce pollution from passenger ferries operating in the New York–New Jersey Harbor. The paper discusses and demonstrates a mixed-integer, nonlinear programming model used to identify optimal control strategies for meeting NOx and PM reduction targets for 45 privately owned commuter ferries in the harbor. Results from the model can be used by policy-makers to craft programs aimed at achieving least-cost reduction targets.

COMPARING AIR POLLUTION FROM FERRY AND LANDSIDE COMMUTING

Marine engines from passenger ferries are known to be a significant and growing air pollution source category in some locations, but sparse data and analytical difficulties have prevented rigorous comparisons of marine and on-land passenger travel. This study uses data gathered in the San Francisco Bay Area to model emissions from three passenger ferries and the matching on-land travel that would be used by commuters if ferry service were not available. The results are analyzed parametrically for levels of ridership and induced travel demand, and for new technologies, including selective catalytic reduction and natural gas fuel. Results indicate that under some conditions, passenger ferries reduce some emissions, including particulate matter emissions, relative to the matching on-land service but increase others. Emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) are particularly problematic, with ferry commuting always leading to increased NOx emissions, even with the most advanced technologies. Some of the other emissions comparisons are sensitive to modal split, ridership or induced travel demand. Emissions from existing ferry operations can be reduced significantly with new technologies. However, without technologies that can reduce emissions, the air pollution impacts of ferry commuters will be much higher than those from onland commutes. These results suggest that ferry scenarios that conform to regional mobility and air quality planning goals should be integrated into broader transportation planning considerations.

Overview of the Superfund Program

Beginning in the nineteenth century, modern science and industry introduced compounds into the environment not found in nature but useful for their new properties, such as persistence and ability to control pests. Unfortunately, these same properties make these materials potential hazardous contaminants. As industrial processes in the United States grew in size and began to use greater amounts of hazardous substances, contemporary waste management practices, described as “cheap and casual” by Andrews (1999: 245), were applied to hazardous materials as well. However, the effects of hazardous substances could be very different from those of traditional wastes, for which odor and infectious disease were the principal problems, so these practices resulted in significant potential health and environmental risks (Hays 1987, Ch. 6). Up through the 1960s, the lack of awareness of the potential risks of hazardous wastes resulted in many abandoned hazardous waste sites (Hird 1994).

Energy and Greenhouse Impacts of Biofuels

In this paper, we review some of the basic energy balance and climate change impact issues associated with biofuels. For both the basic energy and greenhouse gas balances of producing and using a range of fuels, and for the increasingly debated and important issues of non-greenhouse gas impacts, such as land, fertilizer and water use, we conclude that an improved framework for the analysis and evaluation of biofuels is needed. These new methodologies and data sets are needed on both the physical and socioeconomic aspects of the life-cycle of biofuels. We detail some of the components that could be used to build this methodology and highlight key areas for future research. We look at the history and potential impacts of building the resource base for biofuel research, as well as at some of the land-use and socioeconomic impacts of different feedstock-to-fuel pathways.