Colorado Mountain College Vehicle Purchasing Guidelines

Transcription

1 Colorado Mountain College Vehicle Purchasing Guidelines Table of Contents 1. Universities Best Practices 2. Alternative Fueling Options & Locations a. Summary of Fueling Options b. Alternative Fuel Stations Map c. Alternative Fuel Characteristics d. CMC Geographic Description & Overview i. EV Concerns ii. E85 Storage Tank 3. Low Emissions Vehicle Purchasing Standards a. Procedure & Review Plan b. Sustainable Fleet Targets c. What is a Sustainable Vehicle? d. Vehicle Classifications & Exemptions 4. Purchasing Agreements & Partnerships 5. Resources 1 natcapsolutions.org

2 1. University Best Practices. Summary The common theme among leading educational institutions is that all new vehicles purchased must be low- or zero-emission, or at least have the highest efficiency possible. Some schools further require that new vehicles must be hybrid, electric, and/or use alternative or bio-based fuels that are cleaner than conventional gas. In addition to setting standards for new vehicles, many schools have policies and programs to make transportation more sustainable. This is a more proactive, effective approach that demonstrates a school s full commitment to sustainability. Examples include: improving public transportation, giving incentives, and addressing commuting, business travel, etc. Some also incorporate education and student involvement. Many schools also involve a purchasing or sustainability department/taskforce to assist with vehicle purchases and help purchasers make the best /most sustainable choices. For example the University of Florida s Purchasing Services and Office of Sustainability maintain a listing of New Approved Vehicles, arranged by class, to assist departments with choosing a vehicle for purchase. This makes it easier and more efficient for the purchaser to follow the policy. Best Practices examples: Elon University All new fleet vehicles must use alternative fuels and or be hybrids Provides Zipcar, carpooling incentives, and low emissions vehicles to help reduce indirect transportation (non-university fleet) Princeton University New vehicle purchases must be ultra-low or zero emissions. 41% of vehicles purchased since 2007 have been electric or hybrid. All campus golf carts must be electric Has established a sustainable purchasing taskforce University of California system Any vehicle being replaced must be low or zero emission Campuses are encouraged to right-size fleets meaning making sure to eliminate redundant or superfluous vehicles. Purchasing guideline are based on performance, cost effectiveness, and practicality University of Florida Must purchase vehicles with the highest fuel efficiency, lowest GHG emissions, including hybrid and alternative fuels 2 natcapsolutions.org

3 Developed a list of pre-approved, recommended, vehicles by class and type to assist purchasers with choosing the most sustainable option ( Performance is the only consideration to outweigh environmental impacts 10% of total fleet will be electric by 2025 Tufts University New vehicles must have mpg averages equal to or better than 35 mpg by 2020 Vehicles should be repurposed to other departments if they have outlived their current departments usefulness, assuming there is still vehicle life left Trinity College All purchases must go through sustainability taskforce and receive approval Preference is given to smallest and most efficient options Arizona State University All new vehicles must use alternatives to diesel engines, such as compressed natural gas, bio-based fuels, hybrids, electric, and fuel cells. The fuel choice is based on the best option for the intended use (performance) Portland State University A new vehicle must have a smaller environmental impact than the vehicle being replaced, or be a Green Vehicle Vehicles leased or purchased must have low emissions of local air pollutants and GHGs 3 natcapsolutions.org

4 2. Alternative Fueling Options & Locations a. Alternative Fuel Stations Map 11 CMC Campuses 28 Electric Vehicle Chargers Level 2 or Faster (EV) 6 Ethanol 85%+ (E85+) 3 Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Propane) 2 Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) 1 Biodiesel 20%+ (B20+) CMC Alternative Fueling Options & Locations Interactive Map can be found at 4 natcapsolutions.org

5 ocations b. Summary of Fueling Options The Alternative Fuel Stations Map was made to show all the available alternative fueling stations within 30 miles of any campus location. Addition destinations and updates can be found at EV charging stations dominate the alternative fueling infrastructure with coverage to all 11 campuses. However, charging an EV takes significantly longer than using a liquid fuel. This means despite the larger number of EV charging stations, there still may not be enough to facilitate a quick transition to an EV fleet. However, EV technology is improving and increasing rapidly. E85, Propane, CNG, and B20 stations are so limited that they would not allow for the a college wide fleet conversion but maybe enable specific campuses to utilize these less carbon intensive fuels, for example in the following locations: Rifle Campus There are four fueling stations that offer E85 within 5 miles of the Rifle Campus: Kum & Go, Kum & Go #4923, #921, #922. Having Ethanol vehicles at Rifle would also increase the incentive to restore and enhance the biofuels program at that campus. Allowing students to produce fuel that would be used in campus vehicles creates great education opportunities as well as a more closed looped system. Steamboat Springs Space Station Gas on Lincoln Avenue offers B20+ and is only half a mile away from the Steamboat Springs Campus. According to LA Biodiesel Co-Op, there is no conversion necessary for most diesel vehicles when switching to B20 1. c. Alternative Fuel Characteristics 5 natcapsolutions.org

6 This table was created using Alternative Fuels Data Center Fuel Comparison Chart 2. Prices were recorded in October The key considerations to review when comparing fuel sources are the potential GHG emissions, cost, and performance changes. For example, if the Rifle campus was considering switching their campus vehicles from conventional gasoline to ethanol, there should be some analysis done to model the potential changes in miles per gallon. A gallon of conventional gasoline has around 10% ethanol on average and 114kBtus, while E85 has 85% ethanol and only 82kBtus per gallon. This means that E85 only has 71% of the energy per gallon compared to conventional gasoline. As a result, for every gallon of gasoline that was purchased, the new vehicle may need 1.28 gallons of E85. This increase in fuel to compensate for the lower energy density will reduce the carbon savings of E85 from 29% down to 9.5%. Just because E85 is less energy dense doesn t necessarily translate to reduced miles per gallon. 6 natcapsolutions.org

7 Ethanol has a higher octane rating, which means that it can withstand higher compression rates and therefore is less like to combust uncontrollably, which can reduce efficiency. This type of modeling should be done for any type of fuel transition. d. CMC Geographic Description & Overview Campus Elevatio n Rec Low Average Jan Low Average Jan High Annual Snow Fall R Leadville R Spring Valley R Steamboat Springs C Aspen C Breckenridge C Buena Vista C Carbondale C Dillon C Edwards C Glenwood Springs C Rifle Average Future CMC vehicles will need to be able to handle cold temperatures, large amounts of snow driving, and steep elevation changes. i. EV Concerns Section 2a, Alternative Fuel Stations Map, clearly shows that electric vehicles have the most embedded infrastructure. However, there are some significant issues when considering a transition to EVs: Charging Times First, charging times are much longer than refueling with a liquid. Tesla has noted that diminishing rate of charging as the battery approaches its maximum capacity. The closer you get to a full charge, the harder it is to transfer energy and as a result, Tesla says that it takes supercharger will charge a Model S from dead to 80% battery capacity in 40 minutes but will take another 35 minutes to get that last 20% 4. Cold Weather Secondly, EV performance diminishes significantly in cold weather. CMC is in an area that has temperatures well below freezing for long periods of the year and the 56% reduction 5 in range may not be suitable for all vehicles. Additionally, EV have very different passenger heating systems. Using the heat during the wintertime may further reduce overall range. 7 natcapsolutions.org

8 Battery Lifetimes & Maintenance The battery in an EV is the biggest source of maintenance of the vehicle lifetime. Battery technology is inherently proprietary and therefore poses as a challenge when trying to estimate maintenance costs and timelines. ii. Ethanol Storage CMC currently has gasoline tanks at all three residential campuses. Could any of these be switched to hold E85 instead of conventional gasoline? It is important to identify who and what vehicles or equipment would be using the campus fuel tanks. Do all the grounds equipment use conventional gasoline and source from the campus tanks? Could this equipment run on E85? 3. Low Emission Vehicle Purchasing Standards a. Procedure & Review Plan In order to keep this standard as updated as possible and ensure that it is consistent with CMC s sustainability visions and goals, it is recommended that the Vehicle Purchasing Policy be reviewed every two to three years. It is also recommended that an appropriate Green Team group is created to review this purchasing policy and report any edits, additions, or updates to the larger group. The goal of the review should be to reaffirm or edit the Sustainable Fleet Targets, vehicle exemptions, alternative fuel availability, and transportation needs. The four primary criteria, in order of importance, to consider when purchasing a vehicle are: 1. Safety 2. Performance 3. Life-cycle cost 4. Life-cycle environmental impacts It is important to distinguish the difference between life-cycle and initial costs because of CMC will most likely be using the vehicle for an extended period of time. The life-cycle cost of a vehicle is the summation of the initial purchasing price, the projected maintenance costs over the life-time, and all the fuel purchase during its usage. Fuel and Entire Vehicle Life-Cycle Emissions For the initial policy cycle, it is recommended that CMC only consider the CO 2 e emissions from fuel combustion. CMC can later expand the boundaries to account for the entire life-cycle of each fuel, as there are peer reviewed papers available (Tong, Jaramillo, and Azevedo 2015). Additional, if CMC decides to consider the entire life-cycle of vehicles when purchasing, from mineral extraction, refinement, manufacturing, usage, and disposal, there are even more examples. However, it is important to get the most up to date information. For example, 8 natcapsolutions.org

9 Hawkins et. al 2012 suggests that EVs have significantly higher emissions associated with manufacturing due batteries and aluminum frames. But if data is used from Argonne National Laboratory s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model it is suggested that EV manufacturing emissions are actually very close to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. The boundaries for comparing vehicle emissions should be reviewed during the triennial policy review process. b. Sustainable Fleet Targets (SFT) CMC s current fleet consists of 64 total vehicles: 3 heavy duty, 6 cars, 15 SUVs, 13 vans, 2 shuttle vans and 15 trucks. Of these 64 vehicles only four (6.3%) are listed as a hybrid. In order to establish an appropriate and practical sustainable fleet target, CMC needs to determine what - if any - vehicles are exempt. It is NCS recommendation that CMC consider trucks and heavy vehicles as exempt for the short-term timeframe, but they should be considered during every review cycle. If the trucks and heavy-duty vehicles are exempt from the SFT then 11% of CMCs current fleet would be considered sustainable. CMC should set a goal of getting 20% of its non-exempted fleet to sustainable by % by c. What is a Sustainable Vehicle? CMC should consider a sustainable vehicle as a vehicle that uses alternative fuels (E85, B20+, CNG, or is electric). If no alternative fuel models are available due to performance requirements, CMC could purchase a vehicle that has an average miles per gallon (mpg) equal to or higher than CAFEs standards. A conventional diesel or gasoline vehicle with higher than CAFÉ standards mpg should be considered as half a sustainable vehicle towards the SFT. CAFÉ Standards 54.5 MPG by 2025 Year MPG Year MPG Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFÉ) Standards specifies that automotive manufacturers must have fleet average of 54.5 mpg per vehicle by EPA Green Vehicle Guide You can select by Model Year State Vehicle Class - Make 9 natcapsolutions.org

10 d. Vehicle Classifications & Exemptions Transport (primarily used for human transportation) - Car - Van - SUVs - Shuttle Utility - Trucks (especially with plows) - Heavy Duty Vehicles (Fire Truck, Ambulance, etc.) Non-conventional vehicles - Bobcats - Golf carts - ATV For the purpose of this document, we consider all utility and non-conventional vehicles as exempt due to performance requirements. This means that these truck and heavy-duty vehicles perform very specific and required tasks that may not be achievable by the current alternative fuel vehicles available. It is likely that some trucks can be considered transport, but that is up to CMC s interpretation. Additionally, CMC s triennial sustainability taskforce should go through every vehicle and decide whether it should be considered as exempt. 10 natcapsolutions.org

11 4. Purchasing Agreements & Partnerships Alpine Bank, an existing CMC partner 1, currently offers green lending options to consumers and businesses. Should CMC pursue fuel-efficient vehicles for its owned fleet, these loans should be explored to finance the purchases. Given Alpine Bank's significant support of Colorado's western slope communities, it may be possible to leverage the existing relationship between CMC and the bank to explore opportunities for tailored funding. As an example, CMC could discuss receiving a lower interest rate or green vehicle sponsorship in exchange for additional visibility throughout campuses. The bank's name is currently displayed in CMC lobbies and along the walls in relation to past initiatives; CMC could offer displays on the green vehicles as well. 1 Alpine Bank (2016). Green Lending. Retrieved from Alpine Bank (2016). Community Investment. Retrieved from Colorado Mountain College (2016). Board of Trustees: Glenn David. Retrieved fromhttp://coloradomtn.edu/about-cmc/board_of_trustees/members/glenn_davis/ Alpine Bank (2016). Debit Cards & Rewards. Retrieved from 11 natcapsolutions.org

12 References Alpine Bank (2016). Green Lending. Retrieved from natcapsolutions.org