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The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) released its 14th annual Greenest Vehicle rankings for 2012, and there is a new leader of the pack: Mitsubishi i-MIEV.  

The list, posted at GreenerCars.org, saw a considerable shake-up, as the battery electric vehicle claimed the top spot from the Honda Civic Natural Gas, which has held on to first place for eight years in a row.

In its model year 2012 debut on the American market, the i-MIEV earned a score of 58, the highest Green Score awarded since ACEEE began ranking vehicles in 1998. Its combined city and highway fuel economy of 112 miles per gallon equivalent outpaces all other vehicles currently sold in United States. “Even taking into account the emissions generated from the electricity used to power the i-MIEV, it still handily outscores other vehicles on the market today,” said ACEEE lead vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan.

Despite its improved fuel economy this year, the Honda Civic Natural Gas slipped to second place, tying with the Nissan Leaf. The Toyota Prius, Honda Insight and Smart ForTwo rounded out the top six performers.

This year, hybrids dominate the “Greenest” list, occupying half of all spots. Highly efficient conventional gasoline vehicles also continue to have a presence on the “Greenest” list, claiming three of the top twelve spots. This year saw the arrival of a number of new hybrid options for drivers from Hyundai, Kia and Infiniti, but none broke into the top twelve.

Vaidyanathan noted that earning a spot on the “Greenest” list is getting tougher as automakers employ a greater variety of vehicle technologies.  ”It’s increasingly obvious that automakers are fully invested in providing consumers with the widest possible array of vehicle choices,” he said. 

GreenCars.org ranks vehicles with a “Green Score” that incorporates unhealthy tailpipe emissions, fuel consumption and emissions of gases that contribute to climate change. ACEEE made a number of updates to the Green Book® methodology this year to more accurately reflect vehicles’ environmental impacts. Improved emissions estimates for the vehicle manufacturing process, changes reflecting current natural gas extraction practices and consideration of upcoming shifts in the generation mix for the electricity used to power electric cars are now factored into the vehicle’s score.

While utilities conduct projects to learn more about electric vehicles (EV), businesses are already moving to fill the need for filling stations for cars that run on electricity.

Walgreen’s drugstore chain has submitted plans to the city of Colorado Springs to install four electric vehicle charging stations around the city. The proposed stations are part of the chain’s larger plan to install 800 facilities around the country, giving EV drivers a convenient place to recharge.

The first of the stations became available in December 2011, and the rest of the facilities should be completed early this year. Walgreen’s, which is partnering with charging network developer 350Green, has plans for about 25 such stations across Colorado. The cost of the power at the stations will depend on local electricity rates.

Santa Monica, Calif., is working with EV Connect to create the infrastructure to support EVs and make the city “plug-in friendly.”  EV Connect is installing publicly accessible charging stations at seven sites and numerous residences around the city.  The high-traffic locations chosen for the stations include Santa Monica Place Mall, Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica Civic Center and Santa Monica Airport.

A report from Global Energy Watch anticipates that the market for EV charging stations will grow significantly over the next eight to 10 years as production of the vehicles increases. Governments and military installations are adopting EVs to meet environmental and efficiency mandates, driving the deployment of more charging stations. That, in turn, encourages consumers to buy EVs as they become confident that the infrastructure exists to allow them to charge their cars when- and wherever they need.

While there are still challenges to EV adoption, charging stations clearly represent a potential economic development opportunity for private companies, municipalities and even utilities.

Dominion Virginia Power recently introduced a program that gives electric vehicle owners a rate break if they charge their cars overnight.

The Richmond Electric Vehicle Initiative, as the pilot program is called, offers utility customers two options to charge their vehicles:

• Under the vehicle-only option, the power company installs a second meter in the customer’s home that measures the energy used only for recharging the vehicle. The cost for the meter is $2.90 a month. An overnight charge, good for about 40 miles, would cost the customer about 54 cents.
• The whole-house option offers a lower rate for all household electricity use overnight, including recharging vehicles. Dominion Virginia Power will replace the customer’s meter with one that records energy use in 30-minute intervals, allowing the utility to apply pricing rates at specific time periods. This option would charge the vehicle for 51 cents in the summer and 61 cents in the winter under the second.

Using Dominion Virginia Power’s standard residential rate of 11 cents per kWh, the cost of an overnight charge is about $1.10. The special rates will help offset the higher cost of purchasing electric vehicles, which begin at $30,000.

Each rate option is limited to 750 people, and each participant will have to stay enrolled in the program for a minimum of one year. So far, 17 customers have signed up for the program.

The program runs through Nov. 30, 2014. Each year the pilot is in effect, the utility will submit an annual report to the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) that details the number of program participants, an assessment of the feasibility and implications on the public interest of continuing the program, and other relevant information.

The initiative received a $429,051 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help develop a local network of charging stations for electric vehicles. Partners in the program include the utility, Virginia Clean Cities, the Richmond Regional Planning District Commission and J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.

The program is designed to test whether the rate structure will motivate people to charge their vehicles during overnight off-peak hours. It could also help balance the growing demands of electric vehicles on the grid, and promote the building of charging stations.  

What is your utility doing to get ready for electric vehicles? Are you ready for the challenges and opportunities the technology presents to power providers? Tell us in the comments section.

Consumers can now find answers to their questions about electric vehicle technology and performance in a new guide, Plugging In: A Consumer’s Guide to the Electric Vehicle, from the Electric Power Research Institute.

With gasoline edging toward $4 per gallon, potential buyers are eyeing the growing number of electric and hybrid technologies commercially available, and wondering if the time is right for an electric vehicle. This eight-page guide defines and compares driving range, charging times, fuel requirements and effects of weather and driving conditions. It also highlights vehicles available for purchase today and models scheduled to be available later in 2011 and in 2012.

A question-and-answer section explores some of the most common questions consumers have about electric vehicle technology compared to hybrid and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. This section also covers charging—a topic of great interest to utilities that may be wondering how widespread adoption of electric vehicles would affect demand.

The guide offers a basic overview of hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. Mark Duvall, director of EPRI’s Electric Transportation Program, explained that the publication is a starting point to help consumers evaluate their options as they consider purchasing electric vehicles. It is not intended to be an exhaustive report about the technologies or the manufacturers and vendors supporting the industry.

To accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, the Department of Energy has made available $5 million in new funding for community-based efforts to build electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure and charging stations. The initiative also includes a partnership with Google, Inc., and more than 80 EV stakeholders to help consumers find charging stations nationwide.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the initiative on a conference call recently with Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup and St. Paul Mayor Christopher Coleman – leaders of three of the nation’s nearly 100 Clean Cities Coalitions.

“The Department of Energy’s Clean Cities initiative is bringing together local governments and industry to demonstrate the benefits of advanced technology vehicles and help communities use less oil and gasoline to power their vehicles,” said Secretary Chu.

The funding and the partnership are the Obama Administration’s latest steps in its broader push to reduce U.S. oil imports by one-third by 2025.  Read more.

Source: U.S. DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 4/19/11