http://www.greenoptimistic.com/2013/08/28/electric-cargo-trucks-may-improve-texas-air-quality/#.Uh80y38VhhU Electric Cargo Trucks May Improve Texas Air Quality By Leigh Hutchens August 28, 2013
The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) in Texas has teamed with the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and Smith Electric Vehicles Corporation (Smith Electric) to reduce vehicle emissions from delivery trucks in the region. As part of the US Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) funded project, local fleets will replace existing diesel delivery vehicles with all-electric medium- and heavy-duty Smith Newton trucks for daily operations in the Houston-Galveston area. The H-GAC Zero Emission Truck project, completely voluntary, will demonstrate the effectiveness of all-electric delivery vehicles to perform at the same level of operation as similarly sized diesel delivery vehicles while significantly reducing emissions and petroleum use. The main objective for introducing electric transportation technologies into the cargo transport sector is to improve local air quality in the Houston-Galveston area, an area currently designated as a National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) 8-hour ozone nonattainment area. Locations deemed Nonattainment Areas must implement a plan to meet NAAQS standards or risk losing federal financial assistance. Smith Electric Vehicles is providing 30 trucks for the demonstration. [© 2013 The Green Optimistic] http://www.mfrtech.com/articles/54638.html CTE Begins Houston Zero Emission Delivery Vehicle Project 8/27/2013 - Article #54638 [image http://www.mfrtech.com/pages_images/Clipart/3827142648.jpg Houston-Galveston Area Council Teams With Center For Transportation & The Environment and Smith Electric Vehicles to Deploy 30 All-Electric Delivery Trucks ] Houston, TX – The Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) has partnered with the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) and Smith Electric Vehicles Corporation (Smith Electric) to reduce vehicle emissions from delivery trucks in the Houston-Galveston region. As part of a U.S. Department of Energy sponsored effort, local fleets will replace existing diesel delivery vehicles with all-electric medium- and heavy-duty Smith Newton trucks for daily operations in the Houston-Galveston area. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) awarded a grant to H-GAC with an objective of accelerating the introduction and penetration of electric transportation technologies into the cargo transport sector. DOE selected this project to improve local air quality in the Houston-Galveston area, which is currently designated as a National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) 8-hour ozone nonattainment area. The H-GAC Zero Emission Truck project will demonstrate the effectiveness of all-electric delivery vehicles to perform at the same level of operation as similarly sized diesel delivery vehicles while significantly reducing emissions and petroleum use. By deploying 30 zero emission trucks targeted for this program, H-GAC expects to reduce petroleum consumption by over 250,000 gallons of diesel fuel over the 2-year demonstration period. The project will have additional impact with an expected reduction in GHG emissions by 37.5 million tons of carbon equivalents per year and an expected reduction in criteria pollutants of over 2,000 tons per year. The Smith Newton trucks include the company’s proprietary Smith Power, with variable 40-120 kWh battery pack options; Smith Drive, and Smith Link, an onboard system for monitoring the vehicle’s vital statistics. The vehicles that will be deployed under this grant are based on Smith’s latest production model Series 2000, which has been fully deployed in several locations across the country. Each Smith Newton will be delivered with an electric vehicle charging station (EVSE). Fully recharging the vehicle will take approximately 6 to 10 hours per night, depending on the size of the battery pack and the state of charge when the vehicle returns to the fleet depot. The H-GAC Zero Emission Truck project will serve as a pioneer for this innovative clean technology by helping fleets deploy all-electric delivery trucks that will improve their fleet operations and benefit the local community. CTE, a nonprofit and leader in alternative transportation technology deployments, will manage the project, collect operational data, and report on the project’s impact. The combined efforts of project partners will help further the objective of developing a market for this advanced electric transportation technology. Fleet managers operating in the Houston-Galveston area that are interested in participating in the program are encouraged to contact Smith Electric at http://www.smithelectric.com/contact-us/. About H-GAC The Houston-Galveston Area Council is the region-wide voluntary association of local governments in the 13-county Gulf Coast Planning region of Texas. Its service area is 12,500 square miles and contains more than 6 million people. H-GAC's mission is to serve as the instrument of local government cooperation, promoting the region's orderly development and the safety and welfare of its citizens. About Smith Electric Smith Electric Vehicles Corp. is a leading designer and producer of all-electric commercial vehicles for short haul urban fleets. Smith produces zero-emission vehicles that deliver a significantly superior performance to traditional diesel trucks, at greater operational efficiency and significantly lower cost. The Smith mission is to be the leading producer of high efficiency, zero-emissions vehicles in the commercial transportation industry, utilizing its unique platform to partner with world-class brands to transform their entire fleets, help them operate more profitably and return energy to the grid. The Smith Newton and Edison models are deployed in several countries across a variety of applications, including parcel, food, beverage and equipment delivery, and personnel transport. Smith Electric provides a full end-to-end approach to fleet transformation, comprising Smith Drive (fully integrated EV drive and control system maximizing vehicle performance), Smith Power (networked battery& power management system) and Smith Link (networked performance data). The Company operates manufacturing facilities in Kansas City, Mo., and Newcastle, U.K. About CTE The Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization based in Atlanta, Georgia that facilitates programs to develop technologies and implement solutions for energy and environmental sustainability. Since its founding in 1993, CTE has managed a portfolio of more than $250 million in federal, state, and local cost-shared research, development, and demonstration projects involving more than 200 organizations in the advanced transportation technology field. CTE has facilitated and leveraged funding for its projects and initiatives from the U.S. Departments of Defense, Energy, Interior, and Transportation, as well as from the U.S. Army, Environmental Protection Agency, and NASA, among many others. 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