Medium Duty Plug-In Electric Vehicles and Charging Infrastructure

Project Description

This project aims to provide opportunities for Tennessee Valley local power companies to participate in a project to deploy medium-duty plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV bucket and/or pickup trucks); sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) through the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). The benefits from this project are the reduced vehicle emissions in the TVA region and potential for improved off-peak load management. Upon meeting additional requirements of the highly leveraged project, TVA will provide partial funding to help pay for the vehicle and supporting charging infrastructure required to collect data for research.

These vehicles are targeted for use by local power companies as part of their service fleets. TVA and project participants will co-fund the total vehicle and infrastructure costs. A minimum $100,000 investment for each medium duty truck is required to participate in the EPRI project. A traditional bucket truck is estimated to cost approximately $150,000 or more, which does not include the added value of the DOE- funded PHEV retrofit systems.

Additional funds are allocated for the development/ implementation/management of supporting charging infrastructure for each vehicle in the areas served by the participating local power companies.

• Infrastructure: TVA will investigate/develop advanced electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) to maximize energy and environmental benefits through “smart” charging. TVA will provide this infrastructure for project participants. Charging infrastructure and the installation will be provided at a minimum of two locations - one for the vehicle depot, and one for public use in the local power company’s service territory to increase overall adoption of electric vehicles and will be partially funded by TVA.

Project Implementation

Once DOE approval is obtained by EPRI, existing relationships with local power companies will be leveraged to promote the use of cleaner transportation technologies and replace decrepit vehicles on a first-come, first-serve basis. After contractual relationships are established to manage all applicable requirements, participants and vehicle numbers will be finalized, project parameters quantified, and tracking processes established. Advanced EVSE and charging infrastructure will be developed along with technology optimization strategies. Participants will be given six months to gain operational knowledge and validation of the new PHEV vehicles before decommissioning TVA approved comparable-sized vehicles to achieve the anticipated net improvements in emissions. Utilization will be tracked and reported by participants to TVA and its agents on a monthly basis. The design of the project allows for reimbursement of up to $60,000 for a class 6/7/8 bucket truck with a plug-in hybrid electric drive system and an additional reimbursement of $5,000 for installation of provided infrastructure.

* Dates are tentative and subject to change

EPA Agreement Five-Year Budget

No less than $8 million in combination with the Non- Road Transportation Project.

Contact Information:

Michael DeFilippis 423-751-6473 msdefilippis@tva.gov

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