Non-Road Transportation

 

One of the benefits of replacing petroleum with electricity in transportation is the potential reduction in greenhouse gases and other pollutants. A critical aspect of TVA's research into the coming changes in transportation technology is to assess what these emissions reductions will be, both from regular highway vehicles and from other sectors involving non-road transportation.

We are looking at the total footprint of individual systems, such as the utility or air cargo sectors, and researching options to reduce emissions through transportation electrification one non-road transportation sector at a time.

Opportunities for these changes include off-road vehicles and systems such as air cargo support equipment, alternative marine and port support equipment, light rail and electric locomotives, low-speed shuttle carts, truck-stop electrification, lawn and garden equipment and other means of transporting people and materials from one place to another.

Further investigation is needed to clearly define specific opportunities and create best practices to reduce emissions; however, non-road transportation has huge potential for emissions reduction using electricity as the fuel.