Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Improving Air Quality
154
1 5 4
where the electrification of bus transportation has progressed quite a bit. In
Shenzhen, all 16,359 buses are now electric, and BYD reached 50,000 electric buses manufactured in January 2019. With 385,000 electric buses on the
road in 2019, 17% of China’s bus fleet is powered by electricity. In addition
to China, more than 1600 electric buses are present in Europe in many cities,
including London, Paris, Oslo, and Copenhagen in 2019. In Latin America,
there are electric buses on order or in service in Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador (Scriven, 2019). The issues of range and
charging time have been addressed in many applications. For example, some
buses in London are used all day, racking up 180 miles traveled on a single
charge, and then they are recharged at night (RTA, 2019).
In 2018, California became the first state in the USA to require transit agencies
to stop purchasing buses powered by fossil fuels by 2029 (Fehrenbacher, 2019).
Fehrenbacher (2019) points out that there is interest in having electric school buses
because of the impact of diesel fumes on health. Proterra and Daimler are working
together on the development of electric school buses (Fehrenbacher, 2019).
Another nascent but exciting new market is for electric trucks. This can
be particularly well suited for company fleets of delivery vans that have set
routes with known mileages and energy needs. The fleet market for EVs is
expected to be large. Fleets are typically purchased based on established
needs and economic considerations, so the decreases in battery prices (and
increases in capacity) will progressively make small electric fleet vehicles the
lowest- cost alternative very soon. There will be significant benefits to urban
air quality as fleet vehicles become EVs.
In many parts of the world, there is a need for charging infrastructure for
EVs, and this topic was covered in an earlier book (Erickson et al., 2017).
Because of the importance of having EVs connected to charging stations
for management of supply and demand of renewable electricity in the grid,
more charging infrastructure is recommended.
16.5 Technology in Context
The advances in technology reviewed in this book are wide- ranging and
stunning. There have been rapid advances in renewable wind and solar energy,
in battery storage, in energy management and smart grid technology, and, of
course, across an array of different EVs. These technological improvements,
including in efficiency and production techniques, have inexorably pushed the
basic economics towards the adoption of these improvements across all applicable areas of life. We have to keep in mind, though, that there are also a number
of social factors that play strong roles in the adoption of these new technologies.
At a broad level, the social role of new technology adoption plays out in
terms of government policies. Policies can be made at the global, national,
154
1 5 4
where the electrification of bus transportation has progressed quite a bit. In
Shenzhen, all 16,359 buses are now electric, and BYD reached 50,000 electric buses manufactured in January 2019. With 385,000 electric buses on the
road in 2019, 17% of China’s bus fleet is powered by electricity. In addition
to China, more than 1600 electric buses are present in Europe in many cities,
including London, Paris, Oslo, and Copenhagen in 2019. In Latin America,
there are electric buses on order or in service in Argentina, Brazil, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, and Ecuador (Scriven, 2019). The issues of range and
charging time have been addressed in many applications. For example, some
buses in London are used all day, racking up 180 miles traveled on a single
charge, and then they are recharged at night (RTA, 2019).
In 2018, California became the first state in the USA to require transit agencies
to stop purchasing buses powered by fossil fuels by 2029 (Fehrenbacher, 2019).
Fehrenbacher (2019) points out that there is interest in having electric school buses
because of the impact of diesel fumes on health. Proterra and Daimler are working
together on the development of electric school buses (Fehrenbacher, 2019).
Another nascent but exciting new market is for electric trucks. This can
be particularly well suited for company fleets of delivery vans that have set
routes with known mileages and energy needs. The fleet market for EVs is
expected to be large. Fleets are typically purchased based on established
needs and economic considerations, so the decreases in battery prices (and
increases in capacity) will progressively make small electric fleet vehicles the
lowest- cost alternative very soon. There will be significant benefits to urban
air quality as fleet vehicles become EVs.
In many parts of the world, there is a need for charging infrastructure for
EVs, and this topic was covered in an earlier book (Erickson et al., 2017).
Because of the importance of having EVs connected to charging stations
for management of supply and demand of renewable electricity in the grid,
more charging infrastructure is recommended.
16.5 Technology in Context
The advances in technology reviewed in this book are wide- ranging and
stunning. There have been rapid advances in renewable wind and solar energy,
in battery storage, in energy management and smart grid technology, and, of
course, across an array of different EVs. These technological improvements,
including in efficiency and production techniques, have inexorably pushed the
basic economics towards the adoption of these improvements across all applicable areas of life. We have to keep in mind, though, that there are also a number
of social factors that play strong roles in the adoption of these new technologies.
At a broad level, the social role of new technology adoption plays out in
terms of government policies. Policies can be made at the global, national,