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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
- Creators: Logan, Grace
This project examines the correlation between consumer perception and willingness to pay for electric vehicles (EVs). Using secondary research regarding sustainability, pricing and other factors influencing or swaying purchasing decisions, newfound details were uncovered. A survey was then created to collect primary research data, gauging general interest using a side-by-side comparison of the top three U.S. auto manufacturers and their efforts to transition to the next era of the automobile. From this, new marketing and advertising techniques are offered to allow for a more widespread adoption and quicker transition to full EV lineups in the near future - essentially, closing the gap from interest to action.
In theory, Electric Vehicle (EV) ownership and renewable energy seem like a perfect solution to our climate crisis; however, unless done properly, the effects can be less than ideal. We need to find a way to maximize the impact of our efforts to reduce carbon emissions, which is exactly what the heart of my paper gets to. Carbon emissions are bad for the environment because they comprise a large majority of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases have recently become dramatically out of balance and have resulted in an increase in respiratory diseases from smog and air pollution, as well as extreme weather and an increase in wildfires. Getting these greenhouse gases back in balance and maintaining an ecological balance is the goal of sustainability. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (the EPA), transportation makes up 29% of greenhouse gas emissions in the US followed closely by electricity generation at 28%, which makes Electric Vehicles the perfect target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions<br/>Arizona has many unique constraints when it comes to its electric infrastructure and its electric generation energy mix, which means the impacts of EV ownership become extremely complicated.<br/> In my paper, I aim to address the question: What are the carbon impact effects of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Arizona through the lens of 1) the time of day that charging occurs, 2) the infrastructure needed to support EV penetration and 3) the incentives given to the public to help provide the impetus for making greener choices? Using the best available research on how EVs are being adopted to reduce emissions, I will provide conclusive recommendations and a framework for how Arizona can best reduce carbon emissions through EVs.
Lithium ion batteries are quintessential components of modern life. They are used to power smart devices — phones, tablets, laptops, and are rapidly becoming major elements in the automotive industry. Demand projections for lithium are skyrocketing with production struggling to keep up pace. This drive is due mostly to the rapid adoption of electric vehicles; sales of electric vehicles in 2020 are more than double what they were only a year prior. With such staggering growth it is important to understand how lithium is sourced and what that means for the environment. Will production even be capable of meeting the demand as more industries make use of this valuable element? How will the environmental impact of lithium affect growth? This thesis attempts to answer these questions as the world looks to a decade of rapid growth for lithium ion batteries.
One answer to the lack of general knowledge for alternative energy and integration topics is seen in the workforce development content Laboratory of Energy and Power Solutions has generated for the past 6 years. LEAPS is a world-changing organization that provides both technical and business solutions in areas of grid modernization, workforce development, and global energy access that facilitates the global transition to a resilient, low-carbon economy. This paper will aim to explain the contributions of David Hobgood, an Arizona State University senior, to LEAPS workforce development content through the course of the Spring 2022 semester. This paper goes into detail on the process of completing this educational content, amplifies key aspect, and presents the results of a two week pilot that presented the generated content.
As more electric vehicles (EVs) are adopted, users need a solution to meet their expectations when it comes to Level 2 EV Charging (EVC). Currently, Adaptive Charging (AC) Techniques are used in multi-unit, public, settings. In the future, AC should be utilized to provide an optimized charging experience for the EV user in a single-unit residential application. In this experiment, an Electric Vehicle simulation tool was created using Python. A training dataset was generated from Alternative Fuels and Data Center (EVI-Pro) using charging data from Phoenix, Arizona. Similarly, the utility price plan chosen for this exercise was SRP Electric Vehicle Price plan. This will be the cost-basis for the thesis. There were four cases that were evaluated by the simulation tool. (1) Utility Guided Scheduling (2) Automatic Scheduling (3) Off-Site Enablement (4) Bidirectional enablement. These use-cases are some of the critical problems facing EV users when it comes to charging at home. Each of these scenarios and algorithms were proven to save the user money in their daily bill. Overall, the user will need some sort of weighted scenario that considers all four cases to provide the best solution to the user. All four scenarios support the use of Adaptive Charging techniques in residential level 2 electric vehicle chargers. By applying these techniques, the user can save up to 90% on their energy bill while offsetting the energy grid during peak hours. The adaptive charging techniques applied in this thesis are critical to the adoption of the next generation electric vehicles. Users need to be enabled to use the latest and greatest technology. In the future, individuals can use this report as a baseline to use an Artificial Intelligence model to make an educated case-by-case decision to deal with the variability of the data.
The electric transportation (ET) and electric vehicle (EV) landscape is currently inequitable and inaccessible for many living in the Phoenix area. This is especially true for people without single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs), who are reliant on public transit, or do not live in the Metropolitan center. Transit is intricately related to the environment and, due to societal and political structures, most of these environmental injustices are concentrated in low-income and minority communities. The lack of political representation within these communities has led to increased exposure to a variety of issues. Equitable transportation has also suffered due to a significant gap in addressing the needs of these underserved communities (Bolin, et al., 2005). The concentration of inequities and environmental injustices is a direct result of the lack of representation. Therefore, equitable and inclusive collaboration on solutions is required in order to maintain fairness and access, (Clement, 2020) considering the legacy of institutional harm within historically marginalized communities. The TE Activator was created by Salt River Project (SRP) and Anthesis Group, a sustainability consulting agency. The Activator is a group of Phoenix-area organizations interested in shaping the ET landscape to positively influence the well-being of Arizonans. With this in mind, they have asked our team to focus on making the transition to electric transportation equitable and inclusive. Our report details the current state of electric transportation nationally and locally, analyzes equitable EV/ET programs and utility plans across the country, and reviews the City of Tempe’s electric transportation related efforts. For this, we conducted listening sessions with a national expert, the City of Tempe, Tempe Community Action Agency, and CHISPA, creating a Community Listening Pilot Project based on the preliminary listening sessions. Through our research, listening, and discussions we compiled tiered recommendations for the TE Activator that suggest systemic policy changes based on community priorities. Accompanying the report is an Equity Roadmap, Community Listening Script, and one-page Debrief.
The electric transportation (ET) and electric vehicle (EV) landscape is currently inequitable and inaccessible for many living in the Phoenix area. This is especially true for people without single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs), who are reliant on public transit, or do not live in the Metropolitan center. Transit is intricately related to the environment and, due to societal and political structures, most of these environmental injustices are concentrated in low-income and minority communities. The lack of political representation within these communities has led to increased exposure to a variety of issues. Equitable transportation has also suffered due to a significant gap in addressing the needs of these underserved communities (Bolin, et al., 2005). The concentration of inequities and environmental injustices is a direct result of the lack of representation. Therefore, equitable and inclusive collaboration on solutions is required in order to maintain fairness and access, (Clement, 2020) considering the legacy of institutional harm within historically marginalized communities. The TE Activator was created by Salt River Project (SRP) and Anthesis Group, a sustainability consulting agency. The Activator is a group of Phoenix-area organizations interested in shaping the ET landscape to positively influence the well-being of Arizonans. With this in mind, they have asked our team to focus on making the transition to electric transportation equitable and inclusive. Our report details the current state of electric transportation nationally and locally, analyzes equitable EV/ET programs and utility plans across the country, and reviews the City of Tempe’s electric transportation related efforts. For this, we conducted listening sessions with a national expert, the City of Tempe, Tempe Community Action Agency, and CHISPA, creating a Community Listening Pilot Project based on the preliminary listening sessions. Through our research, listening, and discussions we compiled tiered recommendations for the TE Activator that suggest systemic policy changes based on community priorities. Accompanying the report is an Equity Roadmap, Community Listening Script, and one-page Debrief.