Project FEVER (Fostering Electric Vehicle Expansion in the Rockies), funded by EERE’s Clean Cities plug-in electric vehicle community readiness award, has supported the development of Colorado state policies to accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). Through Project FEVER, the Denver Clean Cities coalition and its partners produced the Colorado Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan, which includes a comprehensive set of state-level recommendations to improve PEV readiness. They also conducted a number of regional analyses, such as quantifying PEVs’ current and future greenhouse gas and criteria life-cycle emissions.

The Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP)—a non-profit organization that works with the Colorado state government to advance energy efficiency efforts, used these analyses to develop several documents, including a state scorecard on PEV readiness—a report on PEVs’ regional life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions, and a report on PEVs’ regional criteria emissions. SWEEP also worked with the Colorado state legislature and governor's office to implement a number of the recommendations made in the Colorado Electric Vehicle Readiness Plan. This legislation, which was passed in the 2012 and 2013 legislative sessions, addressed a number of major barriers, including the following:

  • Deregulating the resale of electricity for vehicle charging.
  • Extending a state income tax credit of $6,000 for PEV purchasers that was set to expire in seven years.
  • Creating a small fee per PEV to support a PEV charging infrastructure fund.
  • Prohibiting unreasonable obstacles to installing charging stations in multifamily housing and through homeowners associations.
  • Making PEVs eligible to be considered alternative fuel vehicles for the state fleet’s procurement guidelines.
  • Allowing fleets for the state government and political subdivisions to use performance contracting to finance measures that could provide operational and fuel savings, including purchasing PEVs and charging infrastructure.

This project is a step forward towards the EV Everywhere Grand Challenge goal of making the United States the first nation in the world to produce PEVs that, by 2022, are as affordable for the average American family as today’s gasoline-powered vehicles.

Positive Impact

Project FEVER (Fostering Electric Vehicle Expansion in the Rockies), funded by EERE’s Clean Cities plug-in electric vehicle community readiness award, has supported the development of Colorado state policies to accelerate the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs).

Location

Colorado

Partners

American Lung Association of the Southwest, Denver Clean Cities, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, Colorado

EERE Investment

$500,000

Clean Energy Sector

Sustainable transportation

The Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) develops and deploys efficient and environmentally friendly highway transportation technologies that will enable America to use less petroleum. These technologies will provide Americans with greater freedom of mobility and energy security, while lowering costs and reducing impacts on the environment.

The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) success stories highlight the positive impact of its work with businesses, industry partners, universities, research labs, and other entities.