The CNG vehicles will be used at seven Frito-Lay North America distribution centers, including: Rancho Cucamonga, CA; Irving, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Beloit, WI; Frankfort, IN; Charlotte, NC; and Casa Grande, AZ. PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America division will purchase 100 Newton Series 2000 all-electric commercial vehicles in 2012 from Smith Electric Vehicles, bringing the total number of its electric fleet to more than 280. MORE

Charlotte, N.C.; Florida-based truckload carrier Raven Transport is expanding its clean-burning natural gas fleet with 115 Peterbilt Model 579s, equipped with sleepers and powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) to haul goods for a leading consumer packaged goods company. Clean Energy will support this fleet by opening truck-friendly natural gas fueling stations in Atlanta, Ga.; Birmingham, Ala.; Pearl, Miss.; and Theodore, Ala. MORE

The 40-foot unit is located in south Charlotte and has several BYD-vertically integrated components including a 200 kW bi-directional, UL-compliant BYD inverter with BYD’s 500 kWh Iron Phosphate battery. BYD Ltd and Utility Partners of America (UPA) have put into service a 500 kWh containerized energy storage system (ESS) for one of the largest investor-owned utility companies in North America. MORE

In addition to using racetracks around the world, the team will develop new vehicles and technologies at Ford’s engineering centers globally and at the new technical center in Charlotte, North Carolina. In a pre-Christmas media event, Ford president and CEO Mark Fields said while 2014 was a good year for the company, 2015 has the potential to be a “ breakthrough year ”. MORE

Many of these are in major metropolitan areas including: Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Growth Energy announced that more than 1,000 fuel stations around the US are offering E15—a fuel with 15% ethanol—more than doubling the number of stations from the same time last year. E15 is cleaner and cooler burning fuel that works well for cars model 2001 and newer and typically saves up to 10 cents per gallon. MORE

The Carbon Management Research Group comprises government agencies, electric utilities, and research organizations; current members include LG&E and KU Energy (Louisville, Ky), Duke Energy (Charlotte, NC), American Electric Power, and the Kentucky Department of Energy Development and Independence. Construction began on an innovative $19.5-million carbon-capture pilot, funded in part by the US Department of Energy (DOE), at Kentucky Utilities’ E.W. MORE

The hybrid conversions took place in Charlotte, North Carolina over the last six months and were developed with Freightliner Custom Chassis Corporation (FCCC) and Eaton Corporation. The FedEx fleet of hybrid-electric vehicles has leapt by more than 50 per cent from 172 to 264 after the company added 92 hybrid-electric trucks to its delivery fleet by converting existing models. MORE

The researchers still don’t know exactly why this surface layer is so active, although the theorists, including SUNCAT graduate students Colin Dickens and Charlotte Kirk, have provided some ideas. MORE

Rana Munns, Richard A James, Bo Xu, Asmini Athman, Simon J Conn, Charlotte Jordans, Caitlin S Byrt, Ray A Hare, Stephen D Tyerman, Mark Tester, Darren Plett & Matthew Gilliham (2012) Wheat grain yield on saline soils is improved by an ancestral Na+ transporter gene. A team of Australian scientists has bred salt tolerance into a variety of durum wheat that shows improved grain yield by 25% on salty soils. MORE

Ann Arbor, MI; Boston, MA; Charlotte, NC; Fort Myers, FL; Indianapolis, IN; Ithaca, NY; New York, NY; Oakland, CA; Olympia, WA; San Diego, CA; and Tampa, FL). Public transportation ridership rose 5% to nearly 2.7 billion trips in the first quarter of 2012 over the first quarter of last year, according to a report by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). This was the fifth consecutive quarter of US public transit ridership increase, as 125.7 MORE

and Charlotte, N.C. Chrysler Group LLC, working in partnership with the US Department of Energy (DOE), will deliver 10 demonstration fleet Ram 1500 plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) pickup trucks to Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). MORE

Photograph by Kay Crow On Thursday evening, as a guest of Peggy at Yosemite Chamber of Commerce Mixer, and after being introduced by Kay Crow, EVJerry did address a packed house at the Hotel Charlotte in Groveland; the friendly Yosemite Chamber of Commerce crowd heard about "Consider the Alternatives" involving Plug-ins whether pure Electric Vehicles or plug-in hybrid EVs. MORE

The award was given at an award ceremony during the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4/International Erosion Control Association Municipal Wet Weather Stormwater Conference, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the Volkswagen Group of America the regional 2014 EPA Rain Catcher Award in the Commercial Category for the Chattanooga, Tennessee Assembly Plant. MORE

The light rail system that started in November 2007 in Charlotte, NC showed the highest percentage of increase with an annual 862% increase. Americans took 10.7 billion trips on public transportation in 2008, the highest level of ridership in 52 years and a modern ridership record, according to a report released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). This represents a 4.0% MORE

The most complex unit is a bucket truck equipped with a 58-foot aerial lift that is operating in the Charlotte area, pruning trees away from power lines. Asplundh, an international provider of vegetation management services to utilities and municipalities, is one of the first in its industry to adopt propane autogas for some of the medium-duty trucks in its fleet. Currently, Asplundh has two Ford F-650 trucks powered by ROUSH CleanTech propane autogas fuel systems. MORE

Spring break and summer vacations are closer than you think, and many families making travel plans now are looking for ways to make their trips a little easier on the environment. MORE

Escape is over-indexing in four cities particularly attractive to baby boomers: Miami, up 53%; Orlando, up 34%; Phoenix, up 27%; and Charlotte, N.C., Industry data supplied by Ford Motor Company and Del Webb, part of the multi-brand homebuilder PulteGroup, show that the baby boomer segment (ages 55 to 64), which comprised the growing market for large homes and made minivans and big SUVs vogue are now shifting to still lavish, but smaller homes and utility vehicles. MORE

Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, N.C.-S.C. The American Lung Association released its annual report on air quality, State of the Air 2011 , which includes lists of the nation’s most polluted metropolitan areas. This year’s report finds that the majority of American cities most-polluted by ozone (smog) or year-round particle pollution (soot) have improved, showing continued progress in the cleanup of toxics under the requirements of the Clean Air Act. MORE

Southeast Corridor (Washington, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Atlanta, Macon, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville). The envisioned high-speed rail corridors. Source: DOT. Click to enlarge. MORE

The survey of 105 fleet managers, conducted recently at the 2011 NAFA Institute & Expo in Charlotte, found that driver safety and cost savings were also top areas of concern. Corporate fleet managers rate higher and more volatile fuel prices as their top concern in 2011, according to a recent survey conducted by GE Capital Fleet Services. 29% said the recent spike in fuel prices has made this issue their top concern, up from 12% a year ago. MORE

The US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is awarding grants totaling $7.4 million to fund two research projects aimed at improving measurement and standards for the rapidly developing field of additive manufacturing (AM). Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, is a group of new technologies that build up objects, usually by laying down many thin layers on top of each other. MORE

The consortium recently received membership pledges from start-up battery producer H-Power (of Charlotte, NC) and New Zealand start-up carbon producer ArcActive. The Advanced Lead Acid Battery Consortium ( ALABC ) announced the additions of several companies to its membership list, bringing its current membership to 66 companies—its highest tally ever. MORE

will display the new PowerPhase HD 220 electric drive system at the upcoming Hybrid, Electric and Advanced Truck Users Forum (HTUF) national conference and expo in Charlotte, NC. UQM Technologies, Inc. The PowerPhase HD 220 T system includes the most powerful electric motor UQM has yet manufactured, and an all-new controller designed specifically for the commercial vehicle market. MORE

The turbines for the Hummel generating station will be manufactured at Siemens’ manufacturing facility in Charlotte, North Carolina. Panda Power Funds has financed the 1,124 megawatt Panda “Hummel Station” power plant—one of the largest coal-to-natural gas power conversion projects in the United States. The plant will be located at the site of the retired Sunbury coal-fired power plant near Shamokin Dam in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. MORE

The new facility is located in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the midst of the region’s growing automotive research and manufacturing cluster. MORE

and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.). Carbon dioxide injection—an important part of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology—is underway as part of a pilot study of CO 2 enhanced oil recovery (EOR) in the Citronelle Field of Mobile County, Alabama. A project team led by the University of Alabama at Birmingham is conducting the injection. MORE

Feinberg, Christopher Fernandez, Charlotte E. MORE

As part of the ship-through process, Isuzu trucks built at the Charlotte, Michigan plant will be transported to IMPCO’s OEM Automotive conversion facility in Union City, Indiana for CNG system installation. IMPCO Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Fuel Systems Solutions, Inc., announced that Isuzu commercial vehicle dealers can now select IMPCO as a ship-through option more quickly to convert or to modify gasoline-powered NPR-HD (14,500-lb. GVWR) trucks to CNG operation. MORE

Partners: CTE, Atlanta, GA; Ohio State ,Columbus, OH; Design Line, Charlotte, NC; Ballard Power Systems, Lowell, MA. US Federal Transit Administration is awarding $6.42 million to the Center for Transportation and the Environment in Atlanta and $10.17 million to CALSTART in Pasadena, CA to coordinate research among fuel cell manufacturers, engineering firms and transit agencies throughout the country for fuel-cell powered buses. MORE

and a leading supplier of microporous separators used in lithium-ion batteries, plans to expand capacity at its existing Charlotte, North Carolina facility and build a new manufacturing site in Concord, North Carolina. In the first phase, Celgard will add capacity at its existing Charlotte, North Carolina facility. Expansion of the Charlotte facility will start immediately. Celgard, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polypore International, Inc., MORE

The markets of Charlotte, Detroit, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Providence, and Virginia Beach showed charging infrastructure growth of approximately 30% to 80%, corresponding with at least a doubling of their electric vehicle uptake from 2015 to 2016. MORE

Most people would have been knocked flat by such a turn of events, but the fire seems to have made Gadget and his wife, Charlotte, even more determined to push for a plug-in future. As 2009 progresses, we’ll be at Gadget and Charlotte’s side as they rebuild their lives. Starting Again (photo: Steve Payne). . Over the holidays, the “Revenge&# team spent time filming with Greg “Gadget&# Abbott as he moved into a cavernous new warehouse space in downtown LA. MORE

Research in mesoscale atmospheric modeling by the University of North Carolina (UNC) Charlotte’s Amanda S. Adams and Harvard University’s David W. Keith suggests that the power capacity of large-scale wind farms may have been significantly overestimated. Their open access paper appears in the journal Environmental Research Letters. Large-scale wind farms can comprise hundreds of tower-mounted turbines. MORE

The proposed capacity expansion would be implemented at Celgard’s existing Charlotte, North Carolina, facility and at an additional manufacturing facility that would be built at a second US location in the Southeast. Celgard, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Polypore International, Inc. MORE

Oerlikon is expanding its global additive manufacturing (AM) business with a state-of-the-art R&D and production facility for additively manufactured advanced components in the Charlotte metro area in North Carolina, USA. Following the acquisition of the AM production company, citim , in Germany, Oerlikon is extending its AM competence and investing in the construction of a new facility in Charlotte. The Charlotte site will be fully operational in 2018. MORE

The Toyota Camry Hybrid by contrast will be used throughout the race and will also be used at five more races later in the season at Infineon Raceway; in Charlotte; in Watkins Glen in New York; at Martinsville in Virginia; and the Chicagoland Speedway. Efforts to turn motor racing green are continuing at a rapid pace through innovations in Formula 1, the Michelin Green X Challenge at the American Le Mans and now it is NASCAR’s turn to join the green car race. MORE

Other authors from the BioEnergy Science Center are Charlotte Wilson, Dawn M. Donohoe, Charlotte Wilson, Dawn M. MORE

LTC will contribute its experience with several other automotive applications for its battery cells such as Volkswagen’s Flottenversuch, Karmann’s electric vehicle, and eRUF’s and DesignLine’s hybrid buses, which are operational in Baltimore, MD, New York, NY and at the Charlotte, NC Airport. Lithium Technology Corporation (LTC) ( earlier post ) has entered into a strategic alliance with Frazer-Nash Research Ltd. (FN MORE

Charlotte, N.C. Nissan has expanded its “No Charge to Charge” program to 10 new markets, continuing the push to provide LEAF owners with no-cost public charging. The program offers new LEAF buyers free public charging for the first two years of ownership The 10 new markets are: Charleston, S.C. Colorado Springs/Pueblo, Colo. Greenville/Spartanburg/Asheville/Anderson, N.C./S.C. Jacksonville, Fla. Miami. Milwaukee. Palm Springs, Fla. Portland/Auburn, Ore. Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota, Fla. MORE

It's one of the questions for future electric-car charging infrastructure: what about putting them at gas stations? On the one hand, drivers are used to going to gas stations, which are often conveniently located on both local and long-distance routes. On the other hand, gas-station stops generally take 10 to 15 minutes at most, while even fast. plug-in cars charging BP North Carolina charging infrastructure Fast Charging Charging stations gas station MORE

The gasoline-powered models will be assembled in the United States in Charlotte, Mich. General Motors and Isuzu Motors reached an agreement on a US commercial vehicle collaboration, allowing Isuzu to strengthen its product lineup and GM to expand its commercial vehicle portfolio. MORE

In a new research brief , Pike Research forecasts that wireless charging equipment for light duty plug-in vehicle sales will grow by a CAGR of 91% from 2013 to 2020, as wireless systems move from a retrofit technology to an integrated part of new EVs, reaching annual sales of 283,000 units in 2020. MORE

The hybrid conversions were produced in Charlotte, N.C. FedEx Corp. has added 92 hybrid-electric trucks to its delivery fleet by converting standard FedEx delivery trucks to hybrid-electric systems. The addition of the 92 trucks increases the FedEx fleet of hybrid-electric vehicles by more than 50%, from 172 to 264. over the past six months. MORE