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Southern Company acquiring AGL Resources for $8B, creating 2nd largest US electric and gas utility by customer base

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Southern Company and AGL Resources announced that the boards of directors of both companies have approved a definitive merger agreement under which AGL Resources will become a new wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company for about $8 billion. Customers will continue to be served by their current gas and electric utility companies.

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U Mich, Ford lifecycle study of carbon footprint of last-mile and final-50-feet delivery with automated vehicles and robots

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Now, researchers from the University of Michigan and Ford report in an open-access paper in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology that automating residential package transport doesn’t influence the greenhouse gas footprint as much as the delivery van’s size and type. Luyao Li, Xiaoyi He, Gregory A. Wallington, and Nicholas J. 0c08213.

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CARB approves Clean Miles Standard for TNCs

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The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved the US’ first standard to transition ride-hailing fleets to zero-emission vehicles by 2030. The Clean Miles Standard (CMS) ( earlier post ) sets electrification and greenhouse gas emission targets for transportation network companies (TNCs)—e.g., Uber and Lyft.

Miles 186
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New Flyer’s Xcelsior CHARGE H2 fuel-cell bus achieves 350 miles of zero-emission range in a test demonstration for OCTA

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New Flyer of America announced that a test demonstration with a New Flyer 40', heavy-duty fuel-cell-electric Xcelsior CHARGE H2 bus for the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) achieved 350-miles (563 km) of zero-emission range. These results exceeded the 300-mile range performance target by 17% without refueling.

Miles 236
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Argonne report on characteristics of light-duty plug-in electric vehicles in US

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A new report from a team at Argonne National Laboratory examines the changing characteristics for light-duty plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) from 2010-2021, evaluating range, energy efficiency, costs, and performance. The sales-weighted average range for BEVs reached 290 miles in 2021 and 28 miles for PHEVs. More than 2.1

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ORNL study finds best current use of natural gas for cars is efficient production of electricity for EVs

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However, they also noted, high PTW efficiencies and the moderate fuel economies of current compressed natural gas vehicles (CNGVs) make them a viable option as well. If CNG were to be eventually used in hybrids, the advantage of the electric generation/EV option shrinks. Their open access paper is published in the journal Energy.

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PG&E and Tesla launch virtual power plant pilot

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Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) and Tesla Inc. have launched a new pilot program that creates a virtual power plant (VPP) to help support electric grid reliability and save customers money. VPPs are a valuable resource for supporting grid reliability and an essential part of California’s clean energy future.

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