Tracking 7,812 Volts and LEAFs – What the INL Data Tells Us
Idaho National Laboratories (INL) recently released what it called the “the largest plug-in electric vehicle infrastructure demonstration in the world,” and the scope of the study is huge.
The “Plug-in Electric Vehicle and Infrastructure Analysis Report” tracked 8,700 EVs (almost entirely LEAFs and Volts) for three years and includes data on more than 6 million charging events and 125 million miles driven.
INL produced an easy to read infographic on the top findings, but there are hundreds of interesting nuggets in the full 500+ page report. We’re still pouring through the report, but here are a few interesting results that have not been widely reported.
A Grateful Planet Thanks You!
The combined 7,812 Volts and LEAFs in the study each avoided the use of 299 gallons of gasoline and 5,980 pounds of CO2 annually. That translates to a total of 2.2 million gallons of gas saved and 44 million pounds of CO2 saved per year. With those stats in mind, if 10% of cars switched from ICE to EV we could avoid burning 5.5 billion (with a B) gallons of gas per year. That represents about 19% of the gross total oil imported from the Persian Gulf region in 2014.
EV Drivers – John Wayne Festival
Direct from the report – “Overall, 63% of primary PEV drivers are male; however, this percentage reaches nearer 70% in Texas, Washington D.C., and Chicago. Oregon presents the highest percentage of female drivers at 34%.”
Fast Charging for LEAFs – Not So Much
Looking at a sample of more than 4,000 LEAFs, over a 15-month period only about 1% of the 867,293 charging events used DC fast charging.
Take a look at the full report and other materials on the webpage INL set up for.