Mission
The problem: United States' dependence on oil threatens our national security, weakens our economy, and degrades the environment. In 2008, we spent $900 billion on gasoline, diesel, and other refined products, about 6.4% of the nation's total GDP. 70% of the oil consumed in 2008 went to the transportation sector. DOE reported that transportation alone accounted for 34% of 2007 U.S. carbon emissions.
The solution: The federal government has already invested billions in ARRA funds for research and manufacturing of electric vehicles and batteries. Now we need to create demand by identifying a large customer and deploying vehicles on the road.
Electrification of a very large fleet would take advantage of economies of scale, answer critical questions about integration into the power grid, and prove that wide scale deployment of EVs is not only possible but desirable.
The U.S. Postal Service has the largest commercial fleet in the nation. Its vehicles drive through every neighborhood six days a week, and the Postal Service is regarded as the most trusted federal agency. The 142,000 vehicles in its delivery fleet currently get a fuel economy of 9 MPG and have an average age of 17 years. Post offices across the nation are ideally located to offer public access to EV charging stations.
e-Drive.org has three long-term goals:
- To improve our nation's energy security by reducing our dependence on imported oil;
- To make meaningful reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; and
- To help build a strong American electric drive and battery industry to compete on the global market and to provide long-term, high-paying jobs for U.S. workers.
We have two major goals for 2010:
- To provide information about the bipartisan American Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Act or "e-Drive" that was introduced by Representative Jose E. Serrano (D-NY) and five other co-sponsors as H.R. 4399 on December 16, 2009.
- To enact the e-Drive bill into law so that the Department of Energy can issue a competitive solicitation as soon as possible after the 2011 Federal Fiscal Year begins on October 1, 2010.
