A County Level Methodology to Study the Impact on Emissions and Gasoline Tax Revenue of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles in New Jersey

A methodology for analyzing the impact of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) in New Jersey is presented. A model was developed using commute distance distributions from the Census Transportation Planning Products (CTPP) 5-year data, and electric generation information from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Emissions and Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID). The model accounts for net changes in emissions resulting from vehicle operation as well as emissions from power plants related to generating electricity needed for PHEV recharging. Total gasoline displaced is also tracked for the purpose of determining impact on gasoline tax revenue. The model provides information at the county level, allowing for the analysis of local effect on emissions in addition to net state-wide impact. This methodology can be adapted to other states or regions using the same publicly available resources.