Vol. 12, No. 2 - April 2008
Clean Cities Now is the official publication of Clean Cities, an initiative of the U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program, designed to reduce petroleum consumption in the transportation sector by advancing the use of alternative fuel vehicles, idle reduction technologies, hybrid electric vehicles, fuel blends, and fuel economy.
A new law signed by President George W. Bush in December authorizes the U.S. Department of Transportation to set tougher fuel economy standards starting in model year (MY) 2011. Outlined in the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, the new standard authorizes vehicles sold in the United States to achieve a combined corporate average fuel economy of at least 35 miles per gallon (mpg) by 2020. It applies to passenger and nonpassenger vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of up to 10,000 lbs. and includes sedans and light trucks. Vehicles in this weight range currently achieve 22.5 mpg to 27.5 mpg--an average of about 25 mpg. More
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When Tucson Clean Cities Coordinator Colleen Crowninshield read that the National Football League (NFL) and Fox Sports were going green for this year's Phoenix-hosted Super Bowl, she took action. Recognizing an opportunity to showcase alternative fuels and vehicles in one of television's largest events, she tracked down NFL Director of Environment Jack Groh to get involved. To her surprise, Groh--a former consultant to Clean Cities--promptly returned her call and asked her to help. "Because he's worked with Clean Cities, he knew it was a credible group and that he could trust us to get it done," Crowninshield says. More
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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced in January $30 million in cost-share funding over the next three years for companies to design and build plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and test them in geographically diverse fleets. The cost and performance of PHEV batteries are two critical issues that need to be resolved before DOE can reach its goal of PHEVs being on the market by 2016. The funding will be awarded to select projects that result in a PHEV battery range of 40 miles (PHEV-40) without recharging in vehicles that are comparable to current-production vehicles in terms of emissions, safety, and comfort. A 40-mile range covers the average daily roundtrip commute and 70% of daily travel in the U.S. More
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The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) now offers a convenient list of heavy-duty vehicles (HDV) eligible for credits. This easy-to-use index lists HDVs by manufacturer and displays credit amounts the vehicles are eligible for. According to the IRS, qualifying alternative fuel HDVs are new vehicles or existing, prior-use, in-service vehicles repowered to use alternative fuels by an aftermarket installer. Qualifying heavy hybrids must be new, have a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 8,500 lbs., and draw propulsion energy from onboard stored energy sources. More
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In spring 2007, Alamo Clean Cities Coordinator Andrew Hudgins and representatives from the City of San Antonio sat down with members of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and the taxicab industry to discuss the environmental and cost benefits of switching from petroleum-powered vehicles to hybrids. According to Hudgins, their approach was to tout the "fuel savings, lower emissions, and 'green public image' that would come as a result of switching to hybrid taxis." More
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On March 6, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) published a final rule (PDF 227 KB) Download Adobe Reader concluding it will not implement an alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) acquisition mandate on private and local government (PLG) fleets. More
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This four-page Clean Cities fact sheet summarizes E85 Retail Business Case: When and Why to Sell E85 (PDF 654 KB), a report that helps gas station retailers determine whether adding E85 to their product mix can increase profitability. The fact sheet summarizes the data featured in the full report (PDF 1.4 MB). Download Adobe Reader. More
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