Clean Cities Coalition Network

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The Clean Cities Coalition Network is a coordinated group of nearly 100 coalitions in the United States working in communities across the country to advance affordable, domestic transportation fuels, energy-efficient mobility systems, and other fuel-saving technologies and practices. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Vehicle Technologies Office facilitates national coordination of the coalitions through its Technology Integration Program. The Network consists of 79 coalitions that work with more than 15,000 local stakeholders that have helped shift nearly 10 billion gasoline gallon equivalents of conventional fuel to alternative fuels or energy efficiency improvements, put more than 1.1 million alternative fuel vehicles on the road, and contributed to the expansion of alternative fueling station infrastructure since 1993. As of early 2020, there were more than 29,000 fueling stations nationwide that provide at least one of the following alternative fuels: ethanol (E85), biodiesel, compressed natural gas, electric, hydrogen, liquefied natural gas, renewable natural gas, or propane.

Illinois

Illinois' Clean Cities coalition began as Chicago Area Clean Cities on May 13, 1994 and was the fifth Clean Cities coalition to launch under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program, founded in 1993. In 2022, the coalition expanded to include the entire state and changed its name to Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation(IACT).

IACT's mission is to advance the energy, economic, and environmental security of the U.S. by supporting the reduction of petroleum consumption. This is accomplished at the local level through:

Coordinating efforts to obtain funding to implement clean fuel and petroleum displacement projects
Initiating and supporting legislation and programs that promote clean fuels, clean fuel vehicles, idle reduction, enhanced fuel economy and other clean technologies
Developing fueling infrastructure in the State of Illinois to support a diverse clean fuel market
Educating the public about the operation and benefits of clean fuels and technologies
Incorporating as many clean-fuel vehicles as possible throughout Illinois

In 30 years, IACT has displaced 200 million gasoline-gallon equivalents of petroleum, reduced greenhouse-gas emissions by 159,000 tons, encouraged stakeholders to use 13,000 alternative fuel, electric and hybrid vehicles, and helped create 1,700 new electric vehicle charging stations in the Chicago area.

IACT has memberships and sponsorships available. Membership is for public and private fleets, federal, state and local governments, corporations, small business, car dealerships, fuel suppliers, conversion companies, electric vehicle charging suppliers, environmental groups, and individuals. Membership is $75 for individuals and $200 for fleets (corporate or government)(2024). Sponsorships range from $1,000 to $10,000 and include varying benefits (2024).

IACT supports many events within the clean transportation sector but also currently hosts Green Drives Conference and Expo annually in two different Illinois cities. The conference is one of the largest clean-transportation conferences held in the Midwest and is a must-attend event for government officials, commercial and municipal fleet managers, corporate sustainability officers, and clean-tech and clean-energy professionals who want to learn how to use cleaner, lower emissions fuels and technologies, while saving money.

Advanced vehicle technologies, electric vehicles, and alternative fuels are showcased, including dozens of green vehicles and exhibitors. Attendees not only have a chance to network with experts from throughout the nation and the region, but learn of first-hand experiences from fleets currently using alternative fuels and electric vehicles.

U.S. DOE Clean Cities coalitions in early 2020.

Indiana

The State of Indiana contains only one designated Clean Cities coalitions: Drive Clean Indiana. Established on June 15, 1999 by the U.S. Department of Energy, Drive Clean Indiana serves the entire state of Indiana. They are the 71st designated United States Clean Cities Coalition.

Drive Clean Indiana constantly focuses on all Indiana communities. There is a distinct path towards understanding, communicating, and educating all of Indiana's communities. Through these steps, Drive Clean Indiana continues to promote alternative fuels, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, foster public/private partnerships, and support economic development. Drive Clean Indiana is a government/industry partnership designed to help reduce petroleum consumption in the transportation sector. Located in an area that has suffered the devastating environmental impact of the industrial practices of the late-nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries, Drive Clean Indiana is dedicated to preserving and revitalizing not only just Northern Indiana but the entire state by promoting the use of clean fuels and clean vehicles technology.[tone] As of 2022 reports, Drive Clean Indiana has strong support from their board members and their 450 stakeholders. This collaboration is backed by the founding Legacy Environmental Services, Inc., an Indiana Certified Women's Business Enterprise. Annual Energy Impact 23,259,550 gasoline gallon equivalents Annual Energy Impact by Alternative Fuel Vehicle Project Type 21,419,173 gasoline gallon equivalents Annual Emissions Reduced 105,771 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) Emissions Reduced by Alternative Fuel Vehicle Project Type 83,908 tons of CO2e

Some of Drive Clean Indiana's projects:

• Drive Clean Rural USA - Bringing together rural government leaders, business owners, fleet managers, farmers, and industry experts to accelerate rural communities’ access to clean fuel transportation solutions. Drive Clean Rural USA is a three-phase project that will run through June 2024.

• EMPOWER Workplace Charging - A key step in addressing the adoption of EVs throughout Indiana and other geographic areas. This national partnership between 32 Clean Cities Coalitions and other key stakeholders provides educational and technical assistance to various entities looking to install electric vehicle charging stations.

• Indiana Green Fleet Program - Drive Clean Indiana manages the Indiana Green Fleet program for our metropolitan planning organizations, including the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) and the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC). The goal of the program is to significantly improve the environmental performance of business and government vehicle fleets across each respective MPO’s territory through diesel retrofits and other strategies.

• Michigan to Montana (M2M) I-94 Clean Fuel Corridor - this project seeks to ensure a 1,500-mile span of Interstate 94 from Port Huron, Michigan, to Billings, Montana, will have adequate fueling sites to serve alternative fuel and electric vehicle driver needs.

Maryland

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority. Better known as simply "Metro," the authority provides transit services to the metropolitan area in and around Washington, D.C. The authority has a fleet of 1,500 buses, including 74 hybrid electric buses and Metro plans to have nearly 500 more hybrid-electric buses by 2012. Vice Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, who last year committed to convert the entire Maryland Transit Administration bus fleet to hybrid-electric buses by 2014. Maryland has already accelerated its purchase of hybrid-electric buses with the help of Recovery Act funds (Clean Cities).^[1]

Tennessee Clean Fuels

The state of Tennessee has two designated Clean Cities coalitions: the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition and the Middle-West Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition. They sometimes operate under the shared name "Tennessee Clean Fuels". Both were designated in 2004, and collectively serve the entire state.

Many fleets in Tennessee use alternative fuels like the Great Smoky Mountains National Park; cities like Knoxville, Nashville, Sevierville and Kingsport; Oak Ridge National Laboratory; utilities and airports; mass transit agencies; and large international companies like UPS and Waste Management.

The East Tennessee coalition - ETCleanFuels - has started numerous projects and initiatives over the years. Here are a few examples:

The Fuels Fix is website and monthly email service that is "Clean Cities stories and alternative fuel news." Each month, other Clean Cities coalitions from around the country provide articles and then those articles are sent to email subscribers.
The I-75 Green Corridor Project was a project that ETCleanFuels led from 2009-2015 that installed 40 biofuel pumps along I-75 to build it into "the longest biofuels corridor on the planet." Both ethanol E-85 and biodiesel B-20 pumps were installed during the project.
Tennessee Green Fleets is a fleet certification program that offers fleets or any type that are reducing their petroleum use and increasingly using alternative fuels and reducing greenhouse gas emissions a way to get recognized for their efforts. Fleets have to meet criteria and submit data to get certified.
Drive Electric Tennessee, or DriveElectricTN, is a statewide program that is a collaboration of many partners in Tennessee including Tennessee Valley Authority, the TDEC Office of Energy Programs, and many other stakeholders. The partnership has developed an "EV Roadmap" for the state and as of 2020 is building out working groups that will tackle issues like awareness, infrastructure, policies and programs, and innovation to help drive electric vehicle (EV) adoption across the state.

Wisconsin

The state of Wisconsin has one Clean City coalition designated in 1994 called Wisconsin Clean Cities.

Empire Clean Cities

Empire Clean Cities is the Clean Cities coalition for New York City & the Lower Hudson Valley (Westchester, Rockland, & Putnam Counties). ECC was incorporated in 2007 and was formerly known as New York City & Lower Hudson Valley Clean Cities.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

On 2009 Earth Day, Vice President Joe Biden announced the availability of $300 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for state and local governments and transit authorities to expand the nation's fleet of clean, sustainable vehicles and the fueling infrastructure necessary to support them. The Clean Cities Alternative Fuel and Advanced Technology Vehicles Pilot Program supported 25 cost-share projects involving alternative fuels or advanced vehicles in collaboration with 50 Clean Cities coalitions and 700 stakeholders who provided an additional $500 million in matching funds. Eligible technologies included a number of different light- and heavy-duty vehicles, including hybrid, plug-in hybrid electric, hydraulic hybrid, electric, fuel cell, and compressed natural gas vehicles. In addition, projects supported refueling infrastructure for alternative fuels, including biofuels and natural gas. Other efforts eligible for funds included public awareness campaigns and training programs on alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles and infrastructure. The program required a 50% cost share from participants.^[1]

These projects established 1,380 alternative fueling stations and put more than 9,000 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles on the road while supporting U.S. energy independence and contributing to regional economic development. The Clean Cities Coalition Network compiled a report, Designing a Successful Transportation Project: Lessons Learned from the Clean Cities American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Projects, summarizing high-level project design and administrative considerations for conducting a successful transportation project.

Criticism

In 2009, the California Cars Initiative stated that the Clean Cities American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Project Awards included a scattering of funding for electrification and charging stations, but most of it was for carbon-based liquid fuels or non-pluggable hybrids.^[2] Clean Cities federal funding in 2010-2011 was set up with a majority of the funding favoring plug-in EVs and HEVs. However, the amount of funding and focus of that funding ebbs and flows between the alternative fuels over time due to advances in technology and interest in those fuels. CNG and propane were more popular in the early 2000s, the biofuels ethanol and biodiesel took center stage in the mid-2000s.

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded nearly $460 million through its funding opportunities for hundreds of projects across the country to implement alternative fuels and energy-efficient vehicle technologies. These awards leveraged almost $1.2 billion more in matching funds and in-kind contributions from the private and public sectors. These project awards contribute to advancing affordable, domestic transportation fuels and fuel-saving technologies and practices.

Funded projects have included:

Understanding transportation electrification in public and private fleets.
Integrating alternative fuel vehicles and refueling infrastructure in urban and rural communities.
Implementing living lab projects that demonstrate and assess new mobility solutions that maximize the return on investment to mobility systems in terms of time, cost, energy, and opportunity.
Developing fueling and charging stations along busy transportation corridors.
Providing resiliency planning through diversified vehicle and fueling options.
Securing real-world data on total cost of ownership for alternative fuels.

References

^ ^a ^b DOE Offers $300 Million in Recovery Act Funds for Clean Cities Program. Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy News, April 29, 2009
^ The Ultimate Posting on Plug-In Hybrid Developments: Clip & Save. CalCars, September 22, 2009