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Integrating vehicles and fuels technology through publications, Web sites, hotlines, and other dissemination efforts provides important information to industry, academia, government agencies, and the public.
NREL helps carry out various DOE initiatives that were launched to advance the use of alternative fuels and related vehicle technologies. Many initiatives are rooted in the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct) and other legislation and executive orders; their ultimate aim is to decrease the nation's use of petroleum. EPAct requires certain state, fuel provider, and federal fleets to purchase an annual percentage of alternative fuel vehicles. NREL supports DOE in administering these regulations by analyzing fleet compliance data, policy issues, and industry trends. It also maintains the online reporting database for state and alternative fuel provider fleets and creates documents that help regulated fleets understand and comply with EPAct.
NREL's Fleet Test and Evaluation Project helps fleet operators evaluate new fuels and vehicle technologies under real-world conditions. Test procedures are developed with stakeholders to collect data on vehicle emissions, maintenance, cost, and performance. Unbiased data are produced for key decision makers, including fleet managers, who are considering such vehicles for their fleets.
DOE's Clean Cities Program supports local coalitions in more than 80 communities to advance the use of alternative fuels and vehicles, fuel economy measures, hybrid vehicles, and idle reduction technologies across the country. NREL provides technical assistance, maintains a comprehensive Web site, designs on-line tools and provides recent news through it's Clean Cities Now, which help stakeholders and coalitions make informed decisions.
Housed within NREL, the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center (AFDC) provides comprehensive information to educate the industry, fleet managers, and consumers about advanced fuels and vehicles. The AFDC features an extensive, searchable an online mapping system to find alternative fuel stations, a database of federal and state financial incentives and regulations, and other information.
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