WASHINGTON, DC –Today, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Samuel W. Bodman announced $8.6 million for 16 projects to expand the use of alternative transportation fuels.  Combined with funding from the participants, more than $25 million will be invested in the nation’s alternative fuel infrastructure.  The grants are part of the Clean Cities program and were selected under three topic areas including Refueling Infrastructure for E85 and Alternative Fuels; Incremental Cost for Alternative Fuel Vehicles; and Idle Reduction Training and Awareness for School Districts.

“This public-private partnership helps bring diversity of supply to our transportation fuel market,” Secretary Bodman said.  “We need to integrate a diversity of supplies and a diversity of suppliers in order to reduce our reliance on any one particular type of fuel, or particular supplier.  By building our energy infrastructure we create an environment in which American consumers have more choices in the transportation fuel they use.”

The selected projects represent significant diversity among the recipients and geographic location.  They include pioneering efforts to bring alternative fuel infrastructure to regions of the country in which it does not currently exist.

The Refueling Infrastructure topic area considered projects that include new dispensing facilities, or additional equipment or upgrades and improvements to existing refueling sites for alternative fuel vehicles (AFV).  The 13 projects selected under this topic include the installation of alternative fuel blending and refueling infrastructure at over 180 locations in 25 states and the District of Columbia.  This includes the installation of infrastructure to dispense E85 at both converted and new stations.  Additional projects involve the installation of biodiesel blending capabilities at existing petroleum facilities for improving the availability and distribution of low-level biodiesel blends.  Two projects are focused on infrastructure for compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG).  Successful implementation of the planned infrastructure projects is expected to result in reducing the consumption of petroleum-based fuels by up to 30 million gallons per year.

The Incremental Cost for Alternative Fuel Vehicles topic area provides support for projects for the incremental cost of placing new or converted highway-certified vehicles in service.  A single project for propane-powered vehicles was selected under this topic area that is expected to result in the reduction of diesel fuel by over 100,000 gallons per year.

The Idle Reduction Training and Awareness for School Districts topic area considered the development and implementation of comprehensive school bus driver, student, faculty, and parent education and awareness programs to eliminate or reduce idling in school districts.  Two projects were selected under this topic.

A complete list of the projects selected for negotiation is provided below:

REFUELING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR E85 AND OTHER ALTERNATIVE FUELS

WestStart-CALSTART in Pasadena, CA, will install 15 publicly accessible E85 refueling stations along interstate highways in the Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and the San Joaquin Valley areas.  Additionally, five of these locations will potentially also have biodiesel fueling capability.  Team members include CleanFuel USA, United Oil, Pacific Ethanol, State of California, and General Motors.  Clean Cities partners include Southern California, San Joaquin Valley, and Central Coast.
DOE Share:  $495,000 Proposed Total Project Cost: $2,371,363

National Biodiesel Board in Jefferson City, MO, will install six biodiesel blending terminals at existing petroleum facilities in five states including Arizona, Florida, Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania.  The primary approach of the project is to market biodiesel in relatively low blending ratios with conventional diesel.  Team members include Sustainable Energy Strategies, HWRT Oil Company, Independence Biofuels, Inc., Sprague Energy, TransMontaigne, and West Central.  Clean Cities partners include Greater Long Island, Greater Philadelphia, Tucson, and Florida Gold Coast.
DOE Share:  $494,998 Proposed Total Project Cost: $3,539,101

World Energy Alternatives, LLC in Chelsea, MA, will expand the availability of biodiesel by installing rack-injection, in-line blending capabilities at four diesel terminals including Tacoma, Washington; Champaign, Illinois; Robinson, Illinois; and Toledo, Ohio.  The proposed in-line blending is expected to significantly improve quality control of the final product.  Team Members include Marathon Petroleum Co, Sound Refining Inc, and the City of Toledo.  Clean Cities partners include Puget Sound and Central Ohio.
DOE Share:  $707,700 Proposed Total Project Cost: $3,165,360

Commonwealth of Virginia in Richmond, VA, will install up to 12 publicly accessible E85 fuel dispensing stations along the I-95, I-64 Crescent Corridor that passes through Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.  This project will make E85 available to an estimated 15,000 public and private flex fuel vehicles.  Team members include the State of Maryland, the DC Energy Office, the General Services Administration, and General Motors.  Clean Cities partners include Virginia Hampton Roads, Maryland, and Metro Washington.
DOE Share:  $284,000 Proposed Total Project Cost: $767,000

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority in Albany, NY, will install up to about 30 publicly accessible E85 refueling stations across the state of New York and will leverage the New York State Thruway Authority’s activities in developing E85 along state thruways. Team members include the NY Department of Transportation, NY Department of Motor Vehicles, NY Thruway Authority, and NY Dept of Agriculture and Markets.  Clean Cities partners include Western New York, Genesee Region, New York City, Greater Long Island, and Capital District.
DOE Share:  $500,000 Proposed Total Project Cost: $1,170,000

Prometheus Energy Company in Seattle, WA, will install a liquefied natural gas (LNG) refueling station at the Kiefer Landfill, located in Sacramento, California.  The station will serve the County of Sacramento’s fleet of garbage trucks that currently run on LNG and other LNG-capable waste hauling fleets that use the landfill.  Team members include NorthStar Inc., and the City of Sacramento.
DOE Share:  $600,000 Proposed Total Project: $1,200,000

The Triangle J Council of Governments in Research Triangle Park, NC, will install E85 refueling infrastructure at 21 stations and B20 infrastructure at 14 stations along heavily traveled interstates in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.  Team members include United Energy, Osage, and Georgia Power.  Clean Cities partners include Triangle, Palmetto State, East Tennessee, Middle Georgia, and Centralina.
DOE Share:  $586,000 Proposed Total Project: $1,353,080

State of Colorado in Denver, CO, will install publicly accessible E85 and biodiesel refueling stations at five locations throughout Colorado. Work will also include educating car dealers and the general public about the benefits of alternative fuels.  Team members include Great Western Ethanol, General Motors, and numerous state and county agencies.  Clean Cities partners include Colorado Springs, Northern Colorado, and Denver Metro.
DOE Share:  $350,000 Proposed Total Project: $1,047,000

State of Indiana in Indianapolis, IN, will establish a network of E85 and Biodiesel refueling stations spanning from Lake Michigan to the Gulf of Mexico.  The project will coordinate the placement of 31 public access alternative fuel refueling stations along 886 miles of the I-65 corridor from Gary, Indiana to Mobile, Alabama including 19 stations in Indiana, three in Kentucky, three in Tennessee, and six in Alabama.  Team members include the Indiana Soybean Board, the Indiana Department of Transportation, the Kentucky Energy Office, the Tennessee Energy Office, and various retailer outlets.  Clean Cities partners include Central Indiana, South Shore, Middle Tennessee, Central Alabama, and Kentucky.
DOE Share:  $1,332,288          Proposed Total Project: $2,874,689

Salt Lake City Clean Cities Utah Clean Cities Coalition in Salt Lake City, UT, will expand the compressed natural gas (CNG) public refueling structure with two additional stations and assist three CNG customers in adding refueling facilities for expanded fleet usage.  The two public CNG facilities will be along I-15.  Team members include Questar Gas Co, Qwest Communications, Diamond Parking, and Durrent's Bakery.
DOE Share:  $370,000 Proposed Total Project: $1,259,600

Lane Regional Air Pollution Authority in Springfield, OR, will establish one wholesale E85 rack in a centralized location and install a minimum of 15 E85 retail refueling stations in the Pacific Northwest along the I-5 corridor.  Team members include the Oregon Department of Energy, Tyree Oil, Sequential Biofuels, and Star Oil.  Clean Cities partners include Puget Sound and Columbia-Williamette.
DOE Share:  $662,425 Proposed Total Project: $1,487,325

Kum & Go, L.C. in West Des Moines, IA, will install E85 refueling infrastructure at 24 of their existing retail stations.  Nineteen sites are in Iowa and the rest are in South Dakota and Minnesota.  General Motors is a team member.
DOE Share:  $1,500,000          Proposed Total Project: $3,500,000

Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities, Inc. in Philadelphia, PA, will convert 14 existing refueling infrastructure locations to have E85 dispensing capability.  These stations will be located along a 200-mile corridor from State College, Pennsylvania to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.   Team members include General Motors, Independence BioFuel Inc., and various retailers including Worley & Obetz, and Shipley.
DOE Share:  $280,380 Proposed Total Project: $914,880

INCREMENTAL COST OF ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLES (AFVs)                        

Paramount Scaffold, Inc. of Carson, CA, will receive cost share funding for the incremental cost of replacing 44 existing diesel-powered, medium-duty flat-bed trucks with 44 liquid-propane-powered trucks for the company’s service area of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Las Vegas.  Team members include CleanFuel USA and Expo Propane Inc.  Clean Cities partners include Southern California.
Requested DOE Share:  $267,410        Proposed Total Project: $631,820

IDLE REDUCTION TRAINING AND AWARENESS FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Salt Lake City Clean Cities Utah Clean Cities Coalition in Salt Lake City, UT, will create and disseminate a model idle-reduction program that can be easily replicated by school districts across the country to help them reduce petroleum consumption, save on fuel costs, minimize harmful emissions, and protect children’s health.  This project includes the development of an idle-reduction curriculum, training in six partnership school districts in Utah and Nevada, and the dissemination of the school bus idling reduction model to schools nationwide.  The current idling baseline will be established to determine the effectiveness of the program.  Team members include the National Energy Foundation, the Nevada Office of Energy, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, the National School Board Association, the Cache County School District, the Washington County School District, and the Salt Lake School District.
DOE Share:  $100,000 Proposed Total Project: $115,000

Association of Central Oklahoma Governments in Oklahoma, City, OK, will conduct idle reduction training and awareness for school districts in central Oklahoma.  The project will include the development and demonstration of techniques to reduce fuel usage and harmful emissions, demonstration of the benefits of idling policies, publishing and presentation of project results including best practices and fuel savings realized, training of transportation directors, bus drivers and key communicators, and dissemination of results to all Oklahoma school districts and school districts nationwide.  Team members include the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the Choctaw Nicoma Park Public Schools.   Clean Cities partners include Central Oklahoma.
Requested DOE Share:  $50,242          Proposed Total Project: $50,242

The Clean Cities Program was created in 1993 as a result of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to provide technical, informational, and financial resources to both regulated fleets and voluntary adopters of alternative fuels and is focused on advancing the economic, environmental, and energy security of the United States by supporting local decisions to adopt practices that contribute to the reduction of petroleum consumption in the transportation sector.

Since its inception in 1993, Clean Cities has grown to over 80 coalitions and 4,800 stakeholders across the country, put close to 1 million AFVs on the road, and displaced over 1 billion gallons of gasoline.  In 2004 alone, Clean Cities displaced 237 million gallons of gasoline through the use of alternative fuels, AFVs, idle reduction technologies, fuel economy measures, and hybrid vehicles.

Media contact(s):
Craig Stevens, (202) 586-4940