Fleet AFV Program Report for Fiscal Year 2006 (February 1, 2007)

Department of State

Fleet AFV Program Report for Fiscal Year 2006

February 1, 2007

This report summarizes the U.S. Department of State (DOS) fiscal year (FY) 2006 performance in meeting the requirements of Executive Order (EO) 13149, Greening the Government through Federal Fleet and Transportation Efficiency, and the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct; 42 U.S.C. 13211-13219) as amended by the Energy Conservation Reauthorization Act of 1998 (ECRA; Public Law 105-388) and the EPAct of 2005 (Public Law 109-58). Although the target date (end of FY 2005) of EO 13149 was past, the objectives were still actively pursued, resulting in a “green” grade for actions taken on the agency’s FY 2006 OMB Scorecard. Exhibit 1 summarizes DOS’s progress in meeting these requirements. Appendices A and B reflect DOS vehicle acquisitions (for FYs 2006, 2007, and 2008) and fuel consumption data, respectively, and Appendix C contains a glossary of acronyms and terms used in this report.

Exhibit 1. DOS Performance – EPAct/EO 13149 Requirements FY 2006

¹By definition, the term “covered fleet vehicles” includes all domestic non law-enforcement (LE), light-duty (LD) administrative vehicles operated in a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) and acquired by lease or purchase in FY2006.

²Two credits earned for acquisition of dedicated medium-duty (MD) AFV.

³Baseline adjusted in FY 2004 to account for a large increase in the number of vehicles due to the addition of reporting elements to the DOS FAST (Federal Automotive Statistical Tool) hierarchy.

DOS exceeded EPAct AFV acquisition requirements in FY 2006 with a percentage of 154%:

• DOS acquired 54 covered fleet vehicles.
• Forty-five AFV credits (i.e., 75% of 54) were needed to meet the EPAct 1992 requirement.
• DOS accumulated a total of 83 AFV credits, significantly more than the 45 required. Credits are earned for each actual covered fleet AFV acquisition, and additional credits are earned for non-covered fleet AFV acquisitions, dedicated fuel AFV acquisitions, and for use of biodiesel fuel in qualifying amounts.
• The 83 AFV credits were accumulated as follows:
  • 35 covered fleet AFVs (34 E85 FFVs and one CNG bi-fuel);
  • 46 non-covered fleet AFVs (law enforcement);
  • 2 dedicated MD AFV credits (1 MD dedicated CNG bus);
  • The total 83 (35 + 46 + 2) AFV acquisition credits resulted in an EPAct percentage of 154% (83/54).
• Of note, one of the 54 covered acquisitions was a gas-electric hybrid vehicle, which is not classified as an AFV, but generously contributes to improved fuel economy.

AFV Acquisitions

DOS has successfully met the EPAct requirement every year (see Exhibit 2) as reflected in FAST, mainly due to its policy of acquiring AFVs for all covered vehicles to the maximum extent that AFVs meeting operational requirements are available from original equipment manufacturers. GSA-leased vehicles comprised 100% of the FY 2006 covered acquisitions.

Exhibit 2. EPAct AFV Requirements vs. AFV Acquisitions + Credits

Exemptions

DOS acquired 217 total LD vehicles in FY 2006. Of those acquisitions, only 54 were “covered” for the purposes of EPAct compliance, leaving 163 exempt vehicle acquisitions as follows:

• 161 law enforcement vehicles with the Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS).
• Two operated in a non-MSA.

Appendix A contains FAST data on the numbers and types of LD vehicles that the DOS leased or purchased for the non-exempt fleet in FY 2006.

FY 2007 Planned and FY 2008 Projected Acquisitions

• For FY 2007, DOS initially planned to acquire 44 E85 FFV replacements from the General Services Administration (GSA) and one E85 FFV through DOS purchase. These quantities, which were entered into the FAST database before it closed in December 2006, reflect a planned AFV acquisition percentage of 79% (against the 75% mandate), which is the percentage reflected in FAST and Appendix A. However, subsequent to closure of the FAST database (which cannot be changed), DOS worked with GSA to arrange for many additional AFV replacements for gasoline vehicles; consequently, DOS now anticipates its EPAct percentage for FY2007 will exceed 100%.
• For FY 2008, DOS projects that 46 AFVs will be acquired through replacement by GSA of GSA-leased vehicles (43 E85 FFVs, 1 CNG dedicated bus and 2 CNG bi-fuel vehicles) and one new E85 FFV through purchase. The planned replacement of the two CNG bi-fuel vehicles may have to be changed to another type of AFV due to the limited availability of CNG vehicles from manufacturers. Thus, the DOS total of projected AFV acquisitions in FY 2008 is 47 vehicles, which equates to a planned AFV acquisition percentage of 75% against the 75% mandate.

EO 13149 Compliance and EPAct 2005

• Reduce vehicular petroleum consumption (for domestic, non-LE vehicles of any weight and operating in or out of an MSA) by 20 percent by the end of FY 2005 (compared to the FY 1999 baseline).
• Comply with EPAct’s annual AFV acquisition requirements (as previously discussed).
• Use AFs in fleet AFVs the majority of the time.
• Increase the fuel economy of all domestic, non-LE, LD, petroleum fuel vehicle acquisitions by at least 3 mpg by the end of FY 2005, as compared to baseline FY 1999 acquisitions.

Use of Alternative Fuels in AFVs

Although the number of AFVs (mostly E85 FFVs) in the DOS fleet is increasing (see Exhibit 3) the lack of available refueling AF infrastructure continues to be a major obstacle to increasing the use of AFs.

Exhibit 3. DOS AFV Fleet

Thus, the proportion of AF used in FY 2006 was 16%, significantly short of the majority usage sought for compliance with EO 13149 (by FY 2005) and the stronger requirement of EPAct 2005 for exclusive use (at least before waivers are obtained). This AF utilization percentage is down from the 22.3% in FY 2005.[1] This decrease in utilization is caused by:

• A decrease in the total AF used (from a corrected FY 2005 level of 28,240 GGEs to the FY 2006 level of 22,892 GGEs). This was due to a decrease in CNG usage caused by an 8% decrease in the number of CNG vehicles in the fleet, and
• A large increase (24%) in the number of AFVs in the fleet (from 210 to 261), which were almost all E85 FFVs that were unable to burn E85 fuel because of the unavailability of E85 on the local economy.

AF refueling capability is still not commercially available in some locales, such as the geographic area (El Paso, TX, and outlying sites) where the International Boundary & Water Commission (IBWC) operates a number of DOS AFVs covered by this requirement. Due to this lack of infrastructure, both individual vehicle and overall fleet compliance are problematic at best for both the IBWC and the DOS as a whole. While DOS will continue seeking opportunities to increase the amount of AF used, full compliance can never be achieved until AFs become more readily available in the commercial market place.

DOS continues working with other Federal agencies, governmental entities (e.g.: New Jersey Board of Public Utilities), and nongovernmental organizations (e.g.: National Biodiesel Board) to promote development of AF infrastructure. Of note, dialogue was initiated in 2006 with 18 Coordinators of Clean Cities Coalitions (e.g., Maine Clean Communities, North Central Texas Council of Governments, Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition, etc.) in areas where DOS vehicles are located for the purpose of determining when and where AF stations are planned so that DOS can place AFVs close to the appropriate AFs.

DOS developed a plan in 2006 to relocate or replace 34 AFVs where there are no AFs available or planned to areas where such fuels are more readily available or likely to be so in the foreseeable future. DOS will continue working with GSA to move these AFVs, four of which have already been turned in and will not be replaced, which in addition to reducing operating costs, will also assist in reducing petroleum fuel consumption (see below).

Biodiesel Use: The amount of B20 (a fuel blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% petrodiesel) reported in FY 2006 (519 GGEs, which are broken out in FAST as 104 GGEs of B100 and 415 GGEs of diesel, as shown in Appendix B) was insufficient to earn a biodiesel credit. A biodiesel credit is given for every 450 GGEs of B100 used. However, actual B20 consumption is likely underreported because of problems with incomplete fuel data caused by:

• Incorrect coding of B20 as regular diesel at point of sale such as at the Pentagon Navy Exchange (NEX) (formerly CITGO);
• Unavailability of detailed fuel transaction data from GSA on the GSA-leased vehicles (including the location of the purchase, which may have helped identify if B20 was purchased).

DOS diesel powered vehicles are currently able to refuel with B20 from the Pentagon NEX. In order to increase driver awareness to use B20, vehicle custodians of DOS diesel vehicles were informed of the requirement to use B20 and where to refuel.

CNG Use: DOS is now operating 11 dedicated CNG vehicles in the Washington DC metropolitan area: six buses, one LD 4X2 van, and four MD vans. DOS also operates 25 CNG bi-fuel vehicles: one heavy-duty (HD) vehicle, 21 MD vans, one LD van, and two LD pickups.

Lack of adequate CNG refueling infrastructure continues to cause serious problems, especially for the six dedicated CNG buses. First, the number of available sources is extremely limited, with only one source (the Pentagon NEX station) being convenient for daily DOS use. Compounding this problem is the fact that, while the buses have sufficient CNG fuel tank capacity to last two days of normal operations before refueling, they are unable to obtain enough fuel pressure from the NEX CNG pump to operate for more than one day. Consequently, the buses must refuel every day, incurring additional costs in manpower and fuel.

There is an alternate CNG site near the Washington Navy Yard, but it is not convenient for normal refueling operations, given the distance from the DOS combined with normal DC metropolitan area traffic congestion. For a number of years, DOS considered construction of its own CNG refueling station in the Washington, DC area, but the high cost (over $300,000, not counting the cost of real estate on which to locate it) could not be justified based on the primary requirement of refueling only six buses. The DOS has instead entered into a financial partnership agreement with the Arlington, VA Public Works Department that will allow refueling of DOS CNG vehicles at the ART refueling site in Shirlington, VA, when that capability is available early in CY 2007. DOS is also continuing efforts to reach an agreement with the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to use their CNG station at Clark Street near the Ronald Reagan National Airport in case of emergency.

In addition to the difficulty of getting CNG fuel, DOS does not have an accurate source of CNG consumption data. When CNG is purchased from the Pentagon NEX station and some other stations, the transactions are reflected on the receipts as “one unit” rather than as a number of GGEs. Thus, the GGEs consumed can only be estimated by taking gross purchase price and dividing by an estimated average cost per GGE. Further compounding this problem, this year GSA provided only the number of CNG transactions, with no costs associated separately by fuel type. Therefore, DOS assumed that 14.4 GGEs were purchased at each transaction (an average calculated from data obtained 2 years ago) to arrive at the FY 2006 total CNG consumed (18,265 GGEs). Since 33 of the 36 CNG vehicles that DOS operates are GSA-leased vehicles, 92% of the vehicles were subject to this rough estimating technique, resulting in a total calculation for CNG consumed that may not be very accurate. DOS will continue to work with GSA to get more detailed vehicle fuel transaction data, including expenditures by fuel type.

E85 Use: The amount of E85 consumed by all DOS vehicles remained about the same for the past four years (between 3,000 and 4,000 GGEs), but E85 usage increased to 4,523 GGEs in FY 2006. E85 is available at the Pentagon NEX station, which is conveniently located for only a few of the DOS E85 FFVs. While DOS is increasing the number of FFVs in the fleet, the amount of E85 that is actually used will not increase significantly until more E85 stations become available, such as in the El Paso, TX geographical area. In order to take full advantage of the few opportunities available to use E85 through increased driver awareness, vehicle custodians of DOS FFVs were informed of the requirement to use E85 and where to refuel. Also, promotional items from the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition, such as bumper and window stickers, key fobs, lapel pins, and mirror hang tags were sent to vehicle custodians.

E10 Use: With the replacement of MBTE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) by ethanol as an additive to gasoline for cleaner combustion, E10 (blend of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline) is becoming more common. Last fall, E10 became the standard blend for gasoline purchased in the Washington DC area, including the Pentagon NEX station. While this occurred too late in FY 2006 to significantly affect the total amount of ethanol consumed in the year, the ethanol component of E10 based on an entire year's consumption will be significant in FY 2007. DOS will include this ethanol consumption in its plan for reducing petroleum usage.

Increase Fuel Economy

In FY 1999, the average fuel economy of conventional-fuel, non-exempt, LD vehicle acquisitions (there were 15) was 15.7 miles per gallon (mpg).

• By FY 2002, the average was 17.8, which exceeded the requirement in EO 13149 to increase the average fuel economy by 1 mpg by the end of FY 2002 for the covered LD acquisitions over the FY 1999 baseline.
• In FY 2006, the average fuel economy for covered vehicles was 19.7, well above the EO 13149 requirement (for FY 2005).

Petroleum Consumption Reduction Progress

DOS reduced its petroleum fuel consumption in FY 2006 by 5.6% compared to the current (officially amended) FY 1999 baseline. This falls short of the EO requirement of 20% by FY 2005, but at this writing, EO 13149 has been revoked by EO 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation Management. EO 13423 requires each Federal agency operating a fleet of at least 20 motor vehicles to (1) reduce the fleet’s total consumption of petroleum products by 2 percent annually through the end of fiscal year 2015, (2) increase the total fuel consumption that is non-petroleum-based by 10 percent annually, and (3) use plug-in hybrid (PIH) vehicles when PIH vehicles are commercially available at a cost reasonably comparable, on the basis of life-cycle cost, to non-PIH vehicles.

Exhibit 4 shows a history of DOS’s non-exempt petroleum usage and the revisions of the FY 1999 baseline petroleum consumption (gasoline and diesel combined) as the number of vehicles for which DOS assumed reporting responsibility grew. In FY 1999 the original non-exempt DOS fleet consisted of 157 vehicles operated by the Fleet Management & Operations (FMO) office. Since the baseline was set, DOS assumed reporting responsibility for an additional several hundred non-exempt vehicles operated mainly by the DS and IBWC. See Appendix B for the Petroleum Consumption Report as shown in FAST.

 Exhibit 4. DOS Petroleum Fuel Use (for covered vehicles)

In addition, FMO published a Department Notice in FY2006 soliciting the cooperation of all DOS employees, especially drivers, vehicle custodians, and managers in reducing petroleum consumption by:

• Driving vehicles more efficiently (slow starts, observing posted speed limits, removing unnecessary cargo, adhering to established maintenance schedules);
• Combining trips;
• Reducing the number of assigned vehicles;
• Sub-pooling or shared-use of vehicles between offices located in close proximity to one another;
• Conducting business by telephone, e-mail or teleconference;
• Using commercial delivery services, taxi cabs, DOS shuttle buses, and public transportation;
• Placing transport requirements on contractors;
• Using CNG and E85 in bi-fuel and flex-fuel vehicles, respectively;
• Ordering AFVs and smaller and/or more fuel-efficient models (including hybrid electrics) to replace current vehicles (e.g., replacing large 4x4 SUVs with FFV minivans).

Barriers & Impediments to Compliance

There are certain barriers and impediments to compliance with the EOs and EPAct requirements that DOS faces. These obstacles hinder effective development of AF infrastructure and efficient planning of AFV acquisition.

A barrier to increasing AF use is the limited availability of commercial AF infrastructure and the expense of getting AFs to remote areas. A case in point is the IBWC site at Del Rio, TX, where the site manager took the initiative to have two 500-gallon fuel storage tanks installed, one each for B20 and E85. However, the cost for trucking fuel from the closest B20 and E85 sources in Austin (182 miles) and San Antonio (137 miles), respectively, has turned out to be prohibitive. Another option is being pursued – that of obtaining B20 from Laughlin AFB, which is near Del Rio – possibly making B20 available to the IBWC site at a reasonable price. Investigation continues for bringing in E85.

Another barrier to increasing AF use is the limited availability each year of AFVs that will meet mission requirements. For example, there are no CNG LD or MD sedans or vans being manufactured in the 2007 model year, except for the Honda Civic GX, which does not meet DOS’s needs. The decision of the OEMs to no longer produce natural gas vehicles (NGVs) negatively impacted DOS’s planning to increase CNG use through acquiring LD and MD NGVs.

An impediment to continued B20 use surfaced late in calendar year 2006 when 2007 model year diesel engine manufacturers announced that use of biodiesel blends higher than 5% (B5, which is considered a fuel additive instead of an AF and therefore cannot be included in AF fuel consumption totals) will void engine, fuel system and exhaust system warrantees. The primary reason for this is that there is no nationally recognized standard for B20, so users cannot be assured of the quality of B20 fuel utilized; engine manufacturers are therefore putting the onus of repairs due to contaminated biodiesel fuel on the end-users. The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International reportedly is working on a standard, but in the absence of such a standard, the market demand of biodiesel as a whole could decrease, which may in turn limit the number of refueling sources available for DOS vehicles.

The DOS continues to be fully committed to compliance with the EPAct and EO requirements. With its policy of exclusively acquiring AFVs for its non-exempt fleet, except where operational requirements make such acquisitions impractical, DOS expects to continue its record of meeting or exceeding the 75% EPAct percentage for the foreseeable future.

With the number of AFVs increasing (almost all new AFVs are E85 FFVs), DOS has the potential to use a great deal more E85 as it becomes more commercially available. As for CNG usage, while DOS will soon be able to use Arlington County’s new CNG site, there are fewer CNG vehicles offered by manufacturers for DOS to acquire, so it is unlikely that CNG usage can increase. The difficulties of finding adequate refueling infrastructure continue to limit the ability to meet alternative fuel utilization targets.

Appendix A

Department of State

Complex-Wide AFV Report 2006 – Actual

Appendix A (continued)

Department of State
Complex-Wide AFV Report 2007 – Planned

Appendix A (continued)

Department of State
Complex-Wide AFV Report 2008 - Projected

Appendix B

Department of State

Petroleum Consumption Report

Appendix C

Department of State

Glossary

AF - Alternative Fuel; a fuel defined as alternative by the EPAct of 1992.

AFV - Alternative Fuel Vehicle; a vehicle that can run on an alternative fuel.

ART – Arlington Transit (Arlington County, VA).

ASTM – American Society for Testing and Materials

B20 – fuel blend of 20% biodiesel and 80% petrodiesel.

Bi-Fuel Vehicle – a NGV with two separate fueling systems that enable the vehicle to use either natural gas or a conventional fuel (gasoline or diesel).

Biodiesel – a renewable alternative fuel made primarily from soybeans in the US.

CNG – Compressed Natural Gas; a domestically produced alternative fuel.

Diesel – Petroleum diesel

Dual Fuel Vehicle – designed to operate on a combination of an alternative fuel and a conventional fuel (includes CNG bi-fuel and E85 flex-fuel vehicles).

DOS – Department of State

DS – Bureau of Diplomatic Security

E85 – fuel blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline

ECRA – Energy Conservation Reauthorization Act

EO – Executive Order

EPAct – Energy Policy Act

Ethanol – an alcohol-based alternative fuel made primarily from corn in the US.

FAST – Federal Automotive Statistical Tool

FFV – Flexible Fuel Vehicle; a vehicle that can run equally well on any blend of gasoline and ethanol up to 85% ethanol (E85).

FY – Fiscal Year

GGE – Gasoline Gallon Equivalent: a concept used to describe the difference in energy content of various fuels, using gasoline as the baseline.

GSA – General Services Administration

GVWR – Gross Vehicle Weight Rating

HD – Heavy Duty, a vehicle weighing > 16,000 lbs GVWR

IBWC – International Boundary and Water Commission

LD – Light Duty; a vehicle that weighs less than 8,500 lbs. GVWR

LE – Law Enforcement

MD – Medium Duty, a vehicle weighing between 8,500 lbs. and 16,000 lbs. GVWR

MSA – Metropolitan Statistical Area

NGV – Natural Gas Vehicle

NEX – Navy Exchange

Original Equipment Manufacturer - OEM; e.g.: Ford, General Motors, Honda

Petrodiesel – diesel from petroleum

SUV – Sport Utility Vehicle

[1] -22.3% is the corrected amount shown and supported in the FY 2005 narrative report that was submitted in January 2006, but could not be reflected in the FAST system because no changes can be made to the automated system once it has closed (usually about a month earlier than the narrative report submission).