Clean Cities Program Saved U.S. One Day's Gas Consumption in 2006

GOLDEN, Colorado, October 1, 2007 (ENS) - Clean Cities coalitions around the nation displaced the equivalent of 375 million gallons of gasoline in 2006, according to a new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, NREL.

That reduction is roughly equivalent to the amount of gasoline consumed across the United States in one day.

The amount of gasoline displaced in 2006 was 50 percent more than the 250 million gallons displaced in 2005.

Clean Cities coalitions are on track to reach 3.2 billion gallons of gasoline displaced in 2020, exceeding their established goal by 700 million gallons.

Through its almost 90 coalitions, Clean Cities works with government and industry partners to increase the nation's economic, environmental and energy security by reducing petroleum consumption in the transportation sector

Local, state and federal agencies; public health and transportation departments; transit agencies and other government offices; as well as auto manufacturers, car dealers, fuel suppliers, public utilities, public and private fleets, community business groups and professional associations are all involved in the Clean Cities program.

Seventy-one percent of the 2006 gasoline displacement came from the use of alternative fuels, NREL says. Thirty percent of that was from the use of compressed natural gas, mostly in heavy-duty vehicles.

The use of E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, grew substantially in 2006, largely because the number of E85 stations doubled from 436 to 995 in the year. E85 accounted for 24 percent of gasoline displacement from alternate fuels in 2006.

Coalitions reported acquiring almost 44,000 hybrid electric vehicles in 2006, a 61 percent increase over the 17,100 hybrids purchased in 2005. Hybrid use accounted for the displacement of nine million gallons of gasoline.

Idling reduction efforts displaced 8.4 million gallons in 2006, including 1.2 million gallons from truck stop electrification.

Almost two million gallons were saved by reducing the number of miles traveled.

"The significant progress Clean Cities made in 2006 shows impressive commitment by our coalition members," said Clean Cities Director Dennis Smith.

The study was compiled from voluntary reports that represent a subset of the activities going on throughout the nation and indicates the impact of the coalitions and their priorities.

The full NREL study is available online at: http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy07osti/41753.pdf.

Clean Cities is part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program. The program addresses the challenge of moving the United States away from the infrastructure and practices that contribute to dependence on imported petroleum and toward energy independence and security.

To find out more about Clean Cities, go to http://www.eere.energy.gov/cleancities.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.