LCF June 2019 Newsletter 
Letter from the Executive Director
Clean Fuels Members, Stakeholders and Enthusiasts:
Welcome to Summer! Normally things slow down a bit during the summer months when our kids are out of school and many of our stakeholders are out on vacation. But not this year! We have staffed up with three new summer interns to help us finish up some big projects that we started at the beginning of the year such as the DC Fast Charging Master Plan and the RNG Operations Manual for St. Landry Parish Solid Waste. We are also designing new biofuels and idle reduction outreach plans as well as finishing up the 2019 reports for a new class of LCF Certified Green Fleets!
In July, we will hit the road and spend a week in Shreveport for our quarterly board meeting, a private CNG Listening Session for a few of our CNG fleets, and an Electric Vehicle Roundtable hosted by SWEPCO. When we return to the capital city, our attention will shift to working with the Southeast Louisiana Clean Fuels Partnership to finalize an agenda and sponsors for the Clean Fuels Summit in Avondale, LA. Learn more about this statewide event on our website.
If you have visited our website recently, you will notice that we have cleaned things up and organized the information much more efficiently. Continuing with our spring cleaning efforts, we also moved our offices to a more consolidated floorplan at the LDNR to better facilitate communication between staffers. Taking advantage of our organizational momentum, we also fixed our phone system and voicemail procedures. No more lost voicemails! Please either continue to use our direct mobile phone numbers or call our new main landline at LDNR: (225) 342-7972.
Have a safe and happy July 4th!
Regards,
Ann Vail
Executive Director, LCF
Announcements
LCF Hires New Interns
Louisiana Clean Fuels is pleased to announce that Sean Chung has been selected for the 2019 Clean Cities Workforce Development Program Summer Internship. The Clean Cities University Workforce Development Program is an initiative of Clean Cities, a government-industry partnership sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program.
Sean is a graduate student at Indiana University currently pursuing a dual degree of a Master of Public Affairs and a Master of Science in Environmental Science. He was selected from a field of over 20 highly qualified candidates from all over the country who applied for the honor of being the recipient of this internship.
Sean (middle) will join two additional interns, Jacob Holt (left) and Brittny Wilson (right), to work on projects such as IdleBoxschool outreach, Annual Report analysis, biofuels research and outreach, workplace charging outreach, and the DC Charging Master Plan, along with assisting LCF staff with events and other duties.
THE CLEAN CITIES COALITION 2017 ACTIVITY REPORT IS AVAILABLE NOW!
The Clean Cities Coalitions 2017 Activity Report, in which the 2017 annual reports submitted by all coalitions are compiled and summarized, is now available!
This assemblage of data is an important, quantified indicator of the Clean Cities coalitions' impact nationwide.
Climate Mayors EV Purchasing Collaborative
Climate Mayors launched the Electric Vehicle (EV) Purchasing Collaborative (Collaborative) to make public fleet electrification more simple and affordable. With the leadership and support of more than 70 cities and counties, 1,400 EVs have been committed for procurement in public fleets by the end of 2020. At the U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting this June, Climate Mayors will make a major announcement to highlight these leaders, and ask other municipalities to “step up” near-term commitments for procuring public fleet EVs. Join an upcoming webinar to learn more about the Collaborative, how to get included in the announcement, and to hear from leading public fleets transitioning to EVs. You can see the list of upcoming webinars (same presentation offered multiple times) on the Electrification Coalition website. Please contact Natalia Swalnick at [email protected] for more information.
Outreach Activities
LCF conducts Alt Fuels Identification 101 class for St. George Fire Department
On May 22 - 24th, Louisiana Clean Fuels Executive Director and Coordinator Ann Vail hosted a first responder training course for the St. George fire department. The course was designed to teach firefighters how to deal with alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) in the event of an emergency situation.
The course, which covered natural gas, propane, and electric vehicles, was designed to be an introductory and awareness class to help firefighters identify the different type of vehicles and learn about the properties of the fuels, and the course also included some information on how to handle these kinds of fuels and vehicles. Ann taught three courses a day over the course of three days. The classes were a success with approximately 15 people attended each class, and the St. George fire department sent firefighters from about 4 stations in shifts throughout the day.
Clean Fuels Conference & Workshops
SPONSORSHIP & EXHIBITING OPPORTUNITIES
Increase your visibility and meet prospective project collaborators in Louisiana at the state’s premier alternative fuels conference and expo: 2019 Clean Fuels Summit!
Co-hosted by two Clean Cities Coalitions – Louisiana Clean Fuels and the Southeast Louisiana Clean Fuel Partnership – this event offers an exclusive Ride & Drive on the NOLA Motorsports track, updates on the latest innovative clean fleet technologies and products, and deserved recognition of leaders in the alternative fuel industry.
The event will be held at NOLA Motorsports Park, a state of the art, full-service special events and racing venue located just 20 minutes from Downtown New Orleans.
Please consider this exciting invitation for you and your team to present to our state’s top decision makers and influencers. SLCFP and LCF also welcome your participation as a Clean Fuels Summit sponsor or exhibitor!
As a Clean Fuels Summit Sponsor or Exhibitor, your participation will contribute to the continued growth of cleaner transportation resources for experienced and new clean fleet professionals alike. The following provides information and benefits for each level of engagement.
See the full sponsorship packet for more information. Please email Courtney at SLCFP to secure your spot as a sponsor or exhibitor.
Welcome New Members
LCF would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest members, Centerpoint Energy and Roush CleanTech, both renewing at the Gold level, and Atmos Energy, renewing at the Silver level!
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Thank you to all of our members for their continued support!
If you haven't renewed your membership, now is the time! See our Join page for more information or to renew your membership! If you have any questions, email [email protected].
Member Spotlight
The Southwestern Electric Power Corporation (SWEPCO) is a subsidiary of American Electric Power. SWEPCO is an electric utility that services customers in northwestern and central Louisiana, western Arkansas, East Texas and the Panhandle area of North Texas.
Originally formed in 1912 as the Southwestern Gas and Electric Company, SWEPCO originally offered gas, ice, water, and streetcars as part of their operations. Today, SWEPCO serves over 500,000 customers across three states.
SWEPCO is a Champion member of Louisiana Clean Fuels, and we are grateful for their support and the initiatives they are taking to improve our state. SWEPCO has sponsored our DC Fast Charging Master Plan in an effort to help promote the improvement of EV charging infrastructure in Louisiana. SWEPCO will also be working with LCF this summer to host an EV roundtable even with local leaders to discuss EV charging.
Calendar of Events
| July 16 | SWEPCO Electric Vehicle Roundtable | Shreveport, LA |
| July 18 | LCF Board of Directors Meeting | Shreveport, LA |
| Aug. 7-8 | Sustainable Fleet Technology Conference | Durham, NC |
| Sept. 11-12 | RNG Works Technical Workshop & Trade Expo | Nashville, TN |
| Sept. 20 | National Drive Electric Week @ Tanger Outlet Mall | Gonzales, LA |
| Sept. 25-26 | Keep Louisiana Beautiful Annual State Conference | Baton Rouge, LA |
| Oct. 10 | Clean Fuels Summit | New Orleans, LA |
Funding Opportunities
Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Initiative
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has published a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for states, cities and other agencies to compete for $60 million in Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Program (ATCMTD) grants to fund new technologies that improve transportation efficiency.
Created in the “Fixing America's Surface Transportation“ Act, the ATCMTD program works to improve the performance of U.S. transportation systems. The program funds early deployments of cutting-edge technologies that can serve as national models to improve travel for commuters and businesses.
Now in its fourth round of grants, FHWA is interested in projects that bring data together from different systems, such as integrated corridor management, real-time traveler information, traffic data collection and dissemination, and other multi-modal intelligent transportation system technologies.
State departments of transportation, local governments, transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations and other eligible entities are invited to apply under the program. The program has provided $163 million to 28 projects in 19 states in 2016, 2017 and 2018, including the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Smart Mobility Network, the Florida Department of Transportation’s Sunstore integrated data system for travelers, and the Texas Department of Transportation’s I-10 Corridor Coalition Truck Parking Availability System.
The NOFO is available HERE.
Industry News
LCF 2018 MEMBER IN THE NEWS: UPS MAKES LARGEST PURCHASE OF RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS EVER IN THE U.S. |
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UPS announced an agreement with Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to purchase 170 million gallon equivalents of renewable natural gas (RNG) through 2026. This is the largest commitment for use of RNG to date by any company in the United States, with a range of 22.5 - 25 million gallon equivalents per year. RNG is a key part of UPS’s strategy to increase alternative fuel consumption to be 40% of total ground fuel purchases by 2025, supporting the logistics leader’s efforts to reduce the absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of its ground fleet 12% by 2025. (Source: GlobalNewswire) |
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LCF MEMBER CUMMINS NEWS: GILLIG BATTERY ELECTRIC BUS UNVEILED |
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GILLIG LLC and Cummins Inc. have announced that the GILLIG zero-emission battery electric bus, powered by Cummins, is now available. The zero-emission battery electric bus incorporates the Cummins electrified powertrain, which features remote diagnostics and over-the-air connectivity and is backed by Cummins’ unparalleled support network and service training programs. The bus initially incorporates the standard 444 kWh battery capacity (six packs) and supports charging interoperability via industry standards. Variants will include a 35’ version and opportunity charging. (Source: Cummins Newsroom) |
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MICHELIN, GM TAKE THE AIR OUT OF TIRES FOR PASSENGER VEHICLES |
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Michelin and General Motors presented a new generation of airless wheel technology, the MICHELIN Uptis Prototype (or “Unique Puncture-proof Tire System”), at the Movin’On Summit for sustainable mobility. GM intends to develop this airless wheel assembly with Michelin and aims to introduce it on passenger vehicles as early as 2024. Later this year, GM will initiate real-world testing and validation of the Uptis Prototype on a Michigan test fleet of Chevrolet Bolt EVs. (Source: General Motors) |
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BLUE BIRD FIRST TO OFFER ULTRA-LOW NOX, TYPE-C SCHOOL BUS FUELED BY CNG |
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School districts and transportation contractors can now purchase buses fueled by compressed natural gas that are 90 percent cleaner than the national emissions standard, opening more opportunities for funding that supports reduced emissions. ROUSH CleanTech developed the technology using Ford’s 6.8L V10 engine. The CNG engines are 90 percent cleaner than the Environmental Protection Agency’s most stringent heavy-duty engine standard of 0.2 g/bhp-hr. (Source: FuelsFix) |
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About LCF
Louisiana Clean Fuels is a US Department of Energy Clean Cities Coalition, supported by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and member organizations. We are a non-profit organization serving fleets for over 19 years.
The mission of Louisiana Clean Fuels, Inc. is to advance the nation’s environmental, economic, and energy security by supporting local actions to diversify transportation fuel options. Our goal is to show how advanced technologies and alternative fuels can help meet business and environmental goals. By providing objective data, technical resources, and the right connections, we help fleets find reliable alternative fuel vehicles that will stabilize or lower fuel costs.
www.LouisianaCleanFuels.org | [email protected] | 225-342-7972