President Obama has a goal of putting 1 million advanced technology vehicles on the road in the United States by 2015. In support of this goal, and emphasizing electricity as a transportation fuel, this Funding Opportunity Announcement seeks projects to plan and implement policies, procedures, and incentives that facilitate that development. The planning and policy activities will prepare communities for successful deployment and implementation of plug-in electric drive vehicles.

• Projects should include planning and wherever possible, policy implementation and execution of planning elements plug-in electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. Projects for fuels other than electricity will not be considered.
• Plans must address infrastructure deployment for light, medium, and/or heavy-duty plug-in electric vehicles (including extended range electric vehicles).
• Funds may not be used for the purchase and/or installation of any fueling infrastructure.

General Requirements:

• Projects should include the approach to develop local/regional plans and implement policies that support the deployment of plug-in electric vehicles through acquisition and installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure
• Projects at different stages of maturity will be accepted (ranging from projects that have not been initiated to projects that have been initiated, but not completed)
• Teaming up with your local Clean Cities Coalition (NYCLHVCC) is strongly recommended
• Commitment letters from each of the project partners, indicating the amount, timeline, and type of technical or financial support being provided to the project along with affirming their role and commitment must be included in the application
• DOE will consider funding applications that request funding outside the anticipated award size if the applicant proposes a multiple city, state, regional or national approach
• Materials developed under this award will be publicly releasable
• If applicants or their partners have received federal funds for efforts similar to those proposed, the application must clearly describe how the new activities will be different from those already being funded under the other award
• It is expected that: 1. Deliverable of a completed publicly releasable written plan 2. Deliverable of quarterly written progress report that addresses actions taken to execute planning elements 3. Participation in various forums organized by DOE to report on progress and share lessons learned (conference calls, meetings, workshops)

Note: DOE expects to make 10-15 awards ranging from $250,000-$500,000 per individual

For Full 2011 Clean Cities Funding Announcement Opportunity Click HERE

Please contact NYCLHVCC at: info@nyclhvcc.org for assistance with this FOA. The deadline to submit applications is May 15, 2011; 8:00pm Eastern

In an article posted on April 10th by Domestic Fuel, it says, “The use of biodiesel in generators and power units is getting a boost from a pilot program by Sprague Energy Corp. of White Plains NY and BIODICO, Inc (also known as Biodiesel Industries, Inc.).”

For more information on this article, please click HERE

Question of the Month: What notable changes to federal alternative fuel conversion regulations resulted from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final rulemaking?

Answer: On March 29, 2011, EPA announced the final rulemaking to adopt changes to the regulations in Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 85, subpart F. These regulations apply to manufacturers of alternative fuel conversion systems for light-duty vehicles and heavy-duty highway vehicles and engines. The Clean Air Act prohibits anyone from altering a vehicle or engine from its certified configuration, and EPA is responsible for ensuring that all vehicles and engines sold in the United States meet federal emissions standards. This new approach simplifies and streamlines the process by which alternative fuel conversion systems manufacturers may demonstrate compliance with these emissions requirements and gain a regulatory exemption from potential tampering charges.

Age-based Categories

Previous regulations required all vehicle and engine conversion systems to be covered by a Certificate of Conformity (Certificate) in order to be exempt from federal tampering prohibitions. The amendments are based primarily on EPA’s determination that it is appropriate to treat conversions differently based on the age of the vehicle or engine being converted. All conversion manufacturers seeking an exemption must demonstrate compliance, but the demonstration requirements differ among categories. A summary of each age-based category and the associated compliance requirements is as follows:

New and Relatively New Vehicles and Engines

* Includes vehicles/engines less than about two years old. More specifically, the date of the conversion is in a calendar year that is not more than one year after the original model year of the vehicle/engine.

* Notification and demonstration requirements are very similar to previous practice, including a certification application that includes testing and on-board diagnostics (OBD) requirements. The demonstration requirement for new vehicles/engines is certification.

* EPA issues a Certificate if all requirements are satisfied.

* Once certified, annual recertification is no longer required to maintain the tampering exemption.

Intermediate Age Vehicles and Engines

· Includes vehicles/engines that are no longer “new and relatively new” (see above), but still fall within EPA’s definition of full useful life.

o The definition of full useful life varies among different vehicle and engine regulations. Useful life is expressed as a threshold age in years, mileage, and/or number of hours of operation.

· Notification and demonstration requirements include testing and data submission to show that the converted vehicle or engine meets applicable emission standards and an OBD scan tool report.

· EPA does not issue a Certificate but will publically list the conversion systems as having satisfied the demonstration and notification requirements.

· Converters of intermediate age vehicles and engines may voluntarily choose to satisfy the new vehicle/engine demonstration requirement (certification) instead of the intermediate age demonstration requirement, in which case they would receive a Certificate.

· Annual recertification is not required to maintain the tampering exemption.

Outside Useful Live Vehicles and Engines

· Includes vehicles/engines that are outside EPA’s definition of useful life.

· Notification and demonstration requirements include submission of a technical description, other information and data, and an OBD scan tool report.

· EPA does not issue a Certificate but will publically list the conversion systems as having satisfied the demonstration and notification requirements.

· Annual recertification is not required to maintain the tampering exemption.

Additional Information

The rule has been published in the Federal Register and is now in effect, as of April 8, 2011.

EPA also finalized several technical amendments related to exhaust and evaporative emissions testing requirements for gaseous-fueled vehicles, in addition to other technical changes to provide consistency and clarity.

Refer to EPA’s Alternative Fuel Conversion website (http://www.epa.gov/otaq/consumer/fuels/altfuels/altfuels.htm) for more information about the regulations, including full text of the final rule, response to comments received on the proposed rule, and compliance information.

As always, please contact the TRS with other questions, or if you have suggestions for additional resources or a future Question of the Month.

Clean Cities Technical Response Service Team

technicalresponse@icfi.com

800-254-6735

On Friday, April 1, the President will visit a UPS shipping facility in Landover, MD where he will view vehicles from AT&T, FedEx, PepsiCo, UPS and Verizon’s clean fleets and deliver remarks to the companies’ employees.

The plan includes supply and demand proposals, including reiterating a $1 million plug-in vehicle goal, and the FY12 budget proposals for increased electric drive vehicle r & d funds; for making the plug-in vehicle credit transferable; and the request for $200 million for a Clean Cities grant program to support regional and community deployment of plug-in vehicles and infrastructure. The President also called for all new federal fleet purchases to be alternative fuel vehicles, including plug-in vehicles, by 2015.

Blueprint Secure Energy Future

Question of the Month: What is the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program? How is funding for the program distributed? Are alternative fuel and advanced vehicle projects eligible for funding through CMAQ?

Answer: CMAQ is jointly administered by two agencies of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) – Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) – with an overarching goal of reducing congestion and improving air quality through surface transportation improvement projects. The program was authorized by the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, and it has been reauthorized under subsequent transportation legislation. CMAQ funds transportation projects that contribute to attainment or maintenance of the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For more information about the NAAQS program, visit the EPA website (http://www.epa.gov/airquality/cleanair.html).

Funding Appropriation, Apportionment, and Allocation

Funding for the CMAQ program is appropriated on an annual basis by Congress and subsequently apportioned to the states by FHWA. The level of funding provided to each state is based on a formula that takes into account the population of each county that is in a nonattainment or maintenance area and the severity of the air quality problem in the associated area. Regardless of whether a state has any nonattainment or maintenance areas, each state is guaranteed a minimum apportionment of 0.5% of the year’s total program funding, which can be used anywhere in the state.

Once funding is provided to each state, it is up to the state DOTs, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and transit agencies to allocate it to eligible projects and programs (see Eligible Activities below). The state may use their CMAQ funds in any ozone, carbon monoxide, or particulate matter nonattainment or maintenance area to support initiatives that reduce transportation-related emissions. Funding does not need to be allocated in the same way it is apportioned and the U.S. DOT does not have a role in this allocation process. State agencies are encouraged to consult affected MPOs; determine state, regional, and local priorities; and develop CMAQ project selection processes. The selection process varies by state, but generally provides an opportunity for state and/or local agencies to present eligible projects and demonstrate how they would use the funding to meet the overall goals of the CMAQ program. States must submit annual reports to FHWA outlining the program investments and trends and, in most of the program’s 19 years, have been required to share a portion of the cost of projects.

Eligible Activities

The following activities are generally eligible for funding under CMAQ:

* Acquiring alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) to be used in transit applications;

* Supporting the emissions-reducing element of publicly-owned non-transit AFVs;

* Subsidizing the incremental cost of purchasing privately-owned AFVs;

* Converting fleet vehicles to operate using alternative fuels;

* Establishing publicly-owned alternative fueling stations and other infrastructure necessary to fuel AFVs in areas where publicly-owned fueling stations are not in place or are not reasonably accessible;

* Converting a private fueling station to support alternative fuels through a public-private partnership agreement;

* Purchasing alternative fuels (only permitted in Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio);

* Purchasing idle reduction equipment; and

* Providing assistance to diesel equipment and vehicle owners and operators regarding the purchase and installation of diesel retrofits.

The CMAQ program defines alternative fuels as those identified by the Energy Policy Act of 1992. In addition, hybrid electric vehicles that meet the emissions and energy efficiency requirements of the program are eligible. Both passenger vehicles and heavy-duty vehicles are eligible for funding. Additional information about eligible projects can be found in the CMAQ program guidance document (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/cmaq/policy_and_guidance/cmaq08gm.cfm).

Additional Questions?

For general information about CMAQ, including annual state apportionments and reports, visit the CMAQ program website (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/cmaq/).

For specific information about funding and projects at the individual state level, please reference the CMAQ State Transportation Contacts website (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/air_quality/cmaq/reference/brochure/brochure12.cfm) and the FHWA Field Office website (http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/field.html).

As always, please contact the TRS with other questions, or if you have suggestions for additional resources or a future Question of the Month.

Clean Cities Technical Response Service Team

technicalresponse@icfi.com

800-254-6735

The 2012 Department of Energy budget has been submitted to Congress and Electric Vehicles are the popular topic! the VT budget jumps by 80 percent from $325 million to $588 million. The majority of the new budget will go towards the expansion of electric vehicle deployment and infrastructure creation. This is a $200 million increase in the program that will largely benefit the Clean Cities program where metropolitan areas provide grants for purchasing of EVs and charging equipment.

For more information and to see the extended article please visit: http://www.matternetwork.com/2011/2/doe-transportation-budget-all-about.cfm

Answer: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses the RIN as a unit for tracking compliance under the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS2) program. RFS2 requires obligated parties (refiners, blenders, and importers) to ensure that the conventional fuel (gasoline or diesel) sold or introduced into commerce contains a certain percentage of renewable fuels. As such, each obligated party has a renewable volume obligation (RVO) based on the amount of conventional fuels it handles on an annual basis.

Generating RINs

RINs are 38-character numeric codes generated for all renewable fuel produced in or imported to the United States by the producer or importer, according to a formula set by EPA. The RIN code provides information about the year that the fuel was produced or imported, the producing or importing entity, and the type of renewable fuel.

RINs can be generated as gallon-RINs or batch-RINs (multiple gallon-RINs combined under one numeric code). The number of gallon-RINs generated may not be equal to the number of gallons of fuel. Instead, gallon-RINs are assigned based on equivalence values determined according to the volumetric energy content of the fuel in comparison with corn ethanol and adjusted for the renewable content. One gallon of corn ethanol is equal to 1 gallon-RIN while one gallon of biodiesel, for example, is actually equal to 1.5 gallon-RINs.

Transferring RINs

RINs “travel” with the renewable fuel as it is transferred from one entity to another. When renewable fuel changes hands, it is accompanied by the associated paper RIN credit and the transfer is recorded using product transfer documents (PTDs), which serve as the basis for the recordkeeping and reporting requirements under the RFS2 program.

If a batch of renewable fuel is split into smaller volumes and transferred, the RIN number will change accordingly. Tracking these 38-digit codes and the associated fuel producers, importers, blenders, marketers, refiners, and exporters is a complex process. Therefore, EPA developed and introduced a new EPA Moderated Transaction System (EMTS) in 2010. All regulated parties were required to start using the EMTS to track their RIN generation and transferring starting on July 1, 2010.

There are several actions that separate the RIN from the fuel, including when the renewable fuel enters the retail market. Once a RIN is separated, it can be traded.

Trading RINs

At the end of each year, each obligated party must demonstrate that it has sufficient RINs to cover its RVO for that year. RINs can be used within the calendar year in which they were generated or the following calendar year (plus two months), with some restrictions. If an obligated party has access to RINs, it can sell those RINs on the open market. Conversely, if an obligated party cannot or does not wish to blend renewable fuels into conventional fuel and, therefore, does not have enough RINs to meet its RVO, it can purchase RINs from other entities. The price of RINs is set by the market and is largely based on supply, demand, commodity prices, and speculation.

Please also refer to the recent Clean Cities Webinar presentation by Larry Schafer, National Biodiesel Board, for additional information on RINs:

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/cleancities/toolbox/pdfs/renewable_identification_number.pdf.

The summary above provides an overview of RINs, but there are many more details and complexities associated RFS2 compliance and RIN generation, transfer, and trading. For more information about RFS2 and RINs, please visit the EPA’s RFS (http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/index.htm) and RFS1 & RFS2 Compliance Help (http://www.epa.gov/otaq/fuels/renewablefuels/compliancehelp/index.htm) websites. Specific questions can also be sent to the EPA Fuels Programs Support Line at EPAFuelsPrograms@epa.gov or 202-343-9755.

As always, please contact the TRS with other questions, or if you have suggestions for additional resources or a future Question of the Month.

Clean Cities Technical Response Service Team

technicalresponse@icfi.com

800-254-6735

Latest Technologies Place but Don’t Win in This Year’s Greenest Vehicles List

Washington, D.C. (February 15, 2011): With the arrival of the first widely available plug-in vehicles, model year 2011 boasts the most diverse car offerings ever in terms of technologies and fuels. Today at greenercars.org, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy released its 14th annual environmental ratings for the model year showing how they all stack up. The result? Some newcomers —- including an electric vehicle and a plug-in electric hybrid —- did well, while several of the regulars held their ground.

This year’s ratings reveal a face-off among plug-ins, gasoline hybrids, diesels, natural gas vehicles, and ever-improving “conventional” gasoline vehicles. For the 8th year, the Honda Civic GX wins top honors, notwithstanding changes to Green Book® rating methods that boosted other technologies. But below the top spot, the “Greenest” list sees a shake-up: the all-electric Nissan Leaf places second, followed by the gasoline-powered Smart Fortwo. Hybrids take the next three spots, followed closely by Ford’s new Fiesta SFE (Super Fuel Economy) and the Chevrolet Cruze Eco. Also notable on this year’s list is the Hyundai Elantra, with a 4 mile-per-gallon jump in fuel economy over the 2010 model. Rounding out the “Greenest” is the much-touted Chevrolet Volt “extended-range EV,” which slips into the 12th spot. All told, five new models pushed out entries on last year’s list.

The strong showing of conventional vehicles in the top twelve is a testament to how serious manufacturers have gotten about recasting these vehicles as fuel-sippers with transmission refinements, weight savings, and sophisticated internal combustion engines. “We’re seeing an increasing number of highly efficient gasoline options from both foreign and domestic automakers along with the first electric vehicles. Ford introduced the Fiesta this year and Chevrolet debuted the Cruze, both of which do exceedingly well in our ratings,” said ACEEE vehicle analyst Shruti Vaidyanathan.

Regarding plug-in vehicles, ACEEE Transportation Director Therese Langer noted: “Vehicles running on electricity emit nothing from the tailpipe, but their ‘upstream’ emissions can be substantial, depending on where they’re charged. As U.S. power generation becomes cleaner, these vehicles’ scores will rise.”

The Green Book® methodology update also incorporates emissions associated with battery manufacture and disposal in a manner that reflects material content, drawing from Argonne National Lab’s GREET model. Hybrids lose a couple of points on their Green Scores as a result and this year capture only three of the top 12 spots. Once again diesels fall just short of the Greenest list.

Widely regarded as the pre-eminent buyer’s guide to environment-friendly passenger cars, trucks, and SUVs, greenercars.org provides the facts necessary to examine the eco-performance of any 2011 model. Vehicles are analyzed on the basis of a “Green Score,” a singular measure that incorporates unhealthy tailpipe emissions, fuel consumption, and emissions of gases that cause global warming.

The greenercars.org Web site also identifies a selection of top, widely-available models in each vehicle class. This “Greener Choices” list includes trucks and SUVs such as the Hyundai Tucson, Chevrolet Equinox, GMCCanyon, and the Ford F-150 (FFV). Cars such as the Honda CR-Z and Hyundai Sonata top their respective classes. As the list demonstrates, consumers can make “greener choices” whatever their vehicle needs may be.

The “Meanest” list this year is populated largely by heavy trucks and SUVs, a marked change from the numerous European sports cars that dominated last year’s list. Nevertheless, the Bugatti Veyron tops the list this year with a Green Score of 19.

In addition to highlighting the year’s “Greenest,” “Meanest,” “Greener Choices,” and best-in-class lists, the greenercars.org Web site features informational write-ups on model year 2011 highlights, a consumer primer on vehicles and the environment, and advice on how to buy green when shopping for a new car or truck.

Summary “Green Scores” of the 1,000+ configurations of all model year 2011 vehicles are made available to subscribers of ACEEE’s Green Book® Online interactive database along with each configuration’s fuel economy, health-related pollution impacts, global warming emissions, and estimated fuel expenses. Subscribers can also build custom lists for comparing vehicles. Monthly and annual subscriptions to ACEEE’s Green Book® Online are available at greenercars.org. For further information, contact:

Shruti Vaidyanathan

529 14th St NW, Suite 600

Washington, DC20045

Phone: 202-507-4021, Fax: 202-429-2248

Email: svaidyanathan@aceee.org

The EPA recently announced that E15 is now approved for vehicles made in 2001 and newer. For all of the answers to your many questions on this topic, click HERE or visit: http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/technology_bulletin_1210.html