Current Projects

A complete listing of current projects can be found here.

Clean Cities National Parks Initiative: VCC is working with the Shenandoah National Park to deploy electric vehicles and propane mowers. This partnership will also introduce an outreach component to educate park visitors on the deployment of domestically produced alternative fuels and energy efficient vehicles. Over the course of the project, VCC will produce an educational video about the Park’s sustainable vehicle program, and lead a project kick-off event as an education and outreach tool for Park staff, visitors, and media outlets. VCC will also develop electric vehicle charger design protocols in the form of a case study, and provide other technical assistance as needed to the Park. The Shenandoah National Park will acquire a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, an all-electric vehicle, three 220V EV chargers, and 12 propane lawn mowers.

Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy (DMME) Technical Support: VCC provides direct support to DMME on a variety of alternative fuels and domestic energy efforts related to petroleum reduction. These tasks include the state natural gas, propane, and electric vehicle efforts, as well as state biodiesel, ethanol and hydrogen programs.

Clean Cities Coalition Support: VCC provides ongoing support to the U.S. Department of Energy’s local alternative fuels deployment and educational efforts. As an officially recognized coalition, VCC provides DOE with federal technical reports and local programs. In addition to organizing regular stakeholder events, meetings and other education and outreach activities, VCC also provides the Alternative Fuel Data Center station updates and quarterly alternative fuel price reports.

Alternative Fuel Implementation Team (AFIT): VCC is collaborating with the North Carolina Solar Center/NC State University in conducting a two year initiative with funding support from the U.S. Department of Energy to enhance implementation of alternative fuel in North Carolina and neighboring states. The project aims to reduce barriers to alternative transportation fuel adoption, and will focus on the expansion of biodiesel, ethanol (E85), natural gas, propane, and electricity.

Advancing Alternative Fuel Markets Adoption and Growth: This program addresses shortfalls in the large-scale adoption of alternative fuels, deployment of alternative fuel, advanced technology vehiclesin the DC-Maryland-Virginia region. VCC will collaboratively plan seminars, webinars, trainings, and assist with the creation and management of focus groups that address the project’s goals of education and barrier reduction.

Recent Accomplishments

A complete listing of past accomplishments can be found here.

2013

Southeast Propane Autogas Development Program: The U.S. Department of Energy awarded American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) to increase the number of vehicles running on propane autogas: a clean, domestic and economical alternative fuel. This project will convert over 1,200 vehicles across 36 fleets to propane, conduct propane road shows across 12 states, and deploy a national marketing and outreach campaign. The project is expected to eliminate over 4,000 tons of pollutants over 4 years, displace 4 million gallons of gasoline, and create and retain American jobs.

Richmond Electric Vehicle Initiative (REVi): The main objective of the Richmond Electric Vehicle Initiative is to advance the Richmond Region as an attractive and sustainable market for electric vehicle technology. A Richmond Regional Strategic Plan will be developed to prepare the Commonwealth to develop electric vehicle adoption and charging infrastructure. This infrastructure will help prepare for the deployment of plug-in electric vehicles. Project modeling and planning activities will reflect local needs and challenges and will include a comprehensive team of over fifty local and national experts to facilitate success. The full REVi plan, which includes information about Richmond, the opportunity electric vehicles have there, barriers to electric vehicles and a plan to overcome them, can be found here.

Virginia Biofuels Waste Grease Transportation Inventory: There are several programs that VDACS advances which incorporate fuel issues. One is the motor fuels program, and the other is the waste kitchen grease program. The latter is a program that launched in 2010. The registration process for that program is automated and working well, but the Commonwealth needed data to ensure we were reaching all waste kitchen grease transporters who are required to register with the program. This effort was a collaboration to maximize our visibility with the biodiesel producers and the individuals/business that transport waste kitchen grease with an eye toward ensuring compliance with the waste kitchen grease statute.

2012

Green Operators (GO) Program: The program was awarded funding to assist the Mid-Atlantic Regional Air Quality Management Association (MARAMA) and the Virginia Port Authority with the implementation of a GO Program in cooperation with the Virginia Port Authority. The program was the first of its kind to assist drayage operators with voluntary retrofit or replace old dray trucks serving the Port of Virginia, and reward shippers that want to green their supply chain. VCC provided technical assistance and helped with the refinement and administration of the program. GO partners include both carriers and shippers, each doing their part to clean up the air.

National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium: National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day Odyssey is a biennial event dedicated to promoting cleaner choices in transportation. VCC hosted two Odyssey Day events in 2012; one in Chesapeake, Virginia and one in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The day was dedicated to the promotion of alternative fuel vehicles and raising awareness for energy security and cleaner air. Industry experts were on hand to answer questions, and educational seminars were featured to provide detailed information about viable alternative fuel options and how they applied to the audiences’ local communities.

United Soybean Board Biodiesel Education Program: VCC partnered with the United Soybean Board to produce a series of webinars titled “Biodiesel and Our Changing Biofuels Landscape.” The soybean check off has been instrumental in developing the biodiesel industry and continuing research to prove the benefits of the domestically produced fuel. Through this project, VCC shared information about bioproducts, such as environmentally friendly industrial lubricants and cleaners.

National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC): The EPA’s NCDC promotes clean air strategies by working with manufacturers, fleet operators, air quality professionals, environmental and community organizations, and state and local officials to reduce diesel emissions. VCC managed a project that administered an NCDC award that retrofitted 35 Hampton Roads Transit buses with emissions reduction equipment, replaced 10 Chesapeake refuse haulers ahead of schedule with natural gas, replaced City of Richmond refuse haulers with a natural gas model, and replaced 4 Spotsylvania Public Schools Buses ahead of schedule with propane models.

Luck Stone Construction Repower: Funding from the EPA to VCC and James Madison University helped launch the first construction repowering project in Virginia. The project reduced harmful diesel pollution at four Luck Stone plants operating in Richmond, Charlottesville, Leesburg, and Burkeville and enabled the company to repower or replace 11 off-road construction vehicles with new, more efficient diesel engines and generators.

Vehicle Emission Reduction, Deployment and Education (VERDE) Project

VCC is continuing their efforts to reduce toxic diesel emissions by working with a truck and stops in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and a warehouse in Maryland to install 102 electrified parking spaces. These electrified parking spaces will significantly eliminate diesel emissions due to long periods of idling by the class-8 trucks. VCC is also assisting the City of Roanoke with the replacement of a diesel landscape truck with a cleaner propane truck and the City of Richmond with the repower of 12 heavy duty diesel trucks with cleaner burning natural gas engines.

Clean Fuels Transition Project

Virginia Clean Cities invites you to participate in Clean Fuels Transition Project. This goal of this one-year project to provide an analysis of your fleet’s fuel usage and compare it to an alternative fuel, such as electricity, to determine if there are any cost and/or emission reduction benefits.

Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Opportunity Center

VCC seeks to expand the domestic supply chain of components and systems necessary for the manufacture and scale-up of the supply chain by building and populating a comprehensive database and by driving U.S. companies to the site via an aggressive outreach campaign using trade association outreach, webinars, social media, and personal contact. This effort will advance hydrogen fuel cell suppliers in the transportation, utility, industrial, commercial, and residential sectors, with a focus on the transportation sector in fuel and infrastructure supply chain systems.

Mid-Atlantic Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership

VCC has partnered with private sector infrastructure companies and the USDA Biofuel Infrastructure Program to advance ethanol use in the Mid-Atlantic region and to install 53 additional ethanol stations. The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) will administer the program with the assistance of Virginia Clean Cities (VCC). Partners in the program include two U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) designated Clean Cities Coalitions, as well as agricultural and energy offices of each state. State grain associations and agricultural partners are engaged as well as the private sector infrastructure partners to complete station build.

DOE – NFPA Alternative Fuel Vehicle First Responder Training
Virginia Clean Cities is working with the National Fire Protection Association to develop and conduct training for First Responders focusing on alternative fuel vehicles. This training will target first responders in 15 selected states. VCC’s primary role in the project is logistics and coordination, while NFPA will develop the training curriculum.