EP-ACT Successes

EP-ACT Rallies Project Partners Across the Region

Tue, 14 Apr 2015 14:00:00 GMT

EP-ACT's 2015 Project Essentials Workshop brought together partners from six of our ongoing grant projects to meet key players and keep projects on-track at the PECO Transit Center. Introductions were followed by presentations from representatives of all involved fueling station companies. This included Jack Stull of VNG.CO, John Hambrose of Waste Management, and Joe Pisano of Clean Energy, who each talked about their CNG Stations. Chris Cafarella from Sharp Energy discussed propane autogas. Finally, Heather Cowley, the Regional Energy Manager of Pennsylvania's Department of Energy, explained her role in managing the grant projects.

Attendees came prepared with project-specific questions, involving everything from permitting issues to extension requests. Over lunch, problems were resolved, success stories shared, and new connections formed.

More photos from the event can be found on our flickr page.

New NGV Technology Deployed by CNG Committed PA Beverage Distributor

Thu, 26 Feb 2015 20:00:00 GMT

A growing trend is emerging. Companies are realizing the huge potential for fuel savings of high mileage fleets by switching from gasoline or diesel to compressed natural gas (CNG). Pennsylvania companies are trailblazing this cost-effective effort using state-of-the-art new transportation technology.

One such fleet, beverage distributor LT Verrastro located in Old Forge, PA, is purchasing thirty-five natural gas vehicles (NGVs) new to market. The CNG powered Peterbilt 337 trucks sporting a Cummins Westport engine have only been available since December, and the bi-fuel Nissan NV 1500 vans employ newly designed cylinders from Pennsylvania's CP Industries in an Alternative Fuel Solutions engine controlled by an intelligent Zavoli fuel injection system.

In addition, LT Verrastro is expanding CNG infrastructure. Air & Gas Technologies will complete building a limited public access fueling station in Old Forge, PA, with both time and fast fill capability, by summertime.

For more information, read on at: http://www.fleetsandfuels.com/fuels/cng/2015/02/lt-verrastro-commits-to-cng/

EP-ACT Advances Change at our 2015 State of the Coalition Meeting

Thu, 19 Feb 2015 16:37:23 GMT

EP-ACT's 2015 State of the Coalition brought together stakeholders and potential stakeholders to educate them on our organization's accomplishments, current activities, and future plans. Attendees heard from EP-ACT's Chairman, Executive Director, and Program Coordinator. Guest speakers included David Althoff and Mark Smith, who provided outlook on alternative vehicle technologies from the PA Department of Environmental Protection and Department of Energy respectively.

Most importantly, attendees were given ample time to form vital networking connections, thus making the most use out of their membership. EP-ACT strives to bridge the gaps that can make alternative fuel projects daunting to undertake. The event achieved this by bringing together 60+ companies from across the transportation sector to meet and move forward with implementing alternative fuel projects, idea’s and furthering the mission of petroleum reduction within the transportation sector.

A copy of the presentation can be found here.

And for more photos from the event, visit our flickr page.

EP-ACT Joins the Celebration of the National Alternative Fuel Vehicle Day Odyssey Event

Fri, 17 Oct 2014 13:00:00 GMT

At the Community College of Philadelphia, the use of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles to improve the environment and lessen dependence on foreign oil was celebrated during its National Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Day Odyssey event.

It is one of many similar expos held across the United States and internationally. National AFV Day Odyssey is a biennial event created and coordinated by the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium (NAFTC) at West Virginia University. This year marks the 12th anniversary of the event and is themed “Driving Toward a Clean, Secure Energy Future.”

More than 60 attended from schools that include Thomas Alva Edison High School/John C. Fareira Skills Center, Jules E. Mastbaum High School, Swenson Arts and Technology High School, A. Philip Randolph Career and Technical High School, The Workshop School, and Universal Audenried Charter School.

Odyssey at the West Regional Center has demonstrations and displays from leading organizations in the alternative fuel industry. From 9 a.m. to noon, industry experts gave 20 minute presentations. From noon to 3 p.m. an AFV car show featured hybrid, compressed natural gas (CNG), biodiesel and electric vehicles including those from BMW, Toyota and Honda, as well as AFV buses and vehicles used by SEPTA, Philadelphia Gas Works and other organizations. Presenters included: Daniel Reed, an assistant professor at Community College of Philadelphia, who teaches in the Transportation Technologies Management program and will speak on hybrid technologies and safety; Robert “Mickey” McLaughlin, executive vice president of sales, marketing and new development for U-Go Stations, a Pennsylvania corporation working to develop the infrastructure for electric vehicle public charging stations; and The Eastern Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Transportation (EP-ACT), a coalition of public and private stakeholders sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy to promote the development and use of alternative fuels and AFVs. Dozens of businesses and nonprofit organizations that are stakeholders in the alternative fuels industry also participated.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission sponsored the event. The College’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management program provided lunch for registered attendees.

Nationwide, Odyssey attracts more than 250,000 attendees at 100 sites across the country. For more information about National AFV Day Odyssey, visit www.afvdayodyssey.org.

EP-ACT Promotes Natural Gas Vehicle Grant Program Across the Region

Tony Bandiero — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 16:30:00 GMT

For the past 3 years, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has reserved $20 million for the purchase or conversion of vehicles to natural gas as part of the ACT 13 Program.

EP-ACT along with the DEP hosted a series of lunch and learn events to bring together fleet managers, municipalities, and business owners to learn about utilizing the state's vast resource of this domestically produced fuel.

At the DEP's Northcentral and Southcentral regional offices, attendees enjoyed lunch while listening to presentations from industry experts on topics ranging from the utility perspective to the end-user experience; and, most importantly, the DEP presenting on how best to take advantage of the 3rd and FINAL ROUND of FUNDING for this immensely successful program.

GPCCP Promotes Electric Vehicle Charging Stations for SEPA

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 15:00:00 GMT

Beginning in 2011, the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program has been involved in a number of projects planning for and installing electric vehicle charging infrastructure in Southeastern Pennsylvania. The availability of charging infrastructure is an important factor for consumers thinking about buying electric vehicles and many would-be buyers say “range anxiety” is a big reason for not choosing emission-free vehicles.

The GPCCP has been working with partners in the region to make sure Southeastern Pennsylvania can support consumers who want to drive electric vehicles. In one project, we’re working with partners PECO, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and the City of Philadelphia to plan for public charging stations and to streamline the installation process for private chargers.

In a separate project, we’re working with Parkway Corporation to install public charging stations in five parking garages in Center City Philadelphia. The Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program has supported and helped install a handful of public charging stations around Philadelphia. With our partners’ help, we can make our region a national leader in electric vehicle adoption!

Electric Vehicle Workshop Wows Attendees

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:21:05 GMT

In July 2011, the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program hosted its 2nd annual electric vehicle workshop. The event was held with stakeholders PECO Energy and Dejana Truck Equipment as well as other sponsors. It featured presentations about the state of electric vehicles, EV charging infrastructure, fleet uses for EV’s, and vehicle-to-grid technologies (you can see presentations from the workshop in our Media page).

More than 100 people attended the event. Following the presentations, attendees were invited to participate in our infamous “Only Smoke in the Air” networking barbeque and test drive electric vehicles from Smith Electric Vehicles and General Motors.

This workshop is a signature event of the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program. Check out more photos from the first workshop in 2010 on our Flickr account.

GPCCP Showcases AFV’s at Earth Fest

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:26:32 GMT

To celebrate Earth Day 2011, the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program and supporting-member AmeriGreen exhibited alternative fuel vehicles at Temple University’s Earth Fest, an annual festival showcasing all things green. With a Roush propane-powered pickup truck and a CNG van owned by Temple on display, we showed off AFV’s that are in-use and on the road right now.

The event brought thousands of people from southeastern Pennsylvania. Even though some of the younger kids couldn’t get interested by our clean-burning vehicles, AmeriGreen’s jars of biodiesel and soybeans got everyone’s attention. Check out the photos below!

GPCCP Hosts Propel with Propane Workshop

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:00:00 GMT

In February 2011, the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program hosted “Propel with Propane,” an interactive workshop about propane’s potential as a cleaner, cheaper, domestically-produced fuel for trucks and cars. The workshop, held at the Port of Philadelphia, featured presentations from the Propane Education Research Council, Ferrell Gas, Roush Clean Tech, and AmeriGas (you can find the presentations in our Media page).

After the soup-to-nuts presentations that covered everything from how propane is produced to what cars and trucks already run on propane, the attendees got a chance to test drive some propane vehicles, including our favorite: the country’s first propane-powered Dodge Charger. Check out more photos from this event on our Flickr page.

GPCCP Builds an E-85 Corridor Across Pennsylvania

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:00:00 GMT

With funding from the PA Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Department of Energy, the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program helped build a corridor of E-85 fueling stations along I-76 from State College to Philadelphia. The corridor consists of 19 refueling stations in SHEETZ, Worley & Obetz, and Dileo’s locations. Each station sells domestically-produced E-85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, supplied by our stakeholders AmeriGreen and Shipley Energy. Since construction, over 1 million gallons of E-85 have been sold along the corridor.

If you drive a flex-fuel vehicle that can use E-85, you can use the AFDC Alternative Fuel Station Locator to find an E-85 station along our corridor.