The City of Orlando already has compressed natural gas (CNG) refuse trucks in its fleet.  Photo courtesy of City of Orlando

The City of Orlando already has compressed natural gas (CNG) refuse trucks in its fleet. Photo courtesy of City of Orlando

Eight cities have banded together to launch the Energy Secure Cities Coalition (ESCC), a group dedicated to transitioning their municipal fleets from petroleum-fueled vehicles to vehicles powered by alternative fuels.

The ESSC’s goal is to grow to 25 cities by 2025 and take 50,000 petroleum-powered vehicles off the road, saving 500,000 barrels of oil every year.

The Energy Secure Cities Coalition consists of the cities of Orlando, Fla., Atlanta, Ga., Charlotte, N.C, Indianapolis, Ind., Rochester, N.Y., Sacramento Calif., San Diego, Calif., and West Palm Beach, Fla. Many of these fleets have already committed to cleaner fleets.

The City of Orlando has been transitioning its fleet to advanced fuel vehicles since 2010. Orlando has pledged to run city fleet vehicles on 100% renewable resources by 2030 as part of its Green Works Orlando sustainability initiative, said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer in a release.

The city has 1,689 clean vehicles currently in its fleet and plans to grow this number to 2,389 by 2030. This year, the city will deploy 72 new advanced fuel vehicles, including 29 compressed natural gas (CNG) and hydraulic-hybrid trucks, 25 Via Motors plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and 18 hybrid vehicles. The city’s first CNG fueling station also began operation this year.

Atlanta is deploying 50 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to work for the city government. This first step in cutting Atlanta’s dependence on oil is expected to save approximately 550-600 gallons of fuel per vehicle every year and reduce maintenance costs by 40%.

The City of Indianapolis’ Freedom Fleet served as inspiration behind creating the ESCC. Former Mayor Greg Ballard’s plan to upgrade 425 non-police pursuit sedans to plug-in hybrid and battery-electric vehicles is predicted to save Indianapolis $8.7 million over 10 years.

The City of San Diego plans to increase the number of zero-emission vehicles in its municipal fleet to 90% by 2035, said Mayor Kevin Faulconer.

The City of West Palm Beach has pledged to transition its municipal vehicles off fossil fuels by 2025, said Mayor Jeri Muoio. 

The ESCC is a project of its member cities in collaboration with Securing America’s Future Energy and the Electrification Coalition. The group has published a road map to transitionting to alternative fuels.

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