LAS VEGAS, NV – From backhoes used by Las Vegas employees to move earth to compact cars driven by building inspectors on their rounds, the city has more alternatively fueled vehicles in its fleet than any other large city in America, according to the Web site www.inbusinesslasvegas.com.

According to a study by SustainLane, Las Vegas ranks first among the 50 largest cities in the United States in implementing alternative-fuels programs. The Las Vegas fleet’s No. 1 ranking was part of a larger study of sustainability in America’s largest cities. In the larger study, Las Vegas was judged based on 14 categories — such as energy and climate change policy, innovation, green buildings, and planning and land use — and ranked 27 out of 50.

Las Vegas has its own fueling station that powers 87 percent of the city’s 1,500 vehicles with compressed natural gas (CNG), biodiesel, hydrogen enriched compressed natural gas, high-oxygen unleaded gasoline, and hydrogen. At the time the SustainLane study was completed, the city had only 63 percent of its fleet running on alternative fuels. Since then, the city has purchased 85 hybrid vehicles, which replaced small pickup trucks that got 13 miles per gallon. The new vehicles average 26 miles per gallon.