UCC Goes to Washington D.C.
When private and public sector, government, social, and altruistic leaders apply pioneering partnerships and technologies to address social challenges and build sustainable communities, we experience the multiplier effect. The shared alliances we create generate an energy that seemingly doubles each time we focus on the solutions, wrestle the problem, fail, re-think the failure, and take action with a successful model. We work for this success and to move on to the next innovation. We need to move faster.
–Tammie Bostick, Utah Clean Cities
What was the multiplier effect in 2018? Advanced transportation became a real contender, a force to reckoned with offering real solutions and actionable steps to reduce oil dependency in transportation.
This year Utah Clean Cities celebrated our Silver Anniversary. Almost three decades of work to build smart mobility models with a mission of energy security, transportation decisions made locally, resource conservation, petroleum reductions, and continued advanced, clean, and ideally renewable, technologies for fleets.
Working fleets in America use more than 50% of all transportation oil and further these fleets are tasked with delivering all the goods and services to Americans. They are still largely running (90%) on the dirtiest fuel: diesel. Despite our celebratory milestone and hard work we found ourselves in resistance, we almost lost our Clean Cities programs after 25 years. It was slated to be de-funded. Clean transportation was on the chopping block and the CAFÉ standards where openly challenged.
We got busy; REALLY BUSY! Our coalition of partners generated tremendous support in the form of letter-writing, emails and phones calls to our local leaders and delegates in Washington. We fought to continue the work of advanced transportation deployment and fuel technologies. It makes sense for our environment and economy (Investment in Alternative Fuels Creates American Jobs) and that continues to be proven despite rhetoric in the contrary. Transportation can be clean and it can, and does, have a sound business model for success.
Big oil lobbyist were struggling in Washington as they watched their market share of “oil only” shrink with renewable fuels from methane capture from wide varieties of feedstocks; energy developments with solar, wind, hydro, geothermal; huge advancements with electrified transportation, with batteries, charging and OEM manufacturer commitments, and hydrogen is ready for the market: in general BIG innovations with high efficiency, low carbon, high tech, clean fueled transportation.
In 2018, we worked tirelessly with the federal Appropriation Committee and asked them to continue fund the Department of Energy programs such as Clean Cities; we were all on the chopping block in the clean fuels world. After several important and pivotal meetings with many bi-partisan delegates, we receive full funding for another year. In fact, they doubled our funding thanks to our collaborators, Transportation Energy Partners (TEP); of which Utah Clean Cities supports and serves on the national board.
This year at the Energy Independence Summit in Washington, we are asking our Utah delegates to work with the Appropriations Committee on the following:
- Extend Tax Incentives for Alternative Transportation Fuels, Vehicles and Infrastructure
- Ensure Adequate Federal Funding in FY 2018 and FY 2019 for Key Alternative Fuels Programs
- Preserve the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS)
- Ensure Timely Approval of DOT CMAQ Funding for Alternative Fuel Vehicles
Our mission for clean transportation is more possible today than any other time in history. Technologies have advanced beyond early adoption. Today we have the keys to over 650 advanced-fuel vehicles and fully-loaded corridors with high-tech energy options for fueling. Utah joins the nation with clear commitment for clean transportation. With our dedicated Utah Green Fleet partners, regional and national allies we continue to make a difference.
The mission of the Utah Clean Cities Coalition is to advance the energy, economic, and environmental security of the United States by supporting local decisions to adopt practices that reduce the use of petroleum in the transportation sector.
Working closely with the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities programs, federal and state government, as well as our local stakeholders, we leverage our resources to bring funding into Utah to support the development and deployment of advanced fuel infrastructure and vehicles with an emphasis on renewable energies and technologies.
We are committed to expanding transportation modeling by offering consultation services to access proven, state-of-the-art technological vehicles and equipment with proven return on investment for smart mobility fleets.
We are here to support actionable steps to meet the challenges of our carbon-constrained world, to meet state and federal mandates and implement sound business practices to tackle the serious non-attainment conditions our state.