Carina Soriano, CCFC Co-Coordinator
, attended the Energy Independence Summit in Washington DC last week on February 10-12th. Centralina was glad to meet with other North Carolina folks from the Triangle Clean Cities Coalition as well as partner NC Clean Energy Technology Center. This annual event is the nation's premier clean transportation policy summit.
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L to R: Caitlin Rose, Triangle Clean Cities; Allison Carr, NC Clean Energy Technology Center; and Rick Sapienza, NC Clean Energy Technology Center.
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L to R: Allison Carr, NC Clean Energy Technology Center; Caitlin Rose, Triangle Clean Cities, and Carina Soriano, Centralina Clean Fuels Coalition
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On January 27-29th, Carina Soriano, CCFC's Co-Coordinator attended the Coordinator 101 training in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. This national exchange of ideas was a good chance to network and exchange best practices among new coordinators with a few coordinators having prior experience to working with the Clean Cities program or similar industries.
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Clean Cities Region of Excellence Award Nominations
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Centralina is pleased to announce the 2020 Region of Excellence Awards. CCOG’s new mission statement which emphasizes regional collaboration and local action allows us to create new categories for our awards. Please see our current categories below:
- Cross-Community Collaboration
- Local Government Innovation
- Improving Quality of Life
- Clean Cities
- Aging in Action
- James D. Prosser Excellence in Government Leadership Award
We encourage all who are interested to apply for the Clean Cities award category. The deadline for applications is
Wednesday, April 29, 2020.
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Regional Transit Kicking Off
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A regional transit system which offers local transportation choice emerged as a top growth priority from the three-year, 14-county, bi-state planning process. Through the
Regional Transit Engagement Series
, Centralina Council of Governments has taken an in-depth look at the importance of integrated, reliable, mobility options as a means of retaining and growing this region’s economic competitiveness and quality of life by providing transportation choices, increased access to jobs, education, medical services, and local economic development and placemaking. With this input, the Council now embarks on the creation of a shared
Regional Transit Vision and Implementation Strategies
to move us forward, together.
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Core Stakeholder Meeting Feb 19th, 2020
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Great to hear from Lee McElrath from Dominion Energy, one of CCFC’s sponsors educate stakeholders on renewable natural gas and how fleets can implement RNG in their fleets today. Especially pertinent to NC as we have plentiful methane from our hog farms!
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Thank you to EIP Ventures for having Beverly Westle come to speak today about their biogas plant in Charlotte. Great info and looking forward to working with them!
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Alliance AutoGas Boasts a Successful 2019
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UPS Orders 10,000 Electric Delivery Vehicles
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CCFC Stakeholder, Alliance AutoGas (AAG), an international network that provides propane autogas solutions to light-, medium- and heavy-duty fleets, says 2019 was a successful and productive year. By continuing the research and development of after-market vehicle conversion equipment, AAG obtained 37 certificates of conformity from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which cover 167 different vehicle types.
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CCFC Stakeholder, UPS says its venture capital arm, UPS Ventures, has completed a minority investment in Arrival, which makes electric vehicle (EV) platforms and purpose-built vehicles. Along with the investment in Arrival, UPS also announced a commitment to purchase 10,000 EVs to be built for UPS, with priority access to purchase additional vehicles.UPS will collaborate with Arrival to develop a wide range of EVs with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS).
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An interactive story on Biofuels
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Lessing-Flynn turned a 45-foot-long trailer into a moving billboard centered on fun and interesting education about biofuels.
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Natural Gas Vehicle Weight Allowance Guidance
Per the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidance, state authorities must allow the additional weight on the Interstate Highway System and must provide reasonable access to the Interstate. The guidance indicates that the weight allowance applies beyond the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) and extends to single axle, tandem axle and bridge weight formula limits. This guide highlights all of the weight logistics around NGVs.
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Updated Nozzle Guidelines for 2020 Propane Autogas Vehicles
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According to
2020 NFPA 58 guidelines
, all propane autogas vehicles reinstated into service, purchased, or converted after Jan. 1, 2020, will need to adopt the K15 quick-connect vehicle refueling valve. The quick-connect nozzle reduces fugitive emissions and increases driver safety. Learn more about the nozzle guidelines and
see if your fleet needs to update to the K15
. "
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100 Best Fleets Application Now Open
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The 100 Best Fleets in the Americas contest is open to any PUBLIC fleet in North or South America. (Commercial fleets are welcome to apply for the Green Fleet Awards later this year, but The 100 Best Fleets is limited to PUBLIC fleets.)
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Viable Class 7/8 Electric, Hybrid, and Alternative Fuel Tractors
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NACFE states "Trucking is at the start of significant changes in powertrains. Fleets face a tyranny of evolving choices that include improved diesels, a seemingly endless variety of hybrid technologies including fuel cells, and a variety of straight electric ones including battery electric and catenary wire electric. Fuels are branded variously as “green,” “clean,” “near zero emission” and “renewable” with no clear agreement on what these mean."
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2020 Round of CFAT Funding Now Open
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The next round of Clean Fuel Advanced Technology (CFAT) funds are now available. 2020 offers $1.4 million, focused on reducing transportation-related emissions, and supported with federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) funding from the NCDOT.
Project proposals are limited to $400,000 with a minimum ask of $5,000.
Applications are due Friday, March 13, 2020
and should be emailed to Rick Sapienza at
resapienza@ncsu.edu
. This will likely be the only solicitation for 2020.
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Low or No Emission Program (Low-No Program) - FY2020 Notice of $130 Million Funding
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The main purpose of the Low-No Program is to support the transition of the nation’s transit fleet to the lowest polluting and most energy efficient transit vehicles. The Low-No Program provides funding to State and local governmental authorities for the purchase or lease of zero-emission and low-emission transit buses, including acquisition, construction, and leasing of required supporting facilities.
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Eligible Applicants: An Eligible Applicant is a designated recipient of Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grants, states, local governmental authorities and Indian Tribes.
All applicants must complete the
supplemental form
and attach it to their submission in
Grants.gov
.
Dates:
An applicant must submit a proposal electronically by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on 3/17/2020.
Any agency intending to apply should initiate the process of registering on the
Grants.gov
site immediately to ensure completion of registration before the submission deadline.
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Tax Credit Extended for EV Charging Stations & Installation!
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Congress recently passed a retroactive federal tax credit for those who purchased environmentally responsible transportation, including costs for EV charging infrastructure.
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Receive a federal tax credit of 30% of the cost of purchasing and installing an EV charging station (up to $1,000 for residential installations and up to $30,000 for commercial installations) with the retroactive tax credit.
Previously, these federal tax credits expired on December 31, 2017
, but the credits are now
retroactively extended
through
December 31, 2020
. F
ull details can be viewed on the U.S. Department of Energy website by clicking the link below.
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Green Truck Summit and Work Truck Show
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Come join the Clean Cities program at the Work Truck Show and Green Truck Summit in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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Indianapolis, IN | March 3rd - 6th, 2020
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The ACT Expo is the largest advanced transportation technology and clean fleet event in North America.
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Long Beach, CA | May 12-13, 2020
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2020 Core Stakeholder Meeting Dates
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Air Made Visible Bike Night
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Clean Air Carolina will host a Bike Night at the dramatic outdoor light installation, Particle Falls, on Tuesday, March 3 at 9:00 PM. (Rain date is March 10.) Plaza Midwood’s Tuesday Night Ride will visit the venue at UNC Charlotte Center City Building’s facade facing the Blue Line. Other cyclists and cycling groups are urged to participate. Particle Falls is a public art exhibit that translates real-time particle pollution data into an animated light display, revealing the invisible dangers in the air we breathe. Cyclists are especially at risk because of their repeated exposure to tailpipe emissions. For more information email info@cleanaircarolina.org.
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Electrification 2020 International Conference & Exposition
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The Electrification Int'l Conference & Expo gathers business, policy, government and academic leaders as well as vendors and partners to further the conversation about electrification's role in enhancing efficiencies and benefiting the environment within the framework of decarbonization and global sustainability.
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Charlotte, NC | April 6th - 9th, 2020
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NGV Technician Training and Certification
NGV is offering CNG technician training in the Charlotte area in May! There is a special discount for Clean Cities stakeholders as well! For more details please visit our website
here.
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The N.C. Department of Transportation wants to build a transportation system people want, need and will use. So, what is it that
you
want? Now is the time to speak up.
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A reminder that CCFC would appreciate any information you can provide for our Annual Report which informs Congress that alternative fuel vehicles, technology and programs, including those you offer, work every day in our communities to reduce our dependence on petroleum usage. If you have any questions regarding our report, would like assistance in filling out the form, please contact
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How do you get to work?
If it's using I-77, take this survey!
We're taking part in 'Beyond 77' - a project focused on improving the user experience on and around I-77. This important effort will push beyond the interstate itself, helping to identify a wide range of mobility options for motorists. We want your voice to help shape the solutions for this community. Move us forward.
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Special Thanks to Our Sponsors!
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