Clean Cities is the U.S. Department 

of Energy’s (DOE) flagship transportation deployment program. Formed in 

1993 under the Energy Policy Act 

(EPAct) of 1992, the mission of this 

voluntary initiative is to reduce U.S. 

petroleum consumption through the use 

of alternative fuels and vehicles, hybrid 

electric vehicles, fuel blends, increased 

fuel economy, and idle reduction measures. To this end, Clean Cities partners 

with state and local organizations to 

promote the use of these petroleumreduction technologies and methods. 

Clean Cities also supports EPAct-regulated state and alternative fuel provider 

fleets, which are required to purchase alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) each year. 

Clean Cities’ foundation is built on forming partnerships with stakeholders in its 

nearly 90 Clean Cities coalitions throughout the United States. These partners 

include fuel suppliers and distributors, 

vehicle manufacturers and marketers, 

national laboratories, state and local governments, and other federal agencies.

Clean Cities is based on the concept 

that federal support can empower local 

citizens and organizations to become 

the leaders of a national movement 

for change. The resulting partnerships 

have inspired thousands of innovative, 

committed stakeholders to exceed all expectations in guiding their communities 

toward effective transportation solutions. 

Goals and Strategies

Clean Cities’ primary goal is to reduce 

U.S. petroleum use by 2.5 billion gallons per year by 2020. To achieve this 

overall goal, Clean Cities identified three 

petroleum-reduction strategies: 

•	 Replace petroleum with nonpetroleumbased alternative fuels and blends

•	 Reduce petroleum consumption by 

promoting smarter driving practices, 

idle reduction, and the use of more 

fuel-efficient vehicles and advanced 

technologies

•	 Eliminate petroleum use by encouraging the use of mass transit, trip 

elimination measures, and other 

congestion mitigation approaches

Clean Cities coalitions across the nation 

are pursuing these strategies through local 

efforts to build alternative fuel infrastructure, help school districts transition buses 

to run on biodiesel blends, work with 

truck stop owners to install idle reduction 

equipment, and implement citywide incentive programs to encourage the use of 

subways and other public transportation. 

In addition, Clean Cities is pursuing the 

following three initiatives designed 

to help U.S. drivers adopt petroleumreduction fuels and technologies.

Goals, Strategies, and

Top Accomplishments

Goals

Clean Cities plans to reduce U.S. 

petroleum use by 2.5 billion gallons 

per year by 2020 by:

■ Building reliable alternative 

fueling infrastructure in at least 

15 major geographic areas

■ Partnering with at least 15 of the 

largest U.S. vehicle fleets to help 

them reduce petroleum use 

■ Developing at least 10 major 

interstate alternative fuel 

infrastructure corridors

Strategies

Clean Cities plans to meet these 

goals by:

■ Replacing petroleum with 

nonpetroleum-based alternative 

fuels and blends

■ Reducing petroleum consumption 

by promoting smart driving 

practices and vehicle technologies

■ Eliminating petroleum use by 

encouraging mass transit use 

and other approaches

In a continuing effort to reduce petroleum consumption, Clean Cities is working with 

industry partners to build reliable alternative fueling infrastructure.

Pearson Fuels/PIX 16745

VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM

www.cleancities.energy.gov • April 2010
Since 1993, Clean Cities has reduced 

petroleum consumption by 2.4 billion 

gasoline gallon equivalents.

Renewable Energy Partners of New Mexico/PIX 13531

Mayor Michael Bloomberg 

speaks at the New York City 

Clean Cities coalition 

designation ceremony.

New York City Department of Transportation/PIX 12494

CITIES CLEAN

VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM • April 2010 • Page 2

coordinators have devoted up to 100,000 

hours per year to Clean Cities activities, 

including work on community outreach 

and education, consumer awareness, and 

collaboration with auto companies and 

other technology manufacturers.

Develop Regional Fueling

Infrastructure

DOE is working with industry partners 

to build reliable alternative fueling 

infrastructure in at least 15 major geographic areas throughout the country by 

2015. Clean Cities’ strategy is to develop 

alternative fuel and advanced technology 

vehicle markets by leveraging funding 

through partnerships and placing infrastructure in regions with high densities 

of AFVs.

Develop Partnerships with Major

National Fleets

DOE will form national partnerships with 

at least 15 of the largest U.S. vehicle fleets 

by 2015 in order to help them substantially reduce their petroleum use. To pursue 

this strategy, Clean Cities will use local 

and national education as well as outreach events to train the major fleets on 

the benefits of using alternative fuel and 

advanced technology vehicles.

Develop Infrastructure Corridors

DOE will expand its efforts with industry partners to develop at least 10 major 

interstate alternative fuel infrastructure 

corridors by 2020. Clean Cities will 

generate mapping capabilities of major 

transportation routes, form industrygovernment partnerships, and provide 

cost-share funding mechanisms to 

develop infrastructure so that fleets and 

individual consumers can drive coast-tocoast on alternative fuels.

Top Accomplishments 

Displaced 2.4 Billion Gallons

of Petroleum

Clean Cities coalitions have reduced 

petroleum consumption by more than 

2.4 billion gasoline gallon equivalents 

(GGE) since 1993 through alternative 

fuel use and other petroleum reduction 

strategies. Annual petroleum displacement 

increased from 15 million GGE in 1994 

to 412 million GGE this past year—an 

impressive 28% average annual growth 

rate. At the same time, Clean Cities efforts 

accounted for more than 600,000 new 

AFVs on the road and helped build 73% 

of alternative fueling stations nationwide 

since 1993.

Established a Nationwide Network

of Clean Cities Coalitions

Clean Cities established a national 

network of nearly 90 coalitions and local 

partnerships, encompassing three quarters of the U.S. population within their 

boundaries. More than 6,500 stakeholders from local businesses, city and state 

governments, the transportation industry, 

community organizations, and fuel providers participate in the coalitions. These 

stakeholders constitute an advanced 

transportation community knowledgeable about a wide range of technologies 

and eager to develop markets, leverage 

resources, collaborate on projects and 

policy issues, and promote alternative transportation. Each Clean Cities 

coalition is led by a coordinator. These 
Sacramento

East Bay

Silicon Valley

Antelope Valley

Central Coast

Los Angeles

Long Beach

San Diego Region

San Francisco

Southern California

San Joaquin

Valley

Eastern Sierra

Regional

Honolulu

Tucson

Valley of

the Sun Land of

Enchantment

Southern Colorado

Denver

Northern Colorado

Western Riverside County

Coachella 

Valley 

Region

Puget Sound

Columbia-Willamette

Rogue Valley Treasure Valley

Las Vegas

Utah

Yellowstone-Teton

Red River Valley

Central

Oklahoma

Dallas/Ft. Worth

Wisconsin

 SE Area

Winnipeg

Twin Cities

Iowa Chicago

South Shore

Alamo Area

St. Louis

Lansing

Central Texas

Houston/

Galveston

SE Texas

East Texas

Tulsa

Kansas

City

NE Ohio

Detroit

Baton Rouge

Southeast 

Louisiana

Arkansas

Central Indiana Clean

Fuels Ohio

Middle

Tennessee

Commonwealth

CC Partnership

East

Tennessee

Ann

Arbor

Atlanta

New York City and 

Lower Hudson Valley

Genesee Region

Western New York

Central New York

Capital District

Space Coast

Centralina

Triangle

Virginia

Granite State

West 

Virginia

Pittsburgh

Gold Coast

* Connecticut Clean 

 Cities Include:

 – Norwich

 – New Haven

 – Connecticut Southwestern Area

 – Capitol Clean Cities of Connecticut

Middle

Georgia

Palmetto

State

Washington DC

Delaware

Philadelphia

New

Jersey Long Island

Vermont

Ocean State

Connecticut*

Maine

Massachusetts

State of Maryland

Alabama

Clean Cities Coalitions

Glacier National Park 

fuels its Red Bus fleet 

with propane.

Wieck Media Services

Dean Armstrong, NREL

CITIES CLEAN

VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM • April 2010 • Page 3

state government and alternative fuel 

provider fleets comply with EPAct, resulting in the acquisition of 110,000 AFVs and 

the use of more than 21 million gallons of 

biodiesel. Regulated fleets have achieved 

virtually 100% compliance. The SFP 

program helps stakeholders understand 

the challenges facing fleets and the paths 

to success. It implemented an AFV credit 

trading system that links surplus credit 

buyers and sellers, developed a reporting 

mechanism that facilitates timely and accurate submission of annual fleet reports, 

and created online compliance assistance 

and petroleum reduction planning tools. 

The program also publishes numerous 

guidance documents to help fleets comply 

with their requirements and success stories 

that communicate innovative and effective 

fleet management processes. Clean Cities 

and the SFP program have been partnering for years to encourage collaboration 

among regulated fleets and their local 

coordinators and to educate them about 

installing alternative fuel infrastructure.

Helped “Green” Our National Parks

The Clean Cities National Parks Initiative 

was launched to help keep U.S. national 

parks clean and to harness the potential of 

parks to educate visitors about environmentally-friendly transportation. Clean 

Cities started the initiative by funding 

the addition of 20 AFVs and fueling 

stations in national parks throughout the 

country. Since then, the initiative has 

thrived. Clean Cities joined forces with 

major automakers and industry partners 

to promote the use of hybrids and other 

AFVs in parks. These efforts prompted 

Toyota to donate 23 Priuses and $5 million to support environmental education 

programs at five national parks, and a 

partnership with Ford refurbished Glacier 

National Park’s historic Red Bus fleet to 

run on clean propane fuel. In 2004, Mammoth Cave National Park became one of 

the first national parks to power many of 

its vehicles with alternative fuels. 

Developed Alternative Fuel Markets

by Aiding EPAct Compliance

DOE’s State and Alternative Fuel Provider 

(SFP) program has helped more than 300 
FuelEconomy.gov helps 

consumers identify, 

compare, and purchase 

efficient cars and results 

in substantial petroleum 

use reduction.

The I-65 Biofuels Corridor 

extends from Gary, Indiana, 

to Mobile, Alabama.

Dean Armstrong, NREL

CITIES CLEAN

VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM • April 2010 • Page 4

Brought the Fuel Economy Guide

to Millions of Car Buyers

The Fuel Economy Guide and its companion Web site at www.fueleconomy.

gov help consumers identify, compare, 

and purchase efficient cars and results in 

substantial petroleum displacement—saving an estimated 200 million gallons this 

past year alone. Clean Cities produces 

the guide in partnership with the U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency and 

Oak Ridge National Laboratory and has 

worked continually to expand its accessibility and interactivity. 

In a user-friendly format, the guide 

provides fuel economy and emissions 

ratings, energy impact scores, and carbon 

footprint information for all vehicles back 

to model year 1985, plus user-provided 

fuel economy statistics, calculators, and 

additional consumer tools. The guide 

became even easier to use in 2008 with the 

addition of a special mobile Web site that 

enables access from mobile phones and 

other handheld electronic devices. 

Created Alternative Fuel Corridors

Clean Cities supports infrastructure projects that put alternative fueling stations 

along major travel corridors, enabling 

AFV drivers to travel long distances using alternative fuels. The longest corridor 

keeps flexible fuel vehicle drivers always 

within one-quarter tank to an E85 (85% 

ethanol, 15% gasoline) station while 

traveling from the Great Lakes to the 

Gulf Coast along I-65. The I-65 corridor 

also has several B20 (20% biodiesel, 80% 

petroleum diesel) stations. Other E85 corridors include the I-5 corridor in Oregon; 

New York State’s Thruway; roads from 

Penn State College, Pennsylvania, to 

Philadelphia; and the I-95/I-64 Crescent 

Corridor, in Maryland, Washington, D.C., 

and Virginia. Clean Cities efforts helped 

establish corridors for other alternative 

fuels as well, helping California, Utah, 

and New York establish numerous natural 

gas stations along heavily traveled routes. 

Since 1998, Clean Cities has distributed 

about $35 million to build alternative fuel 

infrastructure projects. 
regularly attends national Clean Cities 

events, helping coordinators improve 

their media outreach strategies.

Created a Comprehensive

Alternative Fuels and Advanced

Vehicles Data Center

Clean Cities developed the Alternative 

Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center 

(AFDC, www.afdc.energy.gov)—the 

premier resource for information about 

advanced transportation technologies. 

The AFDC contains comprehensive Web 

content and more than 3,000 documents 

covering the gamut of transportation options. It also provides a suite of interactive 

tools, including the Alternative Fueling 

Station Locator, fleet price calculators, 

and databases of transportation-related 

incentives and laws. In addition to informing the public, the AFDC provides 

technical support to Clean Cities coalitions. The AFDC Web site received more 

than 7 million hits in 2008.

Partnered with National Media to

Get the Word Out

Since 2002, Clean Cities has collaborated 

with the PBS television program MotorWeek to produce more than 50 segments 

related to alternative fuels, advanced 

technology vehicles, and fuel economy. 

Starting in September 2009, MotorWeek 

began running short, bi-weekly segments 

that focus on coalition success stories. 

The weekly show airs nationally on PBS 

stations and satellite and cable networks 

and is seen by military personnel worldwide on the American Forces Network. 

In addition, the Fuel Economy Guide 

(www.fueleconomy.gov) uses the segments 

to increase the interactivity of the Web 

site and reinforce its message about fuel 

efficiency. MotorWeek’s creator and 

host, Emmy Award winner John Davis, 

The Alternative 

Fuels and Advanced 

Vehicles Data 

Center (www.afdc.

energy.gov) is the 

premier Web site 

for information 

about transportation 

technologies.

Clean Cities Success 

Stories are featured 

by MotorWeek on 

PBS stations.

CITIES CLEAN

VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM • April 2010 • Page 5
non-profit organizations. These efforts 

have helped coalitions obtain an additional $945 million in funding since 1998. 

In addition to annual program funding, 

the Clean Cities program provided $300 

million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, which leveraged 

$865 million in matching funds.

Looking Forward

Many of Clean Cities’ most significant accomplishments are presented in this fact 

sheet, but the most important achievements are yet to come. The pervasive 

impacts of transportation energy use 

have never been clearer and the public is 

awakening to the urgent need to end the 

nation’s addiction to oil. Clean Cities has 

been a champion for this cause for more 

than 15 years. Today, it is ideally positioned to lead the United States toward 

a cleaner, more secure, more prosperous 

transportation future.

Turned Garbage into Renewable

Natural Gas

Clean Cities has helped deploy biomethane (biologically produced natural gas) 

technologies that were created through 

DOE-sponsored research and development. Landfills produce large amounts of 

biomethane from decomposition of waste. 

Collaborating with industry and national 

laboratories, Clean Cities demonstrated 

the feasibility of purifying landfillderived biomethane and liquefying it for 

use in commercial trucks. The purified 

methane has been used successfully to 

fuel refuse trucks. The project identified 

more than 300 landfills that each have the 

potential to produce up to 20,000 gallons 

of liquefied natural gas per day.

Spearheaded a Major Increase in

Alternative Fuel Transit Buses

Transit buses are big. They are driven 

constantly. They use a lot of fuel. Because 

of their centralized fueling and maintenance and predictable routes, they are 

well-suited to alternative fuel use. For 

a decade, Clean Cities has put a special 

focus on promoting alternative fuel use 

in transit applications with great success. 

In 1997, only 6% of U.S. transit buses 

operated on some form of alternative 

power. Ten years later, 20% of transit 

buses are operated on alternative power. 

Clean Cities coalitions were responsible 

for bringing more than half these alternative fuel and advanced buses to U.S. 

roads. The Natural Gas Transit Users 

Group, sponsored by Clean Cities, helped 

by providing information and technical 

assistance to transit agencies operating 

or considering natural gas buses. Most 

alternative fuel buses use compressed or 

liquefied natural gas. Both reduce local 

air pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, 

and dependence on imported oil.

Leveraged Public Funding to Boost

Alternative Fuel Success

In the past 10 years, Clean Cities provided 

approximately $57 million in competitive grant funds, which were leveraged 

into another $245 million in matching 

funds from other organizations. Clean 

Cities coalitions stretched these dollars 

even further by building on the success of grant-funded projects to develop 

long-term partnerships with industry, 

other federal agencies, state agencies, and 

Leslie Eudy, NREL/PIX 12293

Clean Energy Fuels/PIX 16724

Clean Cities helps promote 

the use of clean fuels in 

transit buses.

Clean Cities helps repurpose 

garbage by putting biomethane 

from landfills back into the tanks 

of refuse trucks.

CITIES CLEAN

VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES PROGRAM • April 2010 • Page 6

EERE Information Center

1-877-EERE-INF (1-877-337-3463)

www.eere.energy.gov/informationcenter 

Printed with a renewable-source ink on 

paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, 

including 10% post consumer waste. DOE/GO-102010-2984 • Revised April 

Prepared by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory 

(NREL), a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; 

NREL is operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.