Quantifying the Impact of Vehicle and Motor 

Fuel Provisions from the Energy Policy Act on 

the Sustainability and Resilience of U.S. Cities

Darlene Steward and Ted Sears, NREL

EPRC6, Santa Fe, New Mexico

September 8–9, 2016

NREL/PR-6A20-67065
2

Energy Policy Act (EPAct) alternative fuel vehicle (AFV) 

programs and goals

Research questions:

• Did EPAct help create markets for alternative fuels 

and vehicles?

• How much have EPAct programs helped people and 

the environment?

Overview
3

• State and Alternative Fuel Provider 

(SAFP) Fleet program

o Covered fleets must comply with AFV acquisition 

requirements

o Alternative fuel provider fleets include electric 

and natural gas utilities

• Sustainable Federal Fleets program

o Federal fleets must comply with alternative fuel 

use requirements

• Clean Cities

o Voluntary program supports nearly 100 local 

coalitions working to advance alternative fuels 

and advanced vehicles

EPAct Alternative Fuel Vehicle Programs

federalfleets.energy.gov

cleancities.energy.gov

epact.energy.gov
4

EPAct Alternative Fuels in Context

Million GGE in 2014

Alternative fuel (EPAct fuels) National EPAct SAFP and

Federal Fleet Programs

EPAct Programs Percentage 

of National Total

Natural gas (CNG, LNG) 6,720 4 0.07

Biofuels excluding ethanol blended with 

conventional gasoline (biodiesel, E85)

2,240 34 1.52

Electricity, propane, and other fuels 

(electricity, propane, hydrogen)

6,720 1 0.01

Source: 2014 Transportation Energy Use, http://www.eia.gov/Energyexplained/?page=us_energy_transportation
5

The number of AFVs in EPAct programs has increased steadily, but the EPAct 

programs’ fraction of the total number of AFVs tracked by the Energy 

Information Administration (EIA) nationally has decreased significantly

EPAct Programs Provided Consistent Early Markets for AFVs
6

EPAct SAFP fleets converted vehicles to operate on compressed natural gas 

(CNG), which might have motivated manufacturers to offer more models

EPAct SAFP Fleets Anticipated Markets for CNG AFVs
7

EPAct SAFP fleets consistently used more biodiesel than they 

were able to get credit for

EPAct SAFP Fleets Provided an Early Market for Biodiesel
8

EPAct fleets have sought fewer exemptions because of the 

increased availability of alternative fuels and AFVs

Increased Fuel and AFV Availability Has Helped the EPAct Fleets
9

EPAct fleets’ greenhouse 

gas (GHG) savings have 

been equivalent to 

removing almost 30,000 

vehicles from the road per 

year in recent years

EPAct Fleets Helped the Environment and Economy

EPAct Fleets 

Biofuels

Total Jobs (multiple of 

jobs/GGE for gasoline or diesel)

Total Yearly Economic Benefit 

(multiple of gasoline or diesel)

Ethanol 5.3 4.2

Biodiesel 2.5 2.1

Cellulosic 

Ethanol

5.9 4.6

SAFP fleets’ use of biofuels 

directly and indirectly 

supported more than 130 

jobs and more than $20 

million in economic activity 

each year
10

Greater geographic distribution of smaller 

production plants makes biofuels less 

vulnerable to disruptions from weather events 

than conventional gasoline and diesel supplies

Geographically Dispersed Biofuels Plants Increase Resilience
11

DOE and industry partners have 

addressed longer-term weather and 

climate vulnerabilities of biofuels 

production with research in cellulosic 

feedstocks

• Successful opening of a 30-million 

gallon-per-year plant in 2015

In the Future, Biofuels Will Be Produced from Cellulosic Materials

After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita:

• 27 refineries went offline

• 90% of oil production in the Gulf 

of Mexico remained shut-in 

after 12 weeks

Vulnerabilities of conventional fuel 

production are difficult to address
12

Summary

EPAct fleets’ acquisitions of AFVs and use of 

alternative fuels:

• Provided early and reliable demand for both AFVs and 

alternative fuels, especially ethanol and biodiesel

• Alternative fuel production benefitted the economy by 

supporting more than 130 jobs and $20 million in economic 

activity annually

GHG savings in recent years are equivalent to removing 

almost 30,000 vehicles from the road annually

Biofuels are likely to be more sustainable and resilient 

than the petroleum fuels they are replacing
13

Acknowledgments

This work was authored by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 

operated by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308. Funding provided by 

the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Vehicle 

Technologies Program and EPAct State and Alternative Fuel Provider Program.

U.S. Government Rights Notice:

The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of 

the DOE or the U.S. Government. The U.S. Government retains and the 

publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. 

Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to 

publish or reproduce the published form of this work, or allow others to do 

so, for U.S. Government purposes.
Darlene Steward

darlene.steward@nrel.gov

Ted Sears

ted.sears@nrel.gov

Thank You!