Virginia Achieves Milestone in Transitioning Vehicles to Alternative Fuels

Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that 319 state and local government vehicles have been transitioned to natural gas and other alternative fuels in the Commonwealth. This announcement exceeds the Governor’s 300 vehicle goal by the end of the Administration and is a major milestone in the progress toward a low-carbon clean fuel alternatives Virginia.

Governor McAuliffe also awarded Chesterfield County with the Governor’s Green Fleet Award for its leadership in the alternative fuels transition by implementing 50 vehicles and five advanced fueling stations that allow state and local vehicles to visit and refuel. Alternative fuel vehicles are identified as methods of reducing greenhouse gases and other pollution and their use over traditional vehicles supports clean air.

“These vehicles reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, cut down on gasoline costs and support our Commonwealth’s growing alternative fuels industry, leading to job growth here at home and more sustainable transportation solutions,” said Governor McAuliffe. “This is a great step forward and we will continue to work to make Virginia’s the cleanest and most innovative vehicle fleet in the nation.”

The Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) and the Department of General Services (DGS) supported this goal by establishing the public-private contracts that made possible the installation of natural gas infrastructure and the purchase of vehicle conversions. These contracts, combined with DGS contracts for new CNG and other alternative fuel vehicles, paved the way for state agencies and local public bodies to have easy access to alternative fuel solutions.

“This is important because Virginia produces nearly no oil and has an economic and environmental opportunity to transition to cleaner domestic fuels.” said Alleyn Harned, Executive Director of Virginia Clean Cities. “Propane and natural gas and electricity are low-cost alternative fuels, often representing cost savings as much as $1 per gallon”

In 2014, Governor McAuliffe unveiled the Virginia Energy Plan committing to accelerating the development of advanced vehicle technology and the use of alternative fuels for vehicles in the Commonwealth. The ultimate goal was to deploy at least 300 vehicles by the end of the Administration. Virginia exceeded this goal five months ahead of schedule and will continue to promote efforts to transition state and local government vehicles to alternative fuel through the remainder of the administration.