The 88 Clean Cities Coalitions nationwide are ranked each year by the U.S. Department of Energy based on the amount of petroleum fuel they displace within their markets. The Valley of the Sun Clean Cities Coalition has always ranked as one of the leaders in the efforts of decreasing air pollution and in reducing the region's dependency on foreign oil. As number two, we are pushing to be number one in both of these extraordinary efforts that are currently under way in all regions.

This charge is being led by the Valley of the Sun major municipal fleets and local utilities. As a result of this outstanding performance, Arizona has been selected for roll out markets involving new fuel efficient infrastructure and clean vehicles.

The Coalition and the Valley now have the opportunity to build on past successes and drive forward in the efforts to achieve energy security statewide and nationwide.

"Let's ditch the term alternative fuel...Rather let us use the term Clean American fuel. Our goal is to make gasoline the alternative fuel," stated Executive Director, Bill Sheaffer.

• Valley Metro is the national leader in the use of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). Read more here.
  

• Sky Harbor International Airport is the greenest airport in the nation and leads the U.S. in the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Read more here.

• Deer Valley Unified School District is a pioneer in the use of Biodiesel blends to fuel their school buses. According to BioFuels Journal online, all of the district's 236 school buses run on Biodiesel and have been for more than a decade. Read more here.

• The Metro Light Rail is exceeding their goals in providing convenience for daily commuters and taking thousands of gasoline-fueled vehicles off of the road. For recent news and reports on the daily activity of the Light Rail, read more here.

• Luke Air Force Base fuels their fighters with biodiesel and the majority of their inter-base transit includes all-electric vehicles. To learn more about the ways Luke Air Force Base is rethinking energy, click here.

• Maricopa County has made a major conversion to clean fuels. Read more here.

• The City of Flagstaff is arguably the Nation's Leader in the use of Clean American Fuel on a per-capita basis. The municipal fleet has set a national example of the use of clean burning biodiesel in their medium and heavy duty diesel powered vehicles. Read more here.

• The City of Phoenix pushed for the use of clean American fuel by installing central E85 fueling stations. They also continue to use millions of gallons of biodiesel per year. To find an E85 station near you click here.

• APS leads the way in the production and use of Hydrogen as a motor fuel, (one of the first five in the world) and are now leaders in the use of neighborhood electrics, CNG and Biodiesel. To find more information click here.

• SRP has been a leader in the use of neighborhood electrics, CNG and Biodiesel in their service vehicles. Read more here.

• The City of Scottsdale utilizes the spectrum of clean American fuels including Biodiesel, CNG, and Hybrids. They also provide diverse transportation alternatives such as the Scottsdale Trolley and accessible bicycle pathways. To see a complete list of alternative fueled fleet vehicles used in the City of Scottsdale, click here.

• The City of Peoria is a major consumer of biodiesel, and has also adopted the "Sustain & Gain" motto in order to promote their sustainability goals. Read more here.

• The City of Tempe and City of Mesa share in the use of the Valley Metro bus service as well as the light rail system.

Due to our success, Arizona has been selected as one of the five major markets to benefit from a grant enabling the installation of electric vehicle charging stations and infrastructure. Fortunately, hundreds of electric charging stations are currently being planned and installed within the valley.

Phoenix and Tucson were concurrently selected as two of the five roll out markets in the U.S. for the Nissan LEAF--the first all-electric sedan. As a growing market for electric vehicles, Phoenix and Tucson have also been selected as a roll out market for the all-electric Ford Focus.

The automotive industry has now produced about 100 clean American fuel vehicles that run on Biodiesel, Compressed Natural Gas, Ethanol, All-Electric, Hybrid, and Propane.

Now that fuel efficient vehicles are becoming more accessible to the general public, we hope to see the number of personal cars running on clean American fuels grow tremendously. "We have a long way to go," stated Sheaffer, "but we have an extraordinary foundation to build on."

For more information please contact:
Bill Sheaffer, Executive Director
Valley of the Sun Clean Cities Coalition
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: 480-314-0360, Cell: 602-432-9884