For the past two years, Clean Energy Coalition has worked under a grant from the State of Michigan Energy Office to achieve official U.S. Department of Energy Clean Cities designation for an 11-county area of West Michigan. Since then, the area’s stakeholders have moved forward with the implementation of several alternative fuel projects. Some notable accomplishments include:
- Conversion of Metro Cab of Grand Rapids’ fleet to bi-fuel propane vehicles
- Installation of propane infrastructure at Metro Cab of Grand Rapids’ facility, located in Kentwood, Michigan, near Gerald R. Ford Airport
- Purchase of 16 compressed natural gas (CNG)-powered Freightliner tractor trailers by UBCR, LLC
- Installation of two publicly-available CNG pumps in Wyoming, Michigan to service the Grand Rapids market
- Allocation of over 50 AT&T CNG service vans to the Grand Rapids area, as a result of the newly constructed CNG fueling station
- Allocation of several CNG vehicles in DTE Energy’s fleet
- Renewed interest in CNG from Consumers Energy
- Purchase of CNG trucks by Padnos Iron & Metal Company
- Purchase of five all-electric Ford Transit Connect service vans at Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo
- Installation of 15 electric vehicle charging stations and
a 50 kW solar array on the campus of WMU - Conversion of a service fleet to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by Lake Michigan Mailers, based in Kalamazoo
After two years of coalition-building and with guidance from the U.S. Department of Energy, Clean Energy Coalition is recommending that the DOE officially designate a large portion of West Michigan as a Clean Cities coalition.
Under this proposed realignment, the Ann Arbor and Detroit area coalitions will join together and expand into Flint, Bay City, Midland, and Saginaw areas, as well as Huron, Lapeer, Sanilac, and Tuscola counties. The proposed name for the expanded coalition is East Michigan Clean Cities.
This expansion will provide representation to an additional 1 million residents, four additional urbanized public transit agencies (Bay County, Flint, Port Huron, and Saginaw), and capture existing infrastructure installations made possible by Clean Energy Coalition.
The impact to West Michigan is even more significant. If the proposed reorganization plan is approved, an area with more than 2.1 million residents and 7 urbanized public transit agencies will gain – for the first time – official designation as a Clean Cities Coalition.
“Clean Energy Coalition has partnered with many organizations to bring clean transportation options to West Michigan as part of Green Fleets and other programs we administer. Businesses in West Michigan are interested in adopting alternative fuel technologies, and gaining official Clean Cities designation will help provide the knowledge, tools, and expertise needed to make these organizations’ sustainability goals a reality,” said Mobility Division Manager Matt Sandstrom.
Clean Energy Coalition is now in the process of submitting a formal request to the DOE.
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Source: Clean Energy Coalition
