Fort Wayne to get stimulus money for hybrid vehicle fleet purchases
Through the Clean Cities program, the City of Fort Wayne will get cost-sharing stimulus money from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of an American Reinvestment and Recovery Act competitive grant that will reduce petroleum consumption.
Next year, the City will receive a $2,000 reimbursement for the purchase of each hybrid vehicle, up to $18,000, through the Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance Comprehensive Alternative Fuels Implementation Plan.
Working in cooperation with the City, Lassus Bros. Oil will get more than $200,000 to add three E85 stations, which will bring Lassus' total in the Fort Wayne area to five. E85 is an alternative fuel made from a blend of ethanol and gasoline.
“The City of Fort Wayne has been a national leader in the use of alternative fuels and implementing hybrid vehicles into the City's fleet,” Mayor Tom Henry said. “Our ongoing partnership with the Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance and Lassus Bros. Oil has resulted in more than $200,000 of competitive grant money from the U.S. Department of Energy coming to our community, which will ultimately reduce Fort Wayne's reliance on foreign oil.”
The grant to Lassus requires a 50 percent match from the company. The City worked with Lassus to choose the stations at Scott and Illinois roads, Maplecrest and Rothman roads and Northbrook Plaza/Lima Road for the new E85 pumps. Fort Wayne Police will be able to refuel their E85-compatible vehicles at these stations as well as the fuel being available to the public starting in about four months at these three new locations.
“Lassus Bros. Oil Inc. is very excited to be partnering with the City of Fort Wayne and Central Indiana Clean City Alliance,” said Todd Lassus, president of Lassus Bros. Oil. “Once installed, these locations will provide owners of flex fueled vehicles more facilities to purchase this alternative fuel. We are pleased to provide E85 fuel to our customers helping to reduce foreign oil dependence while contributing to the growth of Indiana's economy.”
The Department of Energy selected CICCA to receive $10.1 million as one of 25 recipients of this portion of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. This grant had more than 130 applicants.
Indiana's project will implement propane, compressed natural gas, and hybrid vehicles from light- to heavy-duty and includes infrastructure for CNG and E85 vehicles. The fleets involved include the state's municipality fleets, Sysco Distribution, and others. This project incorporates more than 900 alternative fuel vehicles and 13 fueling sites. DOE estimates that the initiative will help displace one million gallons of petroleum annually.
Under the Recovery Act, the Clean Cities program will fund a range of energy efficient and advanced vehicle technologies, such as hybrids, electric vehicles, plug-in electric hybrids, hydraulic hybrids and compressed natural gas vehicles, helping reduce petroleum consumption across the U.S. In addition, funding will support refueling infrastructure for various alternative fuel vehicles, including biofuels and natural gas. Other efforts under the Clean Cities program include public education and training initiatives to further the program's goal of reducing the national demand for petroleum.
For more information from the Department of Energy about this program, visit:
http://www.energy.gov/news2009/7843.htm.