Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition

PRIMARILY TO ENCOURAGE AWARENESS OF, DEVELOPMENT OF, AND PUBLIC POLICIES PROMOTING ALTERNATIVE FUEL AND ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLES. FURTHERMORE, THE COALITION IS ORGANIZED AND MAY BE EXPECTED TO CONDUCT ANY OTHER PURPOSE PERMISSIBLE UNDER THE ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION.

ALTERNATIVE FUEL AND VEHICLE USAGE AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTSTHE ORGANIZATION CONTINUED ITS PARTICIPATION IN THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY'S (DOE) CLEAN CITIES PROGRAM AS A DESIGNATED CLEAN CITIES COALITION. THE PROGRAM PROMOTES THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY VEHICLES (AFV) TO EXPAND THE MARKET FOR ALTERNATIVE FUELS, CREATE JOB OPPORTUNITIES, IMPROVE AIR QUALITY, AND TO REDUCE DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN SOURCES OF ENERGY. DURING 2021, ACFC AND ITS MEMBERS WORKED PRIMARILY WITH STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO PROVIDE THEM WITH INFORMATION ON THE BENEFITS OF AFVS AND TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT AFV USES AND ALTERNATIVE FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS. THE USE OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS WAS SIGNIFICANT IN ALABAMA IN 2021 AND PROVIDED A REDUCTION IN THE USE OF PETROLEUM OF MORE THAN 11.5 MILLION GALLONS OF GASOLINE GALLON EQUIVALENT (GGE) AND 67,524 TONS OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS. THIS EFFORT WAS LED PRIMARILY BY STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WITH ASSISTANCE FROM THE ACFC. DURING 2021, ALTERNATIVE FUELS (E85 ETHANOL, B20 BIODIESEL, AND PROPANE) CONTINUED TO BE INCLUDED ON THE STATE FUEL CONTRACT. IN ADDITION TO BEING AVAILABLE TO STATE AGENCIES, THESE ALTERNATIVE FUELS CAN BE PURCHASED BY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS ON THE STATE CONTRACT FROM APPROVED VENDORS IN ALL 67 COUNTIES IN ALABAMA. USE OF ALTERNATIVE FUELS IN THE FLEETS OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN ALABAMA CONTINUED TO BE USED IN 2021: THE ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION USED 324,069 GALLONS OF B20 BIODIESEL AND 166,646 GALLONS OF E85 ETHANOL; THE ALABAMA STATE DOCKS USED 1,189 GALLONS OF PROPANE; THE ALABAMA STATE MOTOR POOL USED 38,981 GALLONS OF E85 ETHANOL; THE MARSHALL SPACE FLIGHT CENTER USED 19,700 GALLONS OF E85 ETHANOL; THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM USED 19,942 GALLONS OF E85 ETHANOL AND 192 GALLONS OF PROPANE; CITY OF BIRMINGHAM SCHOOLS USED 41,462 GALLONS OF PROPANE; THE BIRMINGHAM-JEFFERSON COUNTY TRANSIT AUTHORITY (BJCTA) USED 780,980 GGE OF CNG; THE ACFC DEVELOPED PUBLIC ACCESS CNG STATION AT THE BJCTA FACILITY DISPENSED 29,607 GGE OF CNG TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC; THE CITY OF MOBILE USED 1,339 GALLONS OF PROPANE; MOBILE COUNTY SCHOOLS USED 436,752 GALLONS OF PROPANE; THE CITY OF DAPHNE UTILITIES USED 73,528 GGE OF CNG; FRANKLIN COUNTY SCHOOLS USED 85,687 GALLONS OF PROPANE; THE LEE COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE USED 2,832 GALLONS OF PROPANE; THE TOWN OF GORDO USED 73,778 GGE OF CNG; THE CITY OF ATHENS USED 36,668 GGE OF CNG; THE CITY OF TUSCALOOSA/TUSCALOOSA TRANSIT USED 21,220 GALLONS OF PROPANE; TUSCALOOSA CITY SCHOOLS USED 222,900 GALLONS OF PROPANE; LAWSON STATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE USED 50 GGE OF CNG; THE UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM, THE CITY OF MONTGOMERY, AND THE STATE OF ALABAMA OPERATED ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN THEIR FLEETS WHICH REDUCED 3.37 MILLION GGE OF PETROLEUM; AND WASTE VEGETABLE OIL TO BIODIESEL INITIATIVES CONTINUED AT THE ALABAMA INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND, WHERE THE PROGRAM PRODUCED 500 GALLONS OF B100 BIODIESEL. ACFC ALSO LED AN EFFORT TO ASSIST THE STATE IN DEVELOPING A STATEWIDE ELECTRIC VEHICLE (EV) INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN. THIS PLAN WAS USED BY THE STATE TO DETERMINE PRIORITIES AND CRITERIA NEEDED TO DEVELOP A STATEWIDE GRANT PROGRAM TO INSTALL EV CHARGERS AROUND THE STATE. ACFC PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR ADDITIONAL ALTERNATIVE FUEL INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS AND INCREASED THE AVAILABILITY OF CLEANER BURNING FUELS TO THE PUBLIC IN ALABAMA DURING CALENDAR YEAR 2021 AND BEYOND. INCREASING AVAILABILITY OF THESE FUELS WILL IMPROVE AIR QUALITY. IN ADDITION, OTHER POTENTIAL PROJECTS WERE IDENTIFIED FOR FUTURE FUNDING AND/OR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. THESE ACFC PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES SERVE TO LESSEN THE BURDENS OF GOVERNMENT. THESE ACFC ACTIVITIES ALSO FURTHER A CHARITABLE PURPOSE BY IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH PROMOTES SOCIAL WELFARE.

EDUCATION: DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION DURING 2021, ACFC DEVELOPED AND BEGAN CONDUCTING A PUBLIC EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP (PEP) CAMPAIGN WITH THE ALABAMA BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION TO EDUCATE THE CITIZENS OF ALABAMA ON THE BENEFITS OF ELECTRIC VEHICLES. THIS CAMPAIGN RESULTED IN 214 TV SPOTS, 1,096 RADIO SPOTS, AND 15,403,538 DIGITAL IMPRESSIONS FOR 2021 AND CONTINUED INTO 2022. DURING 2021, ACFC HELD NUMEROUS EV SHOWCASES AROUND EARTH DAY AND NATIONAL DRIVE ELECTRIC WEEK. THESE SHOWCASES WERE HELD AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS: TWO IN BIRMINGHAM, TWO IN HUNTSVILLE, AND ONE IN AUBURN. ACFC ALSO FACILITATED AND ELECTRIC SCHOOL BUS WEBINAR IN 2021.OTHER OUTREACH AND EDUCATIONAL EFFORTS BY ACFC DURING 2021 INCLUDED NUMEROUS STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, PRESENTATIONS TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, AND RESPONDING TO NUMEROUS MEDIA AND CONSUMER INQUIRES ON ALTERNATIVE FUELS. MANY OF THESE MEETINGS AND EVENTS GENERATED MEDIA COVERAGE WHICH ENABLED THE MESSAGING REACH TO BE EXPANDED SIGNIFICANTLY. THROUGH ALL OF THE PEOPLE IN ATTENDANCE AS WELL AS THE MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA GENERATED, THESE OUTREACH AND EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES REACHED MORE THAN 1,490,452 PEOPLE. ACFC OPERATES A HOTLINE THROUGH ITS WEBSITE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION ON THE BENEFITS OF AFV'S AND ALTERNATIVE FUELS. DURING 2021 ACFC RESPONDED TO NUMEROUS REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION. EXAMPLES OF TYPICAL REQUESTS ARE FROM INDIVIDUALS INTERESTED IN CLEAN FUEL/AFV INFORMATION AND CLEAN FUEL STATION LOCATIONS AND REQUESTS FROM TEACHERS FOR CURRICULUM RELATED INFORMATION ON AFV'S AND AIR QUALITY. ACFC ALSO HELPED TO GENERATE PRINT AND ONLINE NEWSPAPER ARTICLES ACROSS THE STATE ON VARIOUS ALTERNATIVE FUEL PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES. THESE ACFC ACTIVITIES FURTHER AN EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE BY DISSEMINATING INFORMATION REGARDING RISKS POSED BY AIR POLLUTION AS WELL AS INFORMATION CONCERNING CLEAN FUEL ALTERNATIVES TO FOSSIL-BURNING VEHICLES.

REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION OF GREATER BIRMINGHAM CAR CARE PROGRAMON JULY 1, 2020, ACFC ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CONDUCTING THE REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION OF GREATER BIRMINGHAM (RPC) CAR CARE PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM IS ADMINISTERED UNDER RPC'S ALABAMA PARTNERS FOR CLEAN AIR PROGRAM AND SEEKS TO IDENTIFY GROSS EMITTING VEHICLES IN JEFFERSON AND SHELBY COUNTIES THROUGH VOLUNTARY AND FREE VEHICLE EMISSION TESTING AND OFFERS FUNDING ASSISTANCE FOR EMISSION SYSTEM REPAIRS ON QUALIFIED VEHICLES. THIS ACFC ACTIVITY FURTHERS A CHARITABLE PURPOSE BY IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENT, WHICH PROMOTES SOCIAL WELFARE.