Written by Business Journal staff
Thursday, 18 August 2011 08:59
0Putting companies in clean-burning vehicles will be the goal of a meeting on Aug. 30 by a group aiming to reduce petroleum use in transportation.

The San Joaquin Valley Clean Cities Coalition, a part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Vehicle Technology Program, is calling on Valley fleet operators to attend the event, to be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Fresno office of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, 1990 E. Gettysburg Ave.

At the meeting, experts will be brought in to talk about the environmental and economic benefits of alternative fuel vehicles, including Todd Mouw and Carlos Landeros of ROUSH Clean Tech, Robert Sessa of BAF Technologies, Paul Ryan of General Motors and Eileen Tutt from the California Electric Transportation Coalition.

There will be opportunities for participants to test drive several electric vehicles like the Ford Transit Connect and Chevrolet Volt, propane-fueled vehicles like the Ford E350 van and Ford F250 pickup and compressed natural gas vehicles like the Chevrolet G3500.

Lunch will be provided but advanced registration is required. Those interested in attending should contact Janice Monroe at Janice.A1auto@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by calling (559) 485-4427 ext. 19.

Representatives of the Air District will also be on hand to discuss avenues for fleet operators to secure funding for such vehicles. The agency's grants and incentives programs can be found at www.valleyair.org/Grant_Programs/GrantPrograms.htm.

Several companies have already made moves to stock up their local fleets with alternative fuel vehicles.

The United Postal Service plans to operate fifty new electric vehicles in the Valley thanks to $1.4 million in funding from the state's Hybrid Truck and Bus and Voucher Program.

A few years ago, AT&T announced plans to clean up its fleet with 15,000 environmentally friendly vehicles by 2018. By last December, it had 1,600 hybrid and compressed natural gas vehicles on the road in California and 160 alone in the San Joaquin Valley.

Buck