TARC’s 40th Anniversary Celebration

Transit Authority of River City (TARC) celebrated their 40th anniversary on November 10, 2014 at Union Station, 1000 W. Broadway in downtown Louisville at 2 pm. The commemoration included the unveiling of all-electric zero emission buses coming to Louisville. The addition of the new Proterra ZeroBus will replace outdated high polluting trolley vehicles that circulate free of charge through downtown routes.

TARC’s new ZeroBus is a fast-charging, all-electric bus that produces zero emissions, and with 10 new ZeroBus vehicles coming to Louisville, it will be one of the largest fleets in the country of this kind. The ZeroBus is powered by batteries located underneath the floor of the bus and can travel up to two hours while fully recharging on route in less than 10 minutes. An overhead system connected to the bus that links to a charger provides the vehicles with quick and easy charging ability on route.

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Yellow is the New Green in Crittenden County

It’s not every day you see someone eating popcorn beside a tailpipe, but that’s exactly what Crittenden County Schools lead vehicle mechanic, Wayne Winters, did to demonstrate how clean the propane autogas that fuels their new school buses is. Compared to their diesel counterparts, the propane buses produce no particulate matter and have 98% less nitrogen oxides emissions – pollution that is linked to increased risk of stroke, heart attack, and respiratory problems.

The purchase of the new school buses was made possible by funding through the Kentucky Division for Air Quality’s (DAQ’s) Clean Diesel Grant Program, a competitive grant of federal funding to reduce diesel emissions in the Commonwealth.

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Mammoth Cave Supporting Alternative Fuel Vehicles

Mammoth Cave National Park is sporting new “flowering flame” alternative fuel vehicle parking signage at the visitor center parking lot!

GM Recalling 3,196 Impco CNG Vans

General Motors has initialed a safety recall of 3,196 model year 2011-2014 Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana Vans converted to dedicated compressed natural gas operation by Impco Automotive.

“Some of these vehicles may have a CNG high pressure regulator that leaks natural gas,” GM told dealers last month. “This could cause an explosion or a fire if an ignition source is present.

“To correct this condition, dealers are to replace the regulator.”

GM and Impco began looking into the matter in March after learning from a fleet customer that a leaking regulator had been replaced on a CNG van in January.

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University of Louisville Brings Kentucky to the Forefront of Workplace Charging Challenge

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The University of Louisville (UofL) has become the first U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Workplace Charging Challenge (WCC) partner in the state of Kentucky. The Workplace Charging Challenge program aims to achieve a tenfold increase in the number of U.S. employers offering workplace charging in the next five years.

Employers involved in the Workplace Charging Challenge range in size, industry, and geography but strive for a common goal to advance the nation’s economic, environmental, and energy security by supporting electric vehicle technology and cutting petroleum use in transportation. Leading Kentucky’s WCC involvement, the University of Louisville, a Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition member, has joined a strong network of employers across the country who help determine best practices of workplace charging and are locally and nationally recognized for their efforts.Workplace Charging Challenge Logo

The University of Louisville’s Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Department in the J.B. Speed School of Engineering has purchased 6 GE charging stations of which 4 are installed in the UofL Floyd Street Parking Garage. This important resource not only allows faculty, staff and students access to charging stations for their electric vehicles, but also provides a test bed for research related to the communication between the car, charging station and electric grid.

“What we look forward to doing here at the university is to show the Department of Energy how we are effectively and efficiently utilizing the charging stations, by eliminating any peak demand electric charges from the charging stations,” said John Naber, Associate Chair of the ECE in the University of Louisville’s Speed School if Engineering

ECE doctoral student Nick Jewell has been using an algorithm he has developed to predict the peak demand time of electricity usage on the UofL campus and remotely turn off the charging stations during this critical, cost sensitive time period.

“U of L is not placing a few EV’s and recording mileage, it is providing the hands on data to change the automotive industry,” said Melissa Howell, Executive Director, Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition (KCFC).

 

 

Clean Energy Adds LNG Site in Walton, KY

Find out more about Clean Energy’s Natural Gas Highway

Canada Joins U.S. in NatGas Transportation Push

Building on a joint U.S.-Canada government cooperation plan issued at the end of last month, the Canadian Gas Association (CGA) and the Canadian Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance (CNGVA) have pledged their “full support” for increased cooperation between the two nations on efforts to promote use of natural gas vehicles (NGV).

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