Founded in 1896, NFPA is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited national codes and standards developer for emergency responder qualifications, equipment and tactics, as well as the codes and standards developer for vehicle fueling. In addition, NFPA’s National Electrical Code® (NEC®) establishes standards for EV charging stations, electrified truck parking spaces and the impact of the EV charging infrastructure on power consumption and emergency response.

 Since 2010, NFPA has promoted the safe and compliant adoption of alternatively fueled vehicles, in particular electric vehicles. During that time, NFPA’s® Emerging Issues Team has developed and disseminated extensive EV safety training and guidance to roughly 3000,000 first and second responders. We are actively coordinating with vehicle manufactures, government agencies, research entities, and more to raise safety and awareness for these rapidly emerging transportation technologies.

 In our latest initiative, NFPA, with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy and their Clean Cities Coalition network, is developing a broad suite of awareness-based learning modules for all EV stakeholders which make up the EV ecosystem. This effort aims to eliminate many of the common EV misconceptions and provide foundational segment specific EV knowledge to support EV and EV infrastructure growth. NFPA, with the support of its Clean Cities Coalition partners, will be coordinating and delivering 30 virtual EV Community Preparedness Workshops nationwide to facilitate guided exercises and discussions amongst local stakeholders and EV community leaders. The results of these workshops will include future collaboration amongst a broad audience, and planning for future EV adoption within their respective communities.

The Central Florida Clean Cities Coalition (CFCCC), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, held their board meeting this month at the Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa, Florida. The current Chairman is David Dunn, Fleet & Facilities Management, Division Manager at City of Orlando and staff members include Doug Kettles, Director and Coordinator of the organization, and Kaitlin Reed, Program Assistant.

The organization’s mission is to support efficient, clean, and sustainable transportation fuel use. By working together with stakeholders, they deploy advanced alternative fuel technologies, mass transit projects, and fleet optimization measures throughout their ten county region. Initiatives include creating an alternative fuel vehicle training network, working with several other coalitions to establish alternative fuel corridors on major interstates throughout the state of Florida, advancing alternative fuel markets and an alternative fuel price report.

In 2018, the Coalition’s efforts helped reduce CO2 by 40K tons and displaced $12.8 million gallons of petroleum in Florida. Together with the other three Clean Cities Coalitions in the state, CFCCC has been instrumental with the dissemination of information regarding the state Beneficiary Mitigation Plan, which outlines the proposed funding allocation of the $166 million that the state received from The Volkswagen Settlement Mitigation Trust.

East Tennessee Clean Fuels’ (ETCleanFuels) mission is to increase the use of cleaner American fuels and vehicles and energy-saving transportation technologies to improve air quality and health, curb dependence on imported petroleum and support Tennessee’s economy. More specifically, we work to implement alt fuel projects in East Tennessee, and work to make ETCleanFuels a sustainable coalition of involved participants from across East Tennessee.

ETCleanFuels is a designated coalition with the U.S. DOE Clean Cities Program, which resides within the Vehicle Technologies Program as part of the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE) within DOE. Our designation ceremony was held on October 12, 2004 on the front lawn of the Headquarters for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, just next door to Sugarlands Visitor Center.

The Coalition covers 47 counties in East and Middle Tennessee, and together with its partner, Middle-West Tennessee Clean Fuels, covers the entirety of Tennessee with the aim of increasing alternative fuels adoption and awareness. Together, our two Coalitions operate as “Tennessee Clean Fuels,” which serves the entire state and is made up of the staff and board members of the two state coalitions.

Virginia Clean Cities, founded in 1996, is a part of the national Clean Cities Coalition Network. As a partner of James Madison University, VCC draws on stakeholders from both the public and private sector on a local, state, and federal level to advance air quality, economic opportunity, and energy security through the deployment of alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure, education programs, and other petroleum reduction activities.

The Virginia Clean Cities story begins in 1996 in Hampton Roads when the U.S. Department of Energy recognized the city as a Clean Cities Coalition. In 2001, the non-profit Virginia Clean Cities, Inc. was created to manage the Coalition. In 2009, Virginia Clean Cities formed a partnership with James Madison University enabling both organizations to leverage resources, current initiatives, and future opportunities. Virginia Clean Cities serves as a cornerstone program in the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER).

The Clean Cities program is sponsored by the Department of Energy in accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 1992. This legislation’s express intent is to ensure national energy security by reducing dependence on imported petroleum products. The Clean Cities program was chartered to help achieve this objective by promoting alternative fuel use in the transportation sector.