The 2012 Energy Independence Summit, sponsored in
part by Westport, was held last month in Washington DC.
Organized by Transportation
Energy Partners, the event gave
Clean Cities
coordinators a chance to share best practices and educate federal policy makers
about the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities
Program and the need to overcome the barriers to the widespread use of clean
vehicles and fuels.
Jonathan Burke, Westport Vice
President, Global Market Development, moderated a round table discussion
sponsored by Westport:
“State of the Clean Fuels & Vehicle Industry: Barriers and Opportunities.”
The summit also featured sessions
and presentations from clean
transportation experts on:
·
Federal funding and incentives to promote
alternative fuels, vehicles and infrastructure
·
Successful alternative fuels and vehicle projects
across the country
·
Innovative state and local policies and
programs that are advancing markets for cleaner fuels and vehicles
Clean Cities
Coordinators and industry partners had a day on Capitol Hill, briefing
Congressional leaders about the alternative fuel, advanced vehicle and
infrastructure projects as well as other successes achieved with support of
government leaders and industry.
Keynote speakers
included White House Council on Environmental
Quality Chair Nancy Sutley and University of California, Davis Institute of Transportation Studies
Director Daniel Sperling.
Connecticut
Governor Dannel P. Malloy
was the special guest speaker.
According to the
Energy Independence Summit website, TEP has been, since 2002, organizing an
event in Washington, D.C., that allows Clean Cities
representatives to speak with their legislators. This year’s summit provided an
opportunity to demonstrate the broad-based grassroots support among business
leaders, state and local government officials, and community leaders for clean
transportation energy policies that enhance energy security and create new
jobs.The summit highlighted the need for the global economy to look at ways to
reduce the use of oil as a transportation fuel because of its implications to
energy security, climate change and health effects. The issue of energy security, the reduction
of oil imports and the development of alternative domestic sources for energy was
a focus of discussions. Incentives (both monetary and non monetary) and
policies that promote the use of alternative fuel vehicles are needed to bring
certainty to the market and to help transition the market away from oil. One of the barriers to adoption has been the the
higher cost to consumers of alt fuel vehicles, plus anxiety over fuel
availability, supply and infrastructure.
Despite the higher vehicle
prices, the lower cost of fuels such as natural gas make the case for alt
fuels, especially in the trucking sector, more compelling. Jim Bruce from UPS highlighted that by
reducing the costs in trucking, it reduces the costs of goods and is good for
the economy.
This year’s event was
a great success in educating policy makers and politicians about the importance
of promoting alternative fuels and vehicles for the long term growth of the
economy, promoting energy security and petroleum reduction programs, and providing lower GHG alternatives to traditional fuels.
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