The Clean Cities program was established by the U.S. Department of Energy in 1993. Since then, 90 coalitions with 6,500 stakeholders across the country have been formed and have displaced more than 2 billion gallons of petroleum.
The goal of Clean Cities is to expand and stimulate alternative fuel and advanced technology markets to reduce petroleum consumption in the U. S. by 2.5 billion gallons by 2020. Clean Cities is focusing on three primary methods to achieve this goal:
Clean Cities Overview Brochure (PDF / 2.2 MB)
Clean Cities Overview Presentation (PDF / 1.0 MB)
Many of the alternative fuels and advanced technologies have been in development for over 20 years. The challenge has been the cost of research and development, production and distribution compared to the existing petroleum-based infrastructure and vehicles.
Government incentives are now helping to close the gap between petroleum and alternative fuels. Last year nearly $300 million in grants were awarded to Clean Cities Coalitions for vehicles, infrastucture and education.
In 2008, the United States produced 10% of the world’s petroleum and consumed 23%. We rely on other countries for over half of our petroleum needs.
The top 5 countries are: Canada • Saudi Arabia • Venezuela • Nigeria • Mexico