Greening Fleets in Chicago

Next we drove down to Chicago, or at least one of its suburbs, to talk with members of the Chicago Area Clean Cities Coalition.  These are primarily local government folks that are leading the way on purchasing clean fuels and clean vehicle technologies in the Chicago metropolitan area.  We stopped by the fleet garage for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, where we spoke with the Preserve's fleet manager, John Walton.  DuPage has become somewhat of a national model, where John helped to champion the Preserve's goal of 100% alternative-fueled vehicles over 10 years.  With more than 162 vehicles in its fleet, the Preserve is already well on its way.  In case you were wondering, a Forest Preserve District is a unique governmental body that manages the public lands within the county.  In most cases (in Illinois at least), forest preserve districts are governed by the County board.  Not the case in Dupage County.  Their governing board is separate, keeping the land preservation mission front and center.  Part of that mission is also the Preserve's commitment to cleaner air, and reduced energy use.

We also spoke with Darwin Burkhart, who chairs the broader Chicago Area Clean Cities (CACC) coalition.  He told us about other success stories in the Chicago area, such as the purchase of hybrids (note his red one in the picture above) and the use of E-85 in the City of Chicago, and the extensive use of biodiesel in the City of Evanston.  The CACC coalition is part of the federal Clean Cities program run by the US Department of Energy, which has now spurred a network of more than 80 Clean City coalitions throughout the country. 

Rounding out the visit was a conversation with David Christopher, the finance and marketing VP for the region's largest retailer of E-85 fuel--Gas City.  With more than 20 stations carrying E-85 in the Chicago area, Gas City has made using an E-85 vehicle a convenient option for the city's residents.  While Gas City has made a commitment to E-85 "for the long haul," Mr. Christopher explained that many owners of flex-fuel vehicles still aren't aware they can use E-85 in their vehicles.  He said there's still a need for a public education campaign to help people become aware of the benefits and availability of these new fuels.  Toward that end, Gas City and its E85 fuel supplier, VeraSun Energy, have formed partnerships with both Ford and GM to expand consumer awareness about the availability of E85 in the Chicago area and throughout the Midwest.

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