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Rocky Mountain National Park, with more than 3 million annual visitors, is the fifth most-visited park in the NPS system. With support from Northern Colorado Clean Cities in 2013, the park purchased one propane pickup truck and two Chevy Volts, installed two electric vehicle charging stations, and boosted idle-reduction through technology deployment and a comprehensive education and outreach program.

The objective of the project is to develop, demonstrate, and deploy a replicable program for expanding clean and affordable electrified transportation to underserved communities through electric vehicle (EV) and EV infrastructure deployment, data analysis, education, and outreach that leverages real-world data and lessons learned collected from these communities over the course of the project. Developing an EV Ecosystem in rural Appalachia will include educational outreach, vehicle and infrastructure development, workforce training, data collection, and analysis.

For more information on this project, check the Technology Integration 2022 Annual Report or Annual Merit Review presentation.

The Safe Alternative Fuel Deployments in Mid-America: a Training Initiative for Combined AFV and State Fire and Rescue Training (SAF-D) project will collaborate with the State Fire & Rescue Training Institutes in Missouri and Kansas to adapt existing alternative fuel safety curriculum to their existing training structures. The project will help incorporate low-cost training on alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure into state training systems, allowing far more first responders to be trained on these technologies than would be otherwise. In addition, the project will develop an online training resource for first responders that also leverages and promotes existing resources.

Marathon Technical Services USA Inc. (Marathon) and its partners aim to enhance the safety of gaseous fuel vehicle garages by developing easily understood facility design resources. The resources are aimed at facility owners, consulting engineers, fire marshals and code officials. The development of visual manuals, online and in-person instruction, and case studies will provide a more interactive approach to interpreting codes for garage facility upgrades and building modifications. The guidance is focused on the facilities that store and maintain compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquified petroleum gas (propane or LPG), and compressed hydrogen.

Marathon and Clean Fuels Ohio developed a training manual and presentation materials for each of the four fuels that explains concepts and applications in an easy to understand format. The manuals and presentation materials were used at numerous in-person trainings and facility tours that Marathon hosted across the country in 2018 and 2019. These materials along with narrated, modular training webinars are now hosted on the project website so that users can continue to use and benefit from these resources.

Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, the only National Park Service site in the state of New Hampshire, teamed up with the Granite State Clean Cities Coalition to begin transitioning its landscaping equipment to alternative fuels. In 2014, the park replaced one diesel mower with a propane-fueled model and put the new mower to work maintaining multiple cultural landscapes.

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, which partnered with Alamo Area Clean Cities, is taking steps to reduce pollution in San Antonio. In 2012, the park purchased two propane pickup trucks to replace two outdated gasoline-powered pickup trucks. The park also installed two electric vehicle chargers and a propane vehicle refueling site.

San Bernardino Associated Governments (SANBAG) partnered on this project with the California Energy Commission (CEC) and Ryder Systems, Inc., to deploy 202 state-of-the-art compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) heavy-duty tractor-trailer trucks in leased service. The objectives of the project were to 1) demonstrate the feasibility of using cleaner-burning, lower-carbon content natural gas in commercial trucking operations; 2) provide a low-carbon supply chain transportation solution to Ryder customers seeking to displace petroleum diesel fuel with domestically produced natural gas; and 3) achieve substantial, quantifiable reductions in ozone precursor and greenhouse gas (GHG) air pollutant emissions within the jurisdiction of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD). In addition to the deployment of the heavy-duty natural gas tractors, the project also constructed two publicly accessible natural gas fueling stations in the cities of Fontana and Orange, California, and a CNG/LNG maintenance facility in Rancho Dominquez, California.

The objective of this project is to create a roadmap for truck charging in the Bay Area that meets the needs of three key stakeholder groups: (1) the needs of truck fleets to maintain operational efficiency as they transition to electric trucks by ensuring that charging infrastructure fits their current operations; (2) the needs of utilities to invest in necessary upstream infrastructure to provide power to chargers by projecting how truck charging will impact their existing assets; and (3) the needs of communities to improve public health and create inbound investment and jobs from the transition to electric trucks by integrating their voices into the planning and investment processes for truck charging network planning.

In 2014, Scotts Bluff National Monument incorporated an all-electric, multi-passenger low-speed vehicle to enable cleaner transportation options to the overlook at the top of the national monument. The project also included an idle-reduction education and outreach initiative.

To help keep views along scenic Skyline Drive clear, in 2012 Shenandoah National Park acquired a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, an all-electric vehicle, and three electric vehicle chargers. Working in conjunction with Virginia Clean Cities on ways to reduce emissions, Shenandoah added 12 propane lawn mowers to replace existing gas models. The park continues to use the electric vehicle and chargers that were funded by the National Parks Initiative.