Alternative Fuel Vehicles

As required by the Energy Policy Act and Executive Order 13149, many Federal agencies have now added alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) to their fleets. AFVs run on a number of non-petroleum-based fuels, including biodiesel, electricity, ethanol, compressed natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). These fuels are cleaner burning and less polluting, though their small market share relative to petroleum often makes them cost prohibitive.

Federal agencies consumed more than 1.4 million gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) of alternative fuels in FY 2000. In terms of share of consumption, the largest Federal alternative fuel users are the United States Postal Service (60 percent) and the Department of Defense (19 percent). The most commonly used alternative fuels are compressed natural gas at 63 percent, E-85 (85 percent ethanol, 15 percent gasoline) at 25 percent, and B-20 biodiesel (20 percent vegetable oil, 80 percent diesel) at 8 percent. The remaining 4 percent is largely comprised of LPG.

The E85 formula is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Studies have shown that compared to reformulated gasoline, E85 emits 80 percent less benzene, 25 percent less nitrogen oxide and 7 percent less carbon dioxide. B20, a blend of 20 percent vegetable oil-based diesel and 80 percent low sulfur diesel, has similar positive result. An EPA study found that B20 emitted 11 percent fewer particulates, 11 percent less carbon monoxide and 21 percent fewer hydrocarbons.

The Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) at Fort Belvoir, Virginia developed specifications for two alternative fuels, ethanol and biodiesel, that have increased Federal consumption of biobased fuels from virtually nothing to close to 6 million gallons annually in a span of three years. DESC partnered with the Department of Energy and the Navy to work through ASTM to develop a technical standard for B20 and establish quality requirements. These quality requirements ensure that the biofuels perform comparable diesel and cause no increase in vehicle maintenance. DESC then developed a procurement clause that lists requirements that B20 fuel must meet; this clause will be used until a commercial specification is available. State and local governments and diesel engine manufacturers also are using this clause.

Currently, the Department of Defense, Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Postal Service purchase B20 and E85 through DESC to use in their fleets. In 2001, they purchased 1.5 million gallons of B20 and 565,000 gallons of E85. With additional requirements from the military services, B20 consumption increased to more than 5 million gallons in 2002.

For more information, contact Mark Iden at miden@desc.dla.mil, (703) 767-9304.

The DOE's Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina has also been a leader in the use of AFVs. The facility replaced more than 530 gasoline vehicles with flexible-fuel E-85 vehicles. To do this, the facility constructed two new fuel stations onsite and programmed electronic card readers to only allow flexible-fuel vehicles to fuel with E-85. Since the stations opened in 2000, Savannah has used approximately 357,000 gallons of E-85 in its fleets. For more information, contact Tim Coffield at (803) 557-6316, tim.coffield@srs.gov.

Alternative fuels are not restricted to use in only land vehicles. Channel Islands National Park, located off of the California coast, replaced diesel fuel with B-100 (100 percent vegetable oil) in one of its boats, the 56-foot "Pacific Ranger." The boat also features a "bulbous bow" that reduces friction and wake resistance, and thereby cuts fuel usage by 18 percent. Re-refined oil and filtered oil are also used and have reduced oil changes by 78 percent. For more information visit http://www.nps.gov/chis/pacranger.htm or contact Kent Bullard at kent_bullard@nps.gov, (805) 658-5745.