Governors from 13 US States have sent a letter this week to the CEO’s of 19 auto companies encouraging them to manufacture vehicles that use natural gas. The letter is part of a multi-state agreement initiated last fall by Colorado Gov. Hickenlooper and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to promote the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel.
“For many Americans, high gasoline prices create a financial strain in an already difficult economic environment. As governors, we share the concerns of citizens and are committed to finding solutions. A bipartisan partnership between governors and auto manufacturers in the U.S. makes sense and has the potential to create new options for alternative fuel vehicles and transportation fuel diversity,” the governors’ letter to the automakers says.
“Abundant, affordable, clean-burning natural gas presents a tremendous opportunity for America to realize an energy future using domestic resources to fuel our nation’s transportation needs. To that end, we are committed to exploring ways to aggregate our annual state fleet vehicle procurements to provide an incentive to manufacture affordable, functional natural gas vehicles.”
The letter went on to say, “Recently, automakers announced several new original equipment manufactured natural gas vehicles. We believe this multi‐state effort can create even more momentum.”
The states participating in the letter with Colorado and Oklahoma are: Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The letter follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed last November by the Governors of Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, and Pennsylvania (States), describing a coordinated effort to attract automobile manufacturers in the U.S. to develop a functional and affordable original equipment manufacturer (OEM) fleet natural gas vehicle (NGV) that will also meet public demand.
Gov. Fallin, in her 2012 Agenda document on Energy released earlier this year, stated: “The goal is to get enough states together to commit to purchasing at least 5,000 new NGVs a year, as a group. By doing that, we can work with car manufacturers in the United States to produce an affordable, high quality NGV for their fleets – something that would be available not only to state government, but to consumers in households and the private sector as well.”
Gov. Hickenlooper also announced the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) will work with the Colorado Municipal League (CML) to engage municipalities to participate in the multi-state MOU on natural gas vehicles.
CML will work with the GEO on behalf of municipalities interested in adding natural gas vehicles to their fleets. The GEO will develop a purchasing mechanism for municipalities and will work with the natural gas industry, fuel retailers and local governments to encourage the development of natural gas fueling facilities.
(This article compiled using information from press releases issued by the States of Colorado and Oklahoma)
Gov. Hickenlooper announced the Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) will work with the Colorado Municipal League (CML) to engage municipalities to participate in the multi-state MOU on natural gas vehicles.
CML will work with the GEO on behalf of municipalities interested in adding natural gas vehicles to their fleets. The GEO will develop a purchasing mechanism for municipalities and will work with the natural gas industry, fuel retailers and local governments to encourage the development of natural gas fueling facilities.
