Green Fleet

DETROIT - Ford Motor Co. is investing an additional $450 million in its aggressive electric vehicle plan, paving the way to build a next-generation hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicle in Michigan beginning in 2012.

Tags: assembly plant, electric car, Ford

OKLAHOMA CITY - With the expiration of a federal tax credit that provided makers of biodiesel $1 for every gallon, some U.S. biodiesel producers say they will shut down without the government subsidy.

Tags: alt-fuel, biodiesel, tax credits

PALO ALTO, CA - Three employees of the electric automaker Tesla Motors were killed on Wednesday, Feb. 17, when the small twin-engine plane they were flying in crashed in a East Palo Alto, Calif., residential neighborhood engulfed in thick fog.

Tags: electric vehicles, Tesla Motors

DALLAS - The deployment is part of a $565 million planned investment announced in March 2009 to replace more than 15,000 fleet vehicles with more fuel-efficient models through 2018.

Tags: alt-fuel vehicle, AT&T

SALT LAKE CITY - The Utah House of Representatives on Feb. 5 overwhelmingly passed a bill aimed at making it easier and cheaper to convert vehicles to run on compressed natural gas.

Tags: CNG, CNG conversion

GRAPEVINE, TX - General Motors' new Duramax 6.6L turbo diesel engine has been substantially revised to include B-20 capability, as well as meet strict new emissions standards effective this year.

Tags: biodiesel, diesel, GM

DETROIT - Forgotten Harvest was one of 57 nonprofit agencies awarded grant money as part of a partnership with DTE Energy Foundation.

Tags: DTE Energy , Forgotten Harvest, hybrid

MEMPHIS, TN - With 90 Ford Transit Connects on the road and another 50 on order, ThyssenKrupp Elevator may eventually replace its 1,500 current cargo vans with the Transit Connect models.

Tags: Ford, fuel, ThyssenKrupp Elevator , Transit Connect

WASHINGTON - Environmental Defense Fund's (EDF) video, titled The Power of Scale, visually depicts how small actions done by many can result in big changes for the corporate bottom line and the health of the planet.

Tags: EDF, Green

WASHINGTON - Pepco Holdings, Inc. will add 10 Chevrolet Volts to its fleet as part of a two-year demonstration to assess the impact of these vehicles on the electric system and to evaluate their commercial application.

Tags: charging station, Pepco Holdings Inc, Volt

ST. CLAIR, MO - With this latest addition, Steelweld expands its operations to include Shreveport, La.

Tags: CNG, Midbox, Steelweld Equipment Company

SACRAMENTO, CA --- The California Air Resources Board last month fined a Newman, CA-based heavy-duty diesel fleet $37,000 for failing to inspect its diesel trucks for compliance with the state's smoke emissions standards.

Tags: CARB, emissions, Mello Milk Transport

ST. PAUL, MN --- Freezing temperatures in Minnesota have led government leaders to stop enforcing the 5-percent biodiesel requirement that's part of the state's anti-global warming initiative.

Tags: biodiesel, ULSD No. 1 biodiesel

GOTHENBURG, SWEDEN --- Volvo Trucks said it will be the first truck manufacturer with an efficient diesel engine fueled by a mixture of methane gas and diesel.

Tags: biofuel, DME, emissions, methane gas, Volvo Trucks

WOODCLIFF LAKE, NJ - There are about 600 pure electric versions of BMW's Mini running around. The German automaker is now about six months into its test of how the electrics will hold up in real-world consumer tests.

Tags: BMW, Electric Mini, Mini

ATLANTA - The 28.9 percent fuel economy improvement results in a 15 percent improvement in total cost per mile, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Tags: DOE, fuel, NREL, UPS

COPENHAGEN --- Tesla Motors hosted test-drives and led informational sessions about electric vehicles last week during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Denmark.

Tags: electric car, Tesla Motors, Tesla Roadster

GRAND FORKS, ND --- The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) Foundation and Whole Energy Fuels Corp. said they are poised to commercialize cellulosic biofuel technology developed at the EERC at the University of North Dakota.

Tags: cellulosic biofuel, Energy & Environmental Research Center , ethanol, Whole Energy Fuels Corp.

TORONTO --- A new study concludes that world biofuels production in 2009 has reduced global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 123.5 million tons, representing an average reduction of 57 percent compared to the emissions that would have occurred from the production and use of equal quantities of petroleum fuels.

Tags: biodiesel, biofuel, Global Renewable Fuels Alliance, greenhouse gases

MIAMI --- To promote awareness and use of dimethyl ether (DME) as a renewable, low-carbon diesel substitute throughout North America, the International DME Association (IDA) has assembled a North American Affairs Committee (NAAC).

Tags: biofuel, dimethyl ether , DME fuel

JOHNSTON, IA --- Iowa school districts have until Dec. 11 to apply for a $2,500 Biodiesel Backer Award grant from the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association.

Tags: biodiesel, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Dec. 1 announced that it expects to make a final determination in mid-2010 regarding whether to increase the allowable ethanol content in fuel.

Tags: biofuel, EPA, ethanol, Growth Energy