U.S. department of energy sees no point in alternative fuels 'EPAct' mandate for private, local government fleets

Diesel Fuel News, March 17, 2003

In a notice of proposed rulemaking, DOE says that private/local government alt-fuel vehicle fleets would only have a trivial impact on the "Energy Policy Act" (EPAct) goal of having 30% of vehicles running on something other than gasoline or diesel. The law covers centrally-fueled light-duty vehicles in big cities, but not rental vehicles, emergency vehicles or vehicles parked at residences.

Even if DOE mandated that such fleets buy these vehicles, "there is no assurance that the AFVs [alt-fuel vehicles] acquired by covered fleets would actually use replacement fuel," DOE noted. Reason: Alternative fuels and vehicles are too expensive, and refueling infrastructure is costly and scarce, DOE points out. Public hearings are May 7 in Washington, DC, at DOE headquarters (see: http://www.afdc.doe.gov/pdfs/fr_notice_nopr.pdf).