Success stories

CACC members have had remarkable success running alternative fuel vehicles. Below are some of their stories:

Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

A Forest Preserve District bi-fuel propane pickup truck.

In June of 2001, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County determined to do what no other government fleet in Illinois – or, for that matter, in the country – was doing. The District's Board of Commissioners voted to establish a one-hundred-percent alternative-fuel policy for the district's fleet, essentially requiring that all future purchases must be vehicles that operate with a clean fuel. To adhere to the policy for its diverse fleet, which includes police squad cars and other sedans, pickups, vans and trucks of various sizes, the District chose to implement four alternative fuels: propane, natural gas, ethanol (E-85) and biodiesel (B20).

The original plan was to replace all 162 vehicles in the fleet over a ten-year period, with a replacement rate of 16 alternative-fuel vehicles per year. In addition, refueling sites and vehicles would be logistically placed throughout DuPage County for easier access for the employees to refuel. To ease startup costs, the plan was to utilize public E-85 sites in the area and to partner with other neighboring government units in coordinating efforts to establish and share refueling sites.

The District Commission chose to push ahead with the program at this time to take advantage of state and federal alternative-fuel incentives available for vehicles and refueling infrastructure. The cost of implementation was estimated at $1.8 million. However, with state and federal grants and rebates coupled with fuel cost and maintenance savings estimated at $650,000 over ten years, the District estimates that it will save DuPage County taxpayers about $200,000 during the ten-year changeover period. This estimate assumes that grants and rebates will be available only for the first five years of the program.

But budget savings are not the only savings anticipated from the program. The cleaner fuels and vehicles will save about 280,000 pounds of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air during the first ten years of the plan.

The District received much attention when it announced this unique and first-of-its kind policy for a government fleet. Newspapers and national media outlets picked up on the story, which helped to draw the attention of the U.S. Department of Energy. Representatives of the District have spoken around Illinois and outside the state to tell its story, and the District has served as a model Green Fleet for the rest of the country.

The District is now in the third year of its plan and is well on its way to realizing its goal. Though the fleet has grown slightly over the past two years, the goal of 10% replacement each year is being attained. The District has purchased or converted fifty-three alternative-fuel vehicles, including eighteen natural gas vehicles, twenty propane vehicles, and fifteen ethanol (E-85) vehicles. To date, the District has received rebates from the Illinois EPA totaling $75,600 for nineteen vehicles. In addition, all of the District's diesel trucks and off-road diesel equipment – over 80 units – have been running on cleaner burning biodiesel B20 (20% soy biodiesel, 80% petroleum-based diesel) since April of 2002.

The District operates a propane fueling station, and all of its diesel tanks only dispense biodiesel B20. In addition, two slow-fill natural gas stations are being installed – each will fuel one dedicated natural gas squad car overnight. The District continues to use a natural gas station operated by the Village of Downers Grove and public E-85 stations while planning for impending fueling infrastructure expansion. A $500,000 Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grant – as well as other funding – will be used for natural gas, propane and ethanol E-85 fueling infrastructure.

For more information on the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County's alternative fuel vehicle program, contact the District's Fleet Services division at 630-792-2112.

Advance Presort Service

Advance Presort Service sorts and bar codes mail for its clients in order for them to take advantage of reduced postage fees offered with pre-sorted mail. The company handles over 1.5 million pieces of mail every night.

Advance Presort Service recently started to replace its existing fleet with natural gas vehicles as part of its delivery operation. It currently has seven natural gas vans and medium-duty trucks, with plans to add six more natural gas vans and trucks in 2001 with another 20 being planned in 2002. The vehicles are refueled at Peoples Energy's natural gas refueling station in downtown Chicago. The Peoples' facility is five miles away, so Advance Presort is looking to install its own fast-fill natural gas site in the near future.

By the end of next year, Advance Presort's entire fleet will be clean, alternative fuel vehicles. "The cost to fuel the alternate fuel vans is about fourteen percent cheaper than to fuel all-gasoline vans. When you consider the environmental benefits, increased efficiency, and the peace of mind that comes from doing the right thing, it's well worth it," says Jim Pierce, operations manager for Advance Presort Service. "We like to set an example for our community and show how simple it is to run a truly clean operation. As part of the savings, we as a company are cleaning the air and hope to bring awareness to our customers," added Pierce.

Village of Downers Grove

The Village of Downers Grove has seven dedicated natural gas vehicles, consisting of four pickups, two vans, and one sedan. In addition, Downers Grove uses 20 percent biodiesel fuel in roughly 70 of its diesel trucks. Biodiesel is also used in the Village's ten fire trucks and eight transit buses. Downers Grove was awarded federal funding and installed its own CNG refueling station last year. The Village also has a biodiesel pump and is working to add E-85 this year to its alternative fuel portfolio. Neighboring communities, such as Lisle, Lombard, Westmont, and Woodridge, along with the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, have been invited to use Downers Grove's CNG station. Village officials support the growing momentum in DuPage County of not only having a "Green Fleet," but in using several alternative fuels to achieve that objective.

Chicago Transit Authority

In 1998, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) began using compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles in its fleet. The CTA currently has 23 dedicated CNG vans in its non-revenue fleet, eight of which were purchased in July 2001. The vans are used as service vehicles to deliver inter-office mail, supervise the bus fleet, and other support tasks. The vans are dedicated vehicles, and as such, use natural gas 100 percent of the time. The vans are refueled at the Peoples Energy CNG station at 1140 N. Elston in Chicago and at Clean Fuel Services at 1700 Mt. Prospect Road in Des Plaines. On average, the CTA uses approximately 32,000 equivalent gallons of CNG per year.

While natural gas is the only alternative fuel currently being used by the CTA, over the last decade, the agency has experimented with several other types of fuel technologies. In 1998, the CTA was the first transit agency in the world to operate hydrogen-fuel cell buses. During this two-year demonstration program, which ended in 2000, the CTA operated three hydrogen-powered buses year-round through the streets of Chicago, with steam as the only emissions coming from the exhaust stacks. The CTA used its own hydrogen refueling station to refuel these zero emission vehicles. The CTA has also successfully tested biodiesel and E-diesel (15% ethanol mixed with diesel fuel) in transit buses.

In 2002, the CTA plans to incorporate ethanol (E-85) into its alternative fuel inventory and plans to purchase 23 sport-utility vehicles that can run on E-85 fuel and to install a station to refuel them. These vehicles will be used for non-revenue support activities. The CTA will continue to examine clean fuels and technologies in all of its vehicles to reduce emissions and further improve the environment.

City of Chicago Department of Fleet Management

The Chicago Department of Fleet Management manages, maintains and purchases the fleet of vehicles and equipment for the City of Chicago. The City owns and maintains more than 2,711 vehicles in its fleet that includes everything from passenger cars to heavy-duty trucks and fire equipment. The Department has maintenance facilities at eight locations throughout the City, including at O'Hare and Midway airports.

One of the newer initiatives undertaken by the Department is the implementation of clean, alternative fuel vehicles. The Department has started its clean fuels and vehicle program with 31 natural gas vehicles and more are on order. These vehicles are sedans, pickups, and vans and are refueled at the four existing natural gas stations shared by the City and the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for its administrative vehicles. In addition, the Department uses a natural gas station operated by the University of Illinois-Chicago. The natural gas vehicles include both dedicated and bi-fuel vehicles that are refueled with natural gas the majority of the time. In 2003, the Department of Fleet Management received rebates from the Illinois EPA for 15 of their natural gas vehicles, bringing the cost of these vehicles in line with their conventional gasoline counterparts.