SUCCESSES

GPCCP has been awarded funds from the US Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory. The funded project is titled "Pennsylvania E85 Corridor Project". The funds will be used to convert fueling stations from Harrisburg to Philadelphia to provide E85. An education and marketing campaign is also a part of the project.

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Lower Merion School District

Department of Energy's Patricia Passarella presents Mike Andre with the national Natural Gas vehicle Achievement Award.

Lower Merion School District in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, has long been considered Pennsylvania's primary success story for alternative fuels. The school district began its move towards operating compressed natural gas (CNG) buses in 1995 when the local community raised concerns about noise and pollution from the district's diesel school buses.

Since then, Lower Merion School District has purchased 72 CNG school buses and 3 dedicated CNG work vans - more than half its fleet. The fleet has recently passed the 6 million mile mark in displacing gallons of gasoline! The 8.1-liter CNG engines have proven reliable for over 7 years and the District consumes about 900 gasoline gallon equivalents a day of natural gas. The school district plans to become the first Pennsylvania school district to run its fleet entirely on alternative fuels.

Lower Merion School District and Transportation Director, Mike Andre, are extremely active with Clean Cities. Mr. Andre sits on the board of the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Coalition and attended The 6th Annual National Clean Cities Conference in San Diego last year to receive a prestigious Clean Cities National Partnership Award from the Department of Energy.

Michael Andre recieved a National NGV Achievement Award for his work at the Lower Merion School District on Tuesday, September 21st, 2004. The Achievement award was presented at the 22nd National NGV Conference and Exhibition. The award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the advancement of natural gas as a vehicular fuel in the past year. The conference and the award ceremony are presented by the Clean Vehicle Education Foundation and the Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition.

For more information, contact Michael Andre, Supervisor of Transportation, Lower Merion School District, at (610)-645-1945.

Willow Grove Naval Air Station
The first military member of GPCCP is the Willow Grove Naval Air Station, setting an example for military bases across the nation. Willow Grove NAS currently operates 13 light-duty bi-fuel AFVs (sedans and pick-up trucks) and there are more to come! There are 4 Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) supplied AFVs on order and the station will re-power 9 heavy-duty vehicles to run on compressed natural gas.

Temple University

Temple University is leading the way for educational institutions with its purchase of 2 compressed natural gas vehicles: a Ford F250 pickup and a Ford F350 Econoline cargo van. Additionally, 4 Chevy E350 Econoline vans have recently been purchased. Temple University also cemented its association with GPCCP by hosting the "Advancing the Choice" event on December 11th, 2000. This meeting brought together fleet managers to discuss AFV funding opportunities and infrastructure availability.

If you have any questions, give us a call at 215-413-2122 or

email coordinator@phillycleancities.org!