EVSE Rebate Program Launched

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Join Clean Cities to Help the Yellowstone-Teton Region Plug-In                         

Local non-profit offering $5,000 rebates for electric vehicle charging stations

Contact:

Alicia Cox
Executive Director
Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities

810.955.5811 · alicia@ytcleanenergy.org

 

Jackson, Wyoming | January 13, 2016 – Local businesses now have a unique financial opportunity to help develop the necessary infrastructure to electrify our region’s vehicle transportation. Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities (YTCC) is offering $5,000 rebates through two different programs for the installation of publicly available electric vehicle charging stations. Businesses and municipalities in the gateway communities of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks qualify. Applications are available at ytcleancities.org.

Just five years ago, only a few hundred EVs were sold each month, nationally. Now, EV sales are roughly 10,000 per month and are expected to continue to grow as charging infrastructure expands and drivers become better informed about the benefits of going electric. With zero tailpipe emissions, significantly better efficiency, and fewer parts requiring maintenance, EVs have proven to be reliable and cost-effective vehicles.

Businesses are beginning to see the benefits of providing their customers with the opportunity to charge while they shop. Hosting a station increases customer traffic, as many EV drivers will shop at certain locations specifically for its charging access, and it increases shopping time, with customers spending their charging time in the store.

In 2013 YTCC partnered with the Town of Jackson and Energy Conservation Works to install four charging stations in the Town of Jackson. In addition, YTCC recently partnered with Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks and secured funding to install charging stations throughout both parks in the spring and summer of this year. “With the Town of Jackson and the National Parks leading the way with charging opportunities, the charging stations installed through this rebate opportunity will help complete the regional infrastructure necessary to allow plug-in electric vehicles to move throughout the Greater Yellowstone Region on electric,” Alicia Cox, Executive Director, Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities. These $5,000 rebates significantly reduce the costs of installation and allows local businesses the opportunity to take advantage of the many associated benefits of offering charging to customers.

To learn more about this program please join YTCC’s webinar on Thursday, January 21st at 11:00am or attend a ‘lunch and learn’ at the Jackson Whole Grocer’s community room on Thursday, January 28th from 11:30am-12:30pm. Please visit YTCC’s website at ytcleancities.org for webinar login and details.

YTCC is a non-profit based in Jackson with a mission to advance the nation’s environmental, economic, and energy security by supporting local actions to reduce petroleum use in transportation. Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities is the sole regional designee of the Department of Energy’s Clean Cities program. The rebates are funded by two grants through the Teton Conservation District and the Environmental Protection Agency. Each program has separate requirements, so inquire with Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities to learn which program works for you.

New Years News

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Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities January Newsletter, click HERE to read the entire newsletter.

Annual Report 2014 Now Available

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The Coalition is proud to announce the release of our first published annual report. Click here to view the report in its entirety.

Letter from the Executive Director:

It is with great pleasure I welcome you to Yellowstone-Teton Clean Energy Coalition’s first annual report!

Achieving our mission…to displace the use of petroleum in the regional transportation sector…requires diverse and varied efforts; therefore we are often asked, “What exactly does the Coalition do?” We thought it was high time we put together a succinct report that fully illustrates and explains the who, what, why, and how of our organization.

This past year the Coalition has experienced a tremendous amount of growth and accomplishments. We went from having a staff of two full-time employees to include a part-time program associate in our Jackson office and a full time Energy Corps AmeriCorps member representing the Coalition and establishing a staff presence in Montana for the first time ever. Through Coalition projects and stakeholder efforts our region reduced 3,895,080 gallons of gasoline equivalent and 43,056 short tons greenhouse gas emissions! This placed the Coalition fourth in per capita reductions among all the Clean Cities organizations throughout the country. These successes are a result of your generosity and commitment to alternative fuels and strategies.

As the name of our organization borrows from the two iconic national parks of which our boundaries are set by, Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, it is fitting to reflect on a quote by the National Parks Service Director, Jon Jarvis in 2009, “One of the most precious values of the national parks is their ability to teach us about ourselves and how we relate to the natural world. This important role may prove invaluable in the near future as we strive to understand and adapt to a changing climate.” Six years later these thoughts are as important as ever.

With Jarvis’s observation in mind and our eyes fixed on a vision of a Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem where all residents and visitors have access to clean, safe and efficient transportation options, we invite you to join us in protecting this magnificent region we are able to call home.

Kind Regards,

Alicia Cox

Executive Director

Alternative Fuel Technical Workshops

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In conjunction with the rebate program, the Coalition is also hosting a set of alternative fuel vehicle workshops throughout the region. At each workshop, a panel of speakers will present on their technology of expertise and answer questions pertaining to the practical concerns of operating and maintaining alternative fuel vehicles. To access one of the $3,000 propane or electric vehicle rebates, attendance of one of the workshops is required.

Workshop times, locations, and speakers are as follows:

  • Wednesday, April 15th, Bozeman Public Library, Bozeman, MT 9:00am-1:00pm. To RSVP, click here.

    • Tad Pearson
      • Fleet Manager, ID National Laboratory – Biodiesel
    • Howard Haines
      • Environmental Engineer, MT Dept. of Environmental Quality – Biodiesel
    • Larry Osgood
      • Consulting Solutions and Rocky Mountain Propane Association – Propane
    • Matt Shirk
      • Research Engineer, Energy Storage and Transportation Systems ID National Laboratory – Electric Vehicles
  • Friday, April 17th, Teton County Public Library, Jackson, WY 10:00am-2:00pm. To RSVP, click here.

    • Larry Osgood
      • Consulting Solutions and Rocky Mountain Propane Association – Propane
    • Tracey Hind
      •  Alternative Fuel Automotive Instructor, Western Wyoming Community College – CNG
    • Tad Pearson
      •  Fleet Manager, ID National Laboratory – Biodiesel
    • Matt Shirk
      • Research Engineer, Energy Storage and Transportation Systems ID National Laboratory – Electric Vehicle
                                 

Alternative Fuel Vehicle Rebate Program

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The Coalition is pleased to announce two new alternative fuel vehicle rebate programs!

Applications accepted now until Tuesday, March 31st.

Compressed Natural Gas Vehicle Rebate

The Yellowstone-Teton Clean Energy Coalition was awarded a grant from the Teton Conservation District (TCD) to provide educational and financial support to regional organizations and individuals to assist in their purchase of alternative fuel vehicles (AFV). More specifically, the program aims to displace petroleum consumption by replacing conventional vehicles with compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles and to help build a fleet to utilize the CNG fueling station that will be installed in the spring of 2015 at Shervin’s Independent Oil. Accompanying educational platforms include workshops discussing CNG vehicles and are open to interested participants free of charge. The rebate program will provide cost shares for 12 EPA certified original equipment manufacturer CNG vehicles or EPA certified CNG conversions of conventional vehicles. EPA certified CNG conversion information can be found at http://www.ngvamerica.org/vehicles/vehicle-availability/. Each entity is eligible to apply for a rebate to assist in their purchase of or conversion to a CNG vehicle. The financial support will cover 50% of the marginal increase in price of the OEM CNG vehicle over the conventionally fueled model, or 50% of the cost of the EPA certified conversion kit and installation to CNG, up to a maximum of $2,000.00.

CNG Rebate Guidelines

CNG Rebate Application

Alternative Fuels Vehicle Rebate

The Yellowstone-Teton Clean Energy Coalition (YTCEC) was awarded a grant through the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Source Reduction Assistance (SRA) to provide educational and financial support to regional organizations and individuals to employ more efficient driving techniques and assist in the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles in the form of rebates. Educational platforms include workshops and are open to interested participants free of charge. Rebates are available to those who attend at least one workshop. Financial support is on the order of a $3,000.00 cost share towards the purchase of an alternative fuel vehicle to displace petroleum and replace a conventionally fueled vehicle. The program will support propane and electric vehicle technologies.

Alt Fuels Vehicle Rebate Guidelines

Alt Fuels Vehicle Rebate Application

Montana Renewable Energy Fair

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July 25, 2013

Last weekend, YTCEC (Phil, Alicia, and new intern Christy) headed up to Butte, Montana for the Montana Renewable Energy Fair, put on by Montana Renewable Energy Association (MREA).  After a quick stop in Dillon, MT for a little indulgence at the Patagonia outlet, we arrived in Butte on Friday evening.  We were immediately whisked away to a barbeque where we got to meet and talk with some of the other organizations that would have booths at the fair the next day.

Some great discussions, a lot of delicious food, and one dead bird later, we headed back to get some shut-eye before the long day we had planned.

Clean Energy Booth at Montana Renewable Energy FairWe were up early to set up our booth, and at 9am, the fair began! The whole thing took place to a pleasant background of local musicians and talents performing in the tent right behind our booth.  They even had a belly dancing performance.

Throughout the day, we all took advantage of the opportunity to network with Montana renewable energy organizations, in order to further expand the our reach beyond the greater Yellowstone area.  There were all sorts of workshops and Alicia and Christy were even able to attend a biodiesel demonstration from a group based up in Helena.

Because the day was long (9am-4pm), the crowd coming through was not concentrated all at once.  This allowed for us to have long, in-depth conversations with most of the people that stopped by our booth.  Many people took an interest in the anti-idling campaign, and grabbed several stickers to put up in hopes that it would deter their noisy neighbors and friends.

The level of interest the citizens of Butte and nearby towns showed in renewable transportation impressed us; we even met a couple people who ran their trucks off pure biodiesel in the summertime!

All in all, we left the fair with a lot more connections, and a great understanding of what groups in Montana are doing to promote and encourage renewable energy usage.

 

2 Mile Challenge

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Yellowstone-Teton-petroleum-reduction-challenge-alternative-transportationOn May 1st I decided to challenge myself with a month long 2 Mile Challenge.  For the month of May I will walk/run/bike/bus regardless of rain/snow/sleet or hail to any destination within two miles of my home. This has proved fairly enjoyable throughout the first week.  However, my husband and I had an uncomfortable ride home from brunch on Saturday as it began raining just before we were about to leave and continued to the entire way home (though our bike ride was only a mile and a half so our discomfort was short lived and it continued to rain the rest of the afternoon which made me happy it didn’t stop as soon as we got home).  Also, previous to this challenge I found myself driving to work (which is only 1 mile from my home!) because I had too much to carry or had errands to run after work.  Though a one-mile commute requires much less petroleum than the average commute, one mile is also an extremely feasible distance for human powered modes of transportation.  My excuses should not have been as hindering as I made them to be, espeically considering I promote the reduction of petroleum use as a living.  But I really needed something to force myself to stop taking the easy way out.  With this challenge I have found it is actually easy to save my errands for one day or pair them with another longer trip.  I’ve also streamlined what I’m brining to and from work, which I think was healthy to do anyway.  Overall I am greatly enjoying this challenge and I’m hoping some of you might join me!  You could challenge yourself for a month or choose a week or a specific day of the week to ditch your vehicle.  This is also a good time to begin because Friends of Pathways launched the 2013 Commuter Choice Challenge, sign up or in and log your miles (HERE).  If you don’t have a team feel free to join ours, Yellowstone-Teton Clean Energy Coalition, scroll all the way down as we are the last team listed.  I’ll be updating with pictures when I remember to take them!  Let me know what your personal challenge is and I would love to see pictures!  Post them on our facebook page or send them to Alicia@ytlceanenergy.org.

Sustainability Series: Education, Awareness & Action

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Sustainability-JacksonWyoming-WorkshopThis month the Yellowstone Teton Clean Energy Coalition kicks off a series of Sustainability Workshops. Thanks to a grant from 1% for the Tetons, the Coalition will host monthly workshops focusing on different topics of sustainability. Partnering with Teton Co Integrated Solid Waste and Recycling and the Jackson Hole Energy Sustainability Project the Coalition is proud to offer different themes including alternative transportation fuels, composting and, energy efficiency. Workshops will cover the basics of each topic highlight local efforts, and provide citizens the tools to act on these ideas.

Read more

National parks to use hybrid vehicles

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National parks to use hybrid vehicles | Wyoming Business Report http://ow.ly/4SBzQ