On Wednesday, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the appropriation of $300 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for the Clean Cities program. The aim of the program is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and speed the development of alternative energies. The program also seeks to fill a major void—the lack of national infrastructure to support Advanced Technology Vehicles.

According to Chu, “The Clean Cities program is helping give state and local governments the tools they need to build a greener transportation system that will create new jobs and help to put America on the path to a clean energy future.” The earmarked funds will go towards 25 cost-share projects under the program. The projects will purportedly put 9,000 alternative fuel and energy efficient vehicles on the road, and create 542 refueling locations across the country. The ATV’s will span the range of light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, and the technologies include natural and renewable gas, propane, ethanol, biodiesel, electricity, and hybrids. Final details regarding specific allocation of funds have yet to be decided. 

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