Clean Fuel Vehicles

Clean-fuel vehicles are motor vehicles designed to be propelled by one of the following fuels: biodiesel, hydrogen, electricity (e.g. plug-in technology including hybrid and all battery), ethanol, liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (e.g. LPG or propane), and natural gas (e.g. compressed natural gas or CNG). 

Clean fuel vehicles have a number of properties that make them more attractive than conventional vehicles. They have lower tailpipe emissions of air pollutants like carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxide (NOx), sodium oxide (SOx) and fine particles, and provide higher fuel economy. In metropolitan Washington, vehicles contribute to almost one third of greenhouse gas emissions. 

Strong leadership by local governments has been vital to the region’s acceptance of clean vehicles through implementing green fleet policies for their fleets and installing clean fuel infrastructure. To further expand the use of clean fuel vehicles in the region, COG works to address barriers to electric vehicle transportation through analysis, education, sharing of best practices, and outreach. In 2022, the COG Board established electric vehicle deployment as a priority and called for the development of a Regional Electric Vehicle Deployment (REVD) Working Group and Clearinghouse. REVD led the development of the Regional Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Implementation (REVII) Strategy and EV charger siting priority map for local governments to consult and utilize as they develop and implement their EV charging station deployment processes.