State mapping out ways to cut its petroleum use

July 10, 2007 1:31 PM

By ED SEALOVER

THE GAZETTE

DENVER - Even with the alternative-fuel car market in a relatively embryonic stage, 16 percent of Colorado’s state vehicle fleet runs on something other than straight gasoline.

That number is expected to skyrocket as Gov. Bill Ritter launches an ambitious program to reduce petroleum usage in state vehicles by 25 percent by June 2012.

State officials are looking at a lot of options, including a reduction in vehicle numbers, limits on miles driven and an incentive program to get state employees to take mass transit to work.

Much of the focus of Angie Fyfe, who oversees Ritter’s Greening of Government Initiative, is on replacing the fleet with green vehicles.

This has started, as 192 of the 780 cars and trucks purchased by the state during the fiscal year that ended June 30 are flex-fuel vehicles, meaning they can run on gasoline or on a blend of gas and as much as 85 percent ethanol. The fleet also includes 50 hybrid electric cars and 286 diesel-powered trucks capable of running on B-20 biofuel.

The governor’s April executive order on fuel reduction raises the question of how much the state is willing to spend on vehicle replacements. Democrats say tax increases could be needed for education, transportation and health care. Rep. Don Marostica, a Loveland Republican who is working on his own study of the state fleet, said many options should be considered before the state turns to alternativefuel vehicles.

But Ritter is part of a national movement to reduce emissions and reliance on foreign oil in state fleets and to demonstrate the benefits.

�It means that the state’s going to walk the talk in terms of the new energy economy,� said Matt Baker, executive director of the nonprofit group Environment Colorado, in referring to Ritter’s favorite term for his renewable-energy push. �It’s also going to have a measurable impact in reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from state vehicles.�

The goal to reduce petroleum usage 25 percent in five years is part of the Greening of Government Initiative, in which Ritter included benchmarks for cutting paper use and energy and water consumption. Ritter charged state officials to �take a position of leadership in the new energy economy.�

Fyfe, whose job was created in the order, is overseeing an inventory audit that will lay out by Dec. 1 how the state’s 5,780 vehicles are used. Then, she will recommend ways to cut fuel consumption, setting yearly goals.

The state fleet uses 4.3 million gallons of fuel a year. Because of recent changes in the coding system of the National Association of Convenience Stores, the state doesn’t know how much of that fuel is petroleum and how much is alternatives, said Julie Postlethwait, communication specialist for the state’s Department of Personnel and Administration.

Some savings can come without swapping a single gas vehicle for a hybrid, by eliminating redundant routes or replacing an SUV or four-door sedan with a smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicle, Fyfe said.

Other savings could come from the increased use of mass transit. Workers who travel out of state will be required to fly into airports with transit available unless there is no such option, and the Governor’s Energy Office might offer incentives to state employees to use buses or light rail, Fyfe said.

But replacement of vehicles is an essential part of the program. Fyfe has placed a priority on getting rid of pre-1996 vehicles that get 25 miles to the gallon of gas or less.

Most alternative-fuel cars are just more efficient, Fyfe said, citing a statistic that many hybrids average 50 miles to the gallon, while even small sedans that run on gas get only about 30.

But adding electric hybrids or flex-fuel cars or trucks that run on naturally made biofuels can have drawbacks.

Some types of vehicles, such as Colorado State Patrol cars, are hard to find in alternativefuel form; just 25 of the patrol’s 650 vehicles have flex-fuel capacity. Thus, the executive order specifically excludes law enforcement, emergency-response, road-maintenance and highway-construction vehicles from the reduction goal.

Also, the national production of alternative-fuel vehicles is so small that even if Colorado wanted to change out all cars by 2012, there would not be enough alternatives on the market, Postlethwait said.

Environmentalists are thrilled by the effort. Environment Colorado’s Baker, who served on an advisory board that suggested the 25 percent cut, said the state could reduce fuel consumption at an even greater rate by getting more of the fleet on biofuels by 2012, and he predicted a fleet with 100 percent alternative capabilities by 2020.

Republican legislators say any race to outpace other fuelcutting states should be tempered by the unknown costs and impacts of the project.

Marostica, the Loveland Republican, suggested the state could find needed fuel savings by converting 25 percent of its fleet to motorcycles.

Fellow House Finance Committee member Rep. Kent Lambert, R-Colorado Springs, said the state must know what it hopes to achieve, other than meeting an arbitrary figure. The long-term economic and environmental costs of things such as disposing of hybrid cars’ batteries must be considered, along with the impact on state policy of things such as paying employees to ride mass transit to work, he argued.

�A lot of those things don’t necessarily save money and don’t necessarily help the environment,� Lambert said.

About the same time that Fyfe is wrapping up the inventory audit, the Joint Budget Committee will reconvene to talk about next year’s state budget.

The committee’s vice chairman, Bernie Buescher, said he will seek a study on the costs versus the benefits of converting a greater percentage of the fleet. But the Legislature will have to weigh future savings of more fuel-efficient vehicles against the immediate cost increase, thanks to the state’s year-to-year budgeting, he said.

�I think we should be moving toward hybrids and E-85 vehicles where appropriate . . . and reducing the number of miles traveled,� said Buescher, D-Grand Junction. �Done together, they should save the state a considerable amount of money.�

THE STATE’S CURRENT FLEET

WHAT THEY RUN ON

Colorado’s fleet has 939 alternative-fuel vehicles, spread out in almost every department:

573: E-85 (ethanol/gasoline blend) flex-fuel vehicles

286: Diesel-powered vehicles that can run on B-20 biofuel

50: Hybrid electric vehicles

24: Duel-fuel propane vehicles that can run on gas or propane

3: Duel-fuel compressed naturalgas vehicles

2: Dedicated compressed natural gas vehicles

1: Plug-in electric vehicle

COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF PERSONNEL AND ADMINISTRATION

RITTER’S GOALS