GBRCCC

Greater Baton Rouge Clean Cities Coalition (GBRCCC) is quickly approaching our thirteen-year anniversary . Since 1997, our partnership has fostered alternative fuel infrastructure and vehicle deployment throughout the Louisiana capitol region. With support from stakeholders across sectors and industries, the GBRCCC received designation as an affiliate with the U.S. Department of Energy in 2000. This milestone marked the launch of a shared mission to enhance local energy security, environmental quality, and economic stability.

The current region covered by the GBRCCC includes the following 5-parishes: Ascension, Iberville, Livingston, East Baton Rouge and West Baton Rouge. The Environmental Protection Agency ozone non-attainment area delineated this jurisdiction. The coalition has carried out its mandate thanks to partnerships with host agencies including Southern University, the East Baton Rouge City-Parish, Louisiana State University and now the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources.

Early leaders, Michael McDaniel, Ph.D., Robert Borne, and Harold Moise oversaw the GBRCCC incorporation as a registered 501©3 non-profit organization. Over the past 13-years, volunteer board members represent our most dedicated stakeholder organizations, such as the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, the Capitol Region Planning Commission, Entergy, PEC, Team Automotive, and Hollingsworth-Richards Ford. With board member guidance, GBRCCC has proven itself a successful facilitator of public-private partnerships. For example, completed projects include: CNG Trolleys for CATS serving downtown Baton Rouge, opening an E-85 fueling facility, and installation of electric-vehicle charging equipment on the LSU campus.

Currently, one other Clean Cities coalition exists in the state, covering the New Orleans metropolitan area. The Southeast Louisiana Clean Fuels Partnership covers a 7-parish area and operates within the Regional Planning Organization. The City of Shreveport pursued Clean Cities designation but the application to U.S. DOE was not approved. This leaves several major urban areas unrepresented by the Clean Cities program, including Lafayette, Lake Charles, Mandeville, Alexandria, and Shreveport.

GBRCCC has frequently received requests for technical assistance as well as membership inquires from Louisiana stakeholders located outside of the official organizational boundaries. At this time, GBRCCC has nearly 100 active members, including over 30 that are located outside of the Greater Baton Rouge area. We see as an indication of the strong demand for the services that Clean Cities provides outside of the existing GBRCCC territory.

To address the demand for alternative fuel project development resources as well as the need for regional transportation fueling corridors, GBRCCC is currently conducting an assessment that considers the opportunities and challenges related to expanding coverage territory. Please download the LouisianaCleanFuelStakeholderWebinar to see a recent presentation made to our partners outside of the capital region, overviewing the drivers of our expansion considerations.

We invite you to consider participation in this process by attending our upcoming anniversary celebration – the Spring 2013 Louisiana CleanFuels Luncheon on March 8th from 12-1:30. Registration for this event is free and available online here. You may also email us at info@gbrccc.org with questions, comments and suggestions for our expansion considerations. We welcome and appreciate any input you can offer!