Will The Stimulus Package Be Used For Transportation Energy Experiments?

With the current administration in a seemingly huge hurry to distribute the more than $800 billion in stimulus funds set to enter the market, we all wait somewhat impatiently for some information as to where our taxpayer dollars will be distributed and what they will be funding.  A great number of transportation energy projects have been proposed, most of them with heavy price tags and little payoff.  A look at two of those projects shows cities who either have unrealistically high hopes or who aim to help push the transportation market in the environmentally friendly and sustainable direction the last administration said we would soon find.  Who falls into what category has yet to be determined.

Atlanta, Georgia is one city that seems to have very lofty goals.  The city is asking for $64 million to push hybrid, electric, and biodiesel vehicles.  While a push on hybrid and electric vehicles is an excellent move and encourages energy independence, the biodiesel vehicle movement will likely take a national push or standard in order to influence consumers. 

While vehicles destined to remain local, such as mass transit systems, are good candidates for the biodiesel conversion, few drivers will want to convert until biodiesel is made available at most gas stations around the nation and vehicle warranties are made to cover cars that utilize the fuel.  This is particularly true for consumers who engage in frequent business or personal travel.  While more details may make the project more appealing, there are already the benefits of greater hybrid and electric car use as well as the creation of 550 new jobs.

Peoria, Illinois, on the other hand, is requesting $2.5 million to convert their mass transit system to run on natural gas or hydrogen.  The decreased emissions provide a great benefit, while the fragility of fuel cells and high cost of hydrogen use are seen as detractors.  The Department of Energy is working on methods of reducing the cost of fuel cells, and this project could be an effective way to test how well the project could work as part of a long-term alternative. 

If the hydrogen is obtained from the use of biomass rather than fossil fuels, the project could have significant local environmental impact, and could answer much public speculation about hydrogen powered vehicles.  Natural gas vehicles are currently well suited only for this sort of local use, as storage and distribution has not been made available for supplying the gas to vehicles, and this project could serve as a testing ground to determine the benefits of a natural gas powered fleet of vehicles.

These two projects are only a couple of the transportation projects being proposed by various cities.  No project is without flaws, and the goals of these projects can be deemed experimental, but perhaps these projects can help both the government and the citizens to see the need and benefit of renewable energy for transportation and will finally push the automobile industry to create vehicles that can run independently of fossil fuels.  These are two projects whose fate could revolutionize or at least greatly impact the future of American transportation.