Zion, Pipe Spring, Kolob get clean vehicles, public vehicle charging stations

Zion National Park will soon have alternative fuel vehicles and public-use vehicle charging stations, Zion National Park, Utah, undated | Background photo courtesy of Zion National Park, St. George News

SOUTHERN UTAH – Zion National Park and its sister National Park Service site Pipe Spring National Monument were selected to receive new alternative fuel and fuel-efficient vehicles through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Clean Cities National Parks Initiative.

Zion and Pipe Spring are partnering with Utah Clean Cities Coalition to replace three petroleum-powered fleet vehicles with two plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and one all-electric vehicle. Ten electric vehicle charging stations will be installed, five of which will be available for public use. The public charging stations will be located at the National Park Service Visitor Centers in Zion Canyon, Kolob Canyons and Pipe Spring. The vehicles will be purchased this fiscal year, and construction on the charging stations could start as early as this fall.

Zion, Pipe Spring and Utah Clean Cities Coalition will also utilize the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Green Rides Toolkit” to engage visitors and staff in practicing more fuel-efficient driving habits and to increase awareness of the effects of excess vehicle idling. The toolkit is available to the public online.

“Zion National Park continues to be a ‘green’ and progressive park by using alternative fuels,” said Robin Erickson, executive director of Utah Clean Cities Coalition. “Adding the electric vehicles and charging stations helps to connect the dots for the visitors and allows them to travel into Pipe Spring, as well. We are very excited.”

The Clean Cities National Parks Initiative was developed through a partnership of the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with the intent of supporting transportation projects that educate park visitors on the benefits of cutting petroleum use and vehicle emissions.

Clean Cities is a national network of nearly 100 coalitions across the U.S. that strive to advance the nation’s economic, environmental and energy security by supporting local actions to reduce petroleum consumption in transportation.

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