Challenge

Establishing a robust interstate network of alternative fueling and charging stations requires close collaboration among numerous stakeholders, including representatives from state departments of transportation, state energy and environment agencies, Clean Cities Coalitions, utilities, metropolitan planning organizations, and alternative fuel infrastructure providers. FHWA sought support in convening these stakeholders and focusing their conversations on how they can best collaborate to increase alternative fueling and charging station infrastructure along U.S. corridors. FHWA engaged Cadmus to lead a team of alternative fuel and facilitation experts to develop results-oriented conversations with stakeholders.

Solution

Cadmus planned and facilitated five regional alternative fuel corridor convenings in collaboration with partners CALSTART, IEc, and Atlas Public Policy. For each convening, Cadmus assembled a planning committee comprised of key alternative fuel stakeholders in the region that helped shape the convening’s program to ensure it was tailored for the challenges, priorities, and opportunities specific to the region. Cadmus structured the convenings so that each one had a similar format while maintaining enough flexibility to accommodate the input provided by the planning committee.

Each convening began by highlighting existing alternative fuel corridor initiatives in the region, which served to build up energy for the progress already being made and set the context for the rest of the session. Each convening also featured discussions on how to raise awareness of alternative fuels and station availability, leverage partnerships, fill existing infrastructure gaps, and tools to help plan infrastructure build-out. To end on a forward-looking note, each convening concluded with a session on envisioning the region’s alternative fuel infrastructure network in the future and steps needed to achieve that vision. In support of convening discussions, Cadmus developed presentations, fact sheets on topics of interest such as funding sources, and facilitation guides to spur idea sharing. All convening materials, including summary reports documenting discussion takeaways, are available online at http://altfueltoolkit.org/regional-convenings/.

Results

Through the series of alternative fuel corridor convenings, Cadmus enabled FHWA to:

• Engage 42 states and the District of Columbia on FHWA’s Alternative Fuel Corridors Program and encourage designation of additional alternative fuel corridors.
• Facilitate discussions among more than 260 stakeholder participants across all five convenings.
• Share useful tools and resources that enable strategic alternative fuel infrastructure planning along corridors.
• Forge and enhance connections between state departments of transportation, state energy and environment agencies, metropolitan planning organizations and councils of government, Clean Cities Coalitions, alternative fuel infrastructure providers, policy makers, truck stop owners and associations, nonprofit and advocacy organizations, transit agencies, utilities, national laboratories, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Diesel Collaboratives.

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