Governor Hickenlooper, 12 Other Governors Send Letter to Promote Natural Gas Vehicle Development

Press Release

Gov. John Hickenlooper today announced he and 12 other governors sent a letter this week to the CEO's of 19 auto companies encouraging them to manufacture vehicles that use natural gas.

This letter is part of a multi-state agreement initiated last fall by Hickenlooper and Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin to promote the use of natural gas as a transportation fuel.

"For many Americans, high gasoline prices create a financial strain in an already difficult economic environment. As governors, we share the concerns of citizens and are committed to finding solutions. A bipartisan partnership between governors and auto manufacturers in the U.S. makes sense and has the potential to create new options for alternative fuel vehicles and transportation fuel diversity," the governors' letter to the automakers says.

"Abundant, affordable, clean-burning natural gas presents a tremendous opportunity for America to realize an energy future using domestic resources to fuel our nation's transportation needs. To that end, we are committed to exploring ways to aggregate our annual state fleet vehicle procurements to provide an incentive to manufacture affordable, functional natural gas vehicles."

The states participating in the letter with Colorado and Oklahoma are: Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Also today, Hickenlooper announced the Governor's Energy Office (GEO) will work with the Colorado Municipal League (CML) to engage municipalities to participate in the multi-state MOU on natural gas vehicles.

CML will work with the GEO on behalf of municipalities interested in adding natural gas vehicles to their fleets. The GEO will develop a purchasing mechanism for municipalities and will work with the natural gas industry, fuel retailers and local governments to encourage the development of natural gas fueling facilities.