DOE-Clean Cities partnership provides funding for Mammoth Cave National Park

The Department of Energy (DOE)-Clean Cities/National Park Initiative has provided $505,000 to Mammoth Cave National Park in the US, for the purchase of high-efficiency vehicles to replace older models.

The Clean Cities/National Park Initiative replaces older vehicles with new, more efficient ones that are less reliant on petroleum based fuels like gasoline and diesel.

Mammoth Cave National Park superintendent Patrick Reed said the park has incorporated sustainable, green practices into almost every facet of our operation.

"These new vehicles aid in our efforts to reduce emissions and lower the carbon footprint of the park and to show park visitors how, together, we can make a difference," Reed said.

DOE's National Clean Cities director Dennis Smith said alternative fuels and cleaner more-efficient vehicles are a perfect complement to the park's mission of preserving our national treasures and resources.

"This Initiative allows a larger audience to learn more about the energy and environmental benefits of these vehicles," Smith said.

The partnership with Clean Cities replaced four aging propane buses with new ones, and also two gasoline pickup trucks with two propane pickups, and one gasoline-powered golf cart with a new electric powered global electric motorcar vehicle.

In 2010, DOE-Clean Cities and the National Park Service (NPS) signed a five-year interagency agreement to create the Initiative.

The DOE-Clean Cities National Park interagency agreement allows about $5m each year to be used for demonstration projects that educate park visitors on the benefits of reducing dependence on petroleum, cutting greenhouse gases, and helping NPS ease traffic congestion.