Technical assistance is available through Clean Cities, the U.S. Department of Energy initiative that funds the Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center. Also known as "Tiger Teams," the Technical Assistance Project primarily provides support to Clean Cities coalitions and stakeholders encountering barriers in the implementation of petroleum displacement projects.
Tiger Teams are made up of a group of experts in the areas of alternative fuels and vehicles, idle reduction technologies, fuel economy measures, and fuel blends—the elements in the Clean Cities portfolio. These experts are deployed to solve problems the requesting organizations have not been able to solve on their own. To receive technical assistance, requesters must demonstrate that measurable efforts have already been made to solve the problem.
Projects considered for technical assistance include:
Issues can be related to vehicle performance or drivability, safety, maintenance, driver acceptance, lack of training, implementation of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) at specific sites, etc.
Issues with fueling station design/site, interaction with alternative fuel providers and fire safety code officials, fueling station performance and maintenance requirements, user/operator training, etc.
Clean Cities coalitions working to develop complex AFV projects (transit, airport, etc.) may request technical assistance if expertise is not available from local or regional resources or stakeholders. When there is demonstrated local interest, a Tiger Team expert can help evaluate local market conditions pertinent to the project, conduct a technical assessment of infrastructure and stakeholder capabilities or needs, and determine project feasibility.
In all cases, the objective of any technical assistance project is to help the requesting organizations help themselves.
If your organization has an operational problem or faces a critical issue that local or regional resources have been unable to resolve (especially those with national implications), contact your local Clean Cities coordinator to submit a request for assistance.
For more information, visit the Technical Assistance section on the Clean Cities Web site.