Washington, D.C. — Aimed at increasing U.S. energy security and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, President Obama announced that the Federal Government will replace older cars in the federal fleet with fuel-efficient hybrids and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) will double the federal hybrid fleet this year by replacing 5,603 of the least fuel efficient cars and trucks. The federal agency also set a goal to purchase approximately 100 plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2011. This should reduce petroleum consumption by an estimated 7.7 million gallons of gas or 385,000 barrels of oil, according to the GSA.
The U.S. Department of Energy is expected to lead the way by replacing 753 vehicles with hybrids this year, bringing the agency’s total to 888.
These steps are part of an Executive Order signed by President Obama in October which calls on agencies to cut the federal government’s fleet petroleum use by 30 percent by 2020.