June 11, 2003

CONTACT: Eric Cheung (215-567-4004 ext. 237)

ABINGTON ART CENTER SHOWS CREATIVITY IN PURCHASING ITS FIRST VEHICLE, A NATURAL GAS-POWERED VAN
Abington Art Center Chooses The Vehicle Less Traveled In With The Help of $7,000 In Philadelphia Clean Cities Funding.

ABINGTON, PA - Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program (GPCCP) is pleased to announce that Abington Art Center has been awarded $7,000 in rebates to help cover its recent purchase of a Chevy Express van that can fuel up on compressed natural gas. In addition, PECO Energy Company assisted in the placement of an on-site fueling appliance, manufactured by FuelMaker, which allows Abington Art Center to refuel using natural gas on its own property. GPCCP will formally recognize the Center during its quarterly working group meeting, Thursday, June 12, at Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission's offices in the Bourse Building.

Abington Art Center directly engages community members in the creation of art. It uses the van to reach underserved audiences that have transportation limitations, especially children. Executive Director Laura Burnham explains the significance of this purchase: "We never owned our own vehicle before. Because we are artists, when we decided the time was right to buy our first vehicle, we really wanted to make a statement. The fact that it's a natural gas van makes us feel good. We have taken an environmental approach." The van allows for some flexibility as it is a bifuel vehicle. It can run on gasoline should natural gas not be available. Still, having an on-site refueling machine means this is generally not an issue.

Natural gas is derived from methane found in gas wells. Using it in place of gasoline, reduces a number of pollutants, including those that form ozone. This is vitally important as the Philadelphia region remains in severe nonattainment of Clean Air Act ozone standards. In addition, most of the natural gas in America is domestically produced. Nearly two-thirds of oil, by contrast, is foreign in origin.

"By opting for an alternative to gasoline, the Center is helping accomplish GPCCP's twin goals of reducing air pollution and decreasing our region's dependency on imported oil," GPCCP Coordinator Eric Cheung observes. "Other companies can do the same. Philadelphia Clean Cities still has $400,000 in rebates it wants to give out to anyone willing to make the switch to alternative fuels." More information can be found on GPCCP's website: www.cleanair.org/cleancities. GPCCP rebates are derived from a combination of state and federal grants.

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GPCCP is a nonprofit, private/public partnership dedicated to increasing alternative fuel vehicle usage and alternative fuel infrastructure in the Greater Philadelphia region. GPCCP operates through public outreach and education and by offering financial incentives towards the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles. With the help of GPCCP's efforts nearly 1,000 vehicles in the region run on alternative fuels.