Tag Archives: TDOT

Submit nominations for the 2020 Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Awards!

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) are accepting nominations for the 2020 Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Awards (TSTAs) from now until Friday, June 19. Winners will be honored at the Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Forum and Expo later this year. Submit your nominations here.

The TSTAs recognize outstanding initiatives to improve the efficiency, accessibility, affordability, and sustainability of the state’s transportation systems. In the judging criteria, TDEC and TDOT ask nominees to provide information about how their project addresses one or more of the following areas:

  • Innovation: How the project utilized new thinking or creative approaches to meet a particular transportation challenge
  • Best Practices and Replicability: How the project demonstrates a transferable solution, such that others could adopt or implement similar programs or initiatives
  • Changes in Transportation Behavior: How a project worked to encourage or achieve changes in transportation behavior in order to make a transportation system more efficient
  • Improvements to Public Health, Resilience, and Safety: How a project creates improvements to public health, well-being, or safety in a given community
  • Equity and Access: How the project provides sustainable transportation benefits to all community members and creates accessible mobility solutions for diverse audiences

Regarding eligibility requirements, all project must:

  • Eligible entities include federal, State (excluding divisions under TDEC and TDOT), and local governments; commercial, non-profit, and industrial organizations; public and private institutions of higher education; and utilities.
  • Projects must be located within or have occurred in Tennessee. A project that is part of a regional or national initiative must have a significant Tennessee nexus.
  • Projects must have been completed in the last five years. 
  • Nominees must have a minimum of three consecutive, current years of exceptional environmental compliance with TDEC.
  • Applicants must agree to allow a summary of their accomplishments to be published by the State of Tennessee and/or the U.S. Department of Energy.
  • Projects that were awarded a TSTA in the past may not be awarded again, unless significant changes to the project have occurred in the interim.

TAEBC recently heard from TDEC Commissioner David Salyers at our Annual Meeting at Schneider Electric’s Nashville Hub, where he discussed how the state is moving swiftly to promote electric vehicle adoption and increase charging infrastructure availability.

Check out the list of 2019 TSTA winners here. If you have questions about the TSTAs, please contact OEP Senior Program Manager Alexa Voytek at Alexa.Voytek@tn.gov or 615-532-0238.

Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Forum & Expo

The Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Forum & Expo (STF&E) is an annual conference where attendees share and discover projects that can reshape what is possible in transportation and mobility. The research, technology, planning, and policy developments shared at STF&E aim to improve transportation efficiency, reduce vehicle emissions, and address the mobility needs of all. Panelists and speakers from across the country highlight best practices to transform transportation systems efficiently, affordably, and sustainably.

Each year, STF&E features an alternative fuel vehicle and equipment showcase as well as a luncheon that honors both winners of the Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Awards (TSTAs) and new inductees to the Tennessee Green Fleets (TGF) program.

STF&E will return to Knoxville on October 1-2, 2019.

Click here for more information!

REGISTER NOW! 2019 Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Forum & Expo

TDEC, TDOT, and TNCleanFuels will hold the fifth annual Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Forum & Expo (STF&E) from October 1-2, 2019 at the UT Conference Center in Knoxville. 

The forum will showcase new research and technologies that improve transportation efficiency, reduce vehicle emissions, and address the mobility for everyone in the state. Panelists and speakers from across the country will highlight best practices to transform transportation systems efficiently, affordably, and sustainably.

In addition to the forum, the conference will offer a luncheon that honors both winners of the Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Awards (TSTAs) and new inductees to the Tennessee Green Fleets (TGF) program. 

Attendees may also enjoy an evening networking reception at the Sunsphere coordinated and hosted by the East Tennessee Clean Fuels Coalition. Meanwhile, a poster session will highlight projects or research focused on the implementation of sustainable transportation and enhanced mobility solutions.

This year’s event will feature the annual alternative fuel vehicle and equipment showcase, where past participants have exhibited electric, hybrid, propane, compressed or liquefied natural gas, biofuel, and hydrogen vehicles and equipment from across the state. A new addition to the agenda is an alternative fuel vehicle ride and drive session, held outside of the conference center. 

Registration includes access to all forum sessions, luncheons, the alternative fuel vehicle showcase, and a networking reception. Here are additional registration details:

  • An advanced conference registration rate of $35 will be available until September 17, at which point registration will increase to $45 per person. Day-of registration will cost $50 per person.
  • Students may register for the event at a discounted rate of $5 and must present their student IDs at the time of event sign-in.

For those interested in attending, registration is now open. To learn more, explore the preliminary draft agenda or the event’s official website. If you have additional questions, please contact STF&E organizers at TDEC.OEP@tn.gov or 615-253-1947.

TDEC, TDOT announce Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Award winners

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), announced today the winners of the 2018 Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Awards. The fourth annual Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Forum and Expo continues today at the UT Conference Center in Knoxville.

“Sustainable transportation is an important factor in public health and the quality of our environment,” said TDEC Commissioner Dr. Shari Meghreblian. “The following award winners are being recognized for their innovative ideas to improve the health and well-being of Tennesseans, provide for a strong economy and protect our state’s natural resources.”

The Tennessee Sustainable Transportation Awards recognize outstanding initiatives to improve the efficiency, accessibility, affordability, and sustainability of transportation systems in the state. A panel of judges selected the following entities as the 2018 winners. A full description of the winning initiatives follows.

  • Averitt Express
  • City of Chattanooga Department of Transportation
  • City of Kingsport
  • Cumberland International
  • Hamilton County Parks and Recreation
  • Hytch, LLC
  • Tennessee State Parks
  • Vanderbilt University

Read more here.

TennSMART Consortium to accelerate intelligent mobility in Tennessee

A group of 20 public and private partners have launched the TennSMART Consortium to accelerate the development and deployment of intelligent mobility innovations in Tennessee. The specific intelligent mobility focus areas identified by the TennSMART Consortium are 1) connected and automated vehicles, 2) heavy duty trucking and freight efficiency, 3) cybersecurity, 4) electric vehicles, and 5) multimodal commuting.

Founding members include Bridgestone Americas, Cummins Filtration, Inc., DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee, FedEx Corporation, GRIDSMART Technologies, Inc., Local Motors, Lyft, Miovision, Nissan North America, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Stantec Consulting Services Inc., Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), Tennessee Tech University, Tennessee Valley Authority, Top Five Inc., University of Memphis, The University of Tennessee, and Vanderbilt University.

“Connected and automated vehicles bring new opportunities to help increase safety on roadways across Tennessee,” said TDOT’s Ryan Simpson. “TennSMART brings together industry leaders, research institutions, and government to integrate intelligent mobility advances into long-range plans for the Tennessee transportation system.”

Consortium members will assist with the creation of a technology roadmap and strategic plan for intelligent mobility initiatives in Tennessee. The consortium will address mobility opportunities that individual organizations could not tackle alone.

“Working closely with government and industry is critically important to ensure we are leveraging scientific resources such as high-performance computing and the Department of Energy’s national transportation research facility to solve relevant, complex problems in intelligent mobility,” said ORNL’s Claus Daniel, sustainable transportation program manager. “Our aim is to use cutting-edge research and development to help Tennessee and the nation advance safety and energy savings from increased connectivity.”

TennSMART hosted its inaugural meeting at the University of Tennessee’s Howard H. Baker Center for Public Policy on September 21, 2017. The 2018 TennSMART membership meetings are currently being planned and will be announced soon. Additional members are welcome to join.

Learn more about TennSMART at www.tennsmart.org or send an email to info@tennsmart.org.

TennSMART is a public-private consortium encompassing a growing number of Tennessee and regional organizations working together to develop scientific knowledge and new technologies that could change how America transports people and goods.

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