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U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Privacy Policy for the Alternative Fueling Station Locator

Effective March 25, 2022

This Privacy Policy explains how Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC ("Alliance", "we", or "us") the manager and operator of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory ("NREL") under Prime Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308 for the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") collects, uses, and shares information about you when you use the Alternative Fueling Station Locator ("App").

If you do not agree with our policies and practices, your choice is not to use the App. By using the App, you consent to the privacy practices described in this Privacy Policy. By providing any information discussed herein, you are representing and warranting to Alliance that you are authorized to disclose such information for the purposes set forth in this Privacy Policy.

Unless otherwise stated herein, and/or unless you choose to provide such information to us, we collect no personal information about you or other information from you when you visit or use this App. Furthermore, unless otherwise stated herein, we will not sell or otherwise share any personal information about you, or other information received from you with any third parties.

Types of Information Collected and How It Is Handled

  • We collect and store certain information automatically. This information includes: The Internet Protocol (IP) address of the domain from which you access the internet (e.g., 123.456.789.012) whether yours individually or provided as a proxy by your Internet Service Provider (ISP); the date and time you access the App; the pages of the App you peruse (recorded by the text and graphics files that compose that page).

    We may use the summary statistics to help us make this App more useful to users, such as assessing what information is of most and least interest to users, and for other purposes such as determining the App's technical design specifications and identifying system performance or problem areas. This information is shared with the support staff of this App and is used only as a source of anonymous statistical information.

  • You may opt to allow us to collect your location information to identify alternative fueling stations near you. This location information is not stored or shared with third parties.

    We use this information to identify alternative fueling stations near your location. The information is not stored, collected when you are not using the App, or shared. The results are based on your location. If you choose not to provide your location, it may impact the usefulness of the locations of alternative fueling stations to you. We will not store your location or share it internally or externally.

  • You may enter search terms in the App, to search for alternative fueling stations. These search terms may be stored and shared with the support staff for the App, not third parties.

    We use this information to identify alternative fueling stations near you. The results are based on your inputted search terms. If you choose not to provide certain information, it may impact the usefulness of the locations of alternative fueling stations to you. We may store the search terms you enter for later analysis or reporting of aggregate, randomized, and/or deidentified data from the App.

  • You may submit a new alternative fueling station or report a change for an existing station, which may include your contact information (name, email address, and/or phone number).

    We may use this information to contact you with questions about the new alternate fuel station or changes to an existing station. Providing your contact information is optional, and we will not share this information with third parties. We will not use your information for any marketing purposes.

  • You may choose to provide us with other information, such as in an email message containing your comments.

    We use this information to improve, revise, or update the App, or to respond to your request. There are times when your message is forwarded, as email, to other support staff who may be better able to help you or who are responsible for maintaining the App. We may save this information and follow up with you for further information.

Situations When Disclosure of Data May Occur

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, we reserve the right to disclose your information that we believe, in good faith, is appropriate or necessary to (i) take precautions against liability, (ii) protect ourselves and others from fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful uses or activity, (iii) investigate and defend ourselves against any third-party claims or allegations, (iv) protect the security or integrity of the App and any facilities or equipment used to make the App available, (v) protect our property or other legal rights (including, but not limited to, enforcement of our agreements), or the rights, property, or safety of others, (vi) comply with the audit, inspection, and copying requirements of our Prime Contract with the DOE, or (vii) to comply with relevant open records laws. Additionally, data may be released in an academic publication. Such disclosure will not connect the information to you in any way.

We also may disclose your information as may be described in a notice to you at the time the information is collected, or in any other manner to which you consent. We will attempt to inform you of how we are going to use your information. We will achieve this through this Privacy Policy and by informing you how your information is used each time we collect it.

Changing Data Provided

You may, of course, decline to share certain information with us, in which case we may not be able to provide all features and functionality of the App to you. If you wish to access or amend any other information we hold about you, or request that we delete any information about you that we have obtained through the App, you may submit your request by contacting us. We may not accommodate a request to change information if we believe the change would violate any law or legal requirement.

Timeline of Storing of Data

We will attempt to keep your data for no longer than necessary. The length of time we retain it will depend on any legal obligations we have (such as governmental reporting purposes), analysis plans for the data, the existence of your consent and/or our legitimate business interests, which may include creating academic manuscripts.

Privacy Policy Subject to Change

We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make changes, we will post the amended Privacy Policy on this page and update the Effective Date above. By continuing to access or use the App on or after the Effective Date of the revised Privacy Policy, you agree to be bound by the revised Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the revised Privacy Policy, you must stop accessing and using the App before the changes become effective. You are responsible for checking the Privacy Policy for changes, and your continued use of the App constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.