Tour de Sol, the Great American Green Transportation Festival, is to be held this year during the week of May 12-18 in Baltimore(May 12-13), Washington, D.C.(May 14), Annapolis(may 15), Philadelphia(May 16), Trenton(May 17), and New York City(May 18), according to NESEA, the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association.

According to NESEA, the festival is set to prove that there is a way to combine the features that consumers want with the energy and environmental benefits the country needs. NESEA has said spectators will have a chance to see and test-drive the latest crop of on-the-market hybrid vehicles from Honda and Toyota. Consumers will also get a look at pre-production hybrid and fuel cell prototypes, and electric neighborhood vehicles from DaimlerChrysler.

"Once all of this year's results are in," said Nancy Hazard, organizer of the tour, "we expect to have demonstrated tremendous over-the-road energy and environmental benefits without sacrificing the other features that people seek in a vehicle."

NESEA claims that Tour de Sol features the largest and most varied collection of green transportation technologies to be found anywhere in the world. The lead sponsors for this year's events are the United States Department of Energy and American Honda Motor Company, Inc. The other major sponsors include the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Ensco, Inc., AirLink Communications, Inc., and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association, organizer of the Tour de Sol, is involved in promoting awareness, understanding and development of non-polluting, renewable energy technologies. Headquartered in Greenfield, Mass., NESEA says they have worked in the fields of transportation, building construction and renewable energy for over 27 years. For more information on the Tour de Sol festivals and the NESEA, go to www.nesea.org or call 413-774-6051.