EPA Creates Clean Diesel Program

May 21, 2008 // Published as a news service by IHS

The EPA will award grants of more than $4 million to assist eligible partners within the 10 Blue Skyways collaborative states to achieve voluntary vehicle and equipment emission reductions.

The following types of fleets qualify for funding:

• Buses.
• Medium or heavy-duty trucks.
• Marine engines.
• Locomotives or non-road engines.
• Stationary engines or vehicles used in construction, handling of cargo including at a port or airport, agriculture, mining or energy production.

Diesel Emissions Reduction Solution Proposal Areas
Diesel emissions reduction solution proposals may include:

• Retrofit technologies: includes any technology, device, fuel or system that when applied to an existing diesel engine achieves emission reductions beyond that currently required by EPA regulations at the time of the engine's certification.

• Idle reduction technologies: is defined as the installation of a technology or device that:
  • Is installed in one or more of the following vehicle(s) or equipment: a bus; a medium-duty or heavy-duty truck; a marine engine; a locomotive; or a non-road engine or vehicle used in construction, handling of cargo (including at a port or airport), agriculture, mining, or energy production, or is installed in the ground.

  • Is designed to provide services such as heat, air conditioning and/or electricity to vehicles and equipment that would otherwise require the operation of the main drive engine while the vehicle is temporarily parked or remains stationary.

  • Reduces unnecessary idling of such vehicles or equipment. The reduction in idling must also lower emissions.

  • The EPA verified four categories of idle reduction technologies including:
    1. Auxiliary power units and generator sets.

    2. Battery air conditioning systems and thermal storage systems.

    3. Electrified parking spaces (truck stop electrification).

    4. Fuel operated heaters.

• Cleaner fuel use: includes, but is not limited to, ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel (for non-road vehicles/engines prior to the EPA's mandate), biodiesel, compressed natural gas, liquefied natural gas, propane and emulsions or additives verified by the EPA or the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

• Engine repowers: refers to the removal of an existing engine and its replacement with a newer or cleaner engine that meets a more stringent set of engine emissions standards. Repowers may include engine replacement for use with a cleaner fuel such as compressed natural gas, recalibrations and/or other components and/or the addition of newer, cleaner technologies to reduce the emissions from the engines.

• Engine upgrades: Some engines may be able to be upgraded to reduce their emissions by applying manufacturer recommended upgrades or kits to certified or verified configurations.

• Vehicle and equipment financing: This proposal area is limited to proposals that provide low-cost financing for the purchase of vehicles or equipment retrofitted with EPA or CARB-verified emission control technologies.

• Vehicle and equipment replacements: Non-road and highway diesel vehicles and equipment can be replaced under this program with newer, cleaner vehicles and equipment that operate on diesel or alternative fuels and meet a more stringent set of engine emissions standards.

  Replacement projects can include the replacement of diesel vehicles and equipment with newer, cleaner diesel or hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles/equipment. These projects can also include the replacement of non-road vehicles/equipment with highway models if the engine's operating cycles make the replacement technically feasible.

• Replacements for school buses: Funding levels will cover up to 25% or 50% of the cost of a replacement school bus depending on the engine emission certification levels.

More information about the Federal Clean Diesel Program is available at http://www.epa.gov/cleandiesel.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).