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In commemoration of Earth
Day, the Port Authority of Allegheny County rolled out the first
of six new diesel-electric hybrid buses on April 23, 2005.
The 38-seat low-floor buses manufactured by Gillig Corp.,
are equipped with GM-Allison’s parallel hybrid drive train.
The buses were purchased at a cost of $3.5 million using
a combination of state and federal grants. The buses are expected
to increase fuel economy by 40 percent and lower
emissions. |
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| Diesel Engine Manufacturers Lose Appeal to Delay Standards A
Sacramento County Superior Court judge has denied an appeal by diesel
engine manufacturers Mack Trucks Inc., Volvo Powertrain Corp, Caterpillar
Inc., and Cummins Inc. to delay an enforcement deadline for stricter
engine emission standards by the California Air Resources Board
(CARB). The manufacturers filed an appeal arguing that CARB has
reneged on a $1.04 billion settlement agreement reached in 1998.
They contended that the settlement agreement supersedes CARB regulatory
authority. In March 2005, CARB began to enforce a regulation requiring heavy-duty vehicles to reduce smog-forming emissions. The regulation required most heavy-duty trucks, school buses, and mobile homes (RVs) built between 1993 and 1998 to install new software, a process called reflash, to prevent the release of additional nitrogen oxide emissions. The move came after truck manufacturers failed to voluntarily upgrade software in the vehicles. The upgrade requirement was the result of a $1.04 billion settlement between the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CARB and five truck manufacturers (Detroit Diesel Corp. (DDC), Mack Trucks, Volvo Powertrain Corp, Caterpillar Inc., and Cummins Inc.) over emission violations. Under
a voluntary program, manufacturers had until November 2004 to upgrade
software in 35 percent of vehicles requiring the emission control.
However, with the exception of DDC, most manufacturers were able
to upgrade no more than 18 percent.
CARB stipulated the following deadlines for compliance: April
30, 2005 for 1993-94 models,
August 31, 2005 for 95-96
models and December 31, 2005 for
97-98 models. |
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| LAX Operating Natural Gas Electric Hybrid Buses For more information on the
LAX hybrid buses go to:
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| Judge Reinstates Southern California Fleet Rule A federal judge has ruled that the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has the authority to require government fleets and private contractors to purchase cleaner, alternative fuel vehicles. The SCAQMD rule, which applies to transit buses, school buses, trash trucks and other vehicles, set alternative fuel vehicle purchasing requirements for public and commercial fleets operating in Southern California. Last year, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in a suit brought by the Engine Manufacturers Association, that the rules were “in effect” an emission standard, governable only by federal law and invalidated them. The SCAQMD fleet rules are applicable in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange Counties, regions with the worst air quality in the nation. For
more information on this ruling see:
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Beginning June 01, 2005,
the US Navy will begin the use of a B20 blend of biodiesel (80
percent diesel, 20 percent biodiesel) in its fleet. The
US Navy, the largest user of diesel in the world, is attempting to
increase the use of cleaner, domestically produced fuels in its
fleet. The memorandum, issued in March, is applicable to all Navy
and Marine non-tactical diesel vehicles. Currently, a number of US
Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines bases in California, Washington
DC, Pennsylvania, Hawaii and Washington use biodiesel in their
fleets. In 2003,
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The Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority (SORTA) is exploring the possibility of adding three diesel-electric hybrid buses to its fleet. The transit agency is planning to purchase 40 new diesel buses at a cost of $330,000 each with support from the Federal Transit Agency. The purchase of three hybrids at a premium of $200,000 per bus will require SORTA to obtain additional financial support. SORTA officials are exploring environmental and energy federal grants as well as corporate sponsorship as potential options to finance the differential.
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| Utility Company Adds Hybrid Truck to Fleet ComEd,
an electric company servicing
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| CARB to Hold Biodiesel Work Group Meeting The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will hold the second public meeting of the biodiesel workgroup to discuss biodiesel fuel issues related to air quality. The meeting will address several issues including feedstock estimates, emission evaluations and a discussion on recent studies on emissions. CARB has yet to verify biodiesel under its Interim Verification Procedure for Emission Reductions for Alternative Diesel Fuels. As a result, biodiesel is not recognized as an emissions reduction strategy and can only be used in conjunction with other emission reduction strategies to comply with CARB’s purchasing requirements for public fleets. A CARB official indicated that the verification of biodiesel is likely to take place in 2005. June
08, 2005, 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
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Available Funding Opportunities State
Collaborative Offers $4.95 Million for Efficiency, Distributed Energy More
details on this solicitation available at:
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| Texas and Chicago Clean Up School Buses Laredo
Independent School District, in partnership with the
Texas State Energy Conservation Office, will undertake the retrofit
of 73 school buses and purchase five new clean diesel buses in an
effort to clean up the District’s school bus fleet. The District
plans to retrofit 50 school buses with particulate matter filters
in 2005 and the remaining buses in 2006.The project is funded by a
$555,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)
Clean School Bus Program. In
More
information on the Laredo School Bus Initiative available at: More
information on the
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| Maryland Students Make Fuel from Waste Students at the
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The
California Air Resources Board (CARB) adopted the nation’s most
stringent health-based standard for 8-hour ozone on April 28, 2005.
The revision strengthens
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| Senate Passes Transportation Bill The Senate
overwhelmingly approved a $295 billion surface transportation bill,
the Safe Accountable, Flexible
and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 (SAFETEA), 89-11,
on May 17, 2005. During floor debate several amendments were offered,
including efforts to increase funding for the bill, inclusion of
a clean school bus program, and increased emphasis on public health
in the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ)
Program. An amendment offered
by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and
Minority Ranking Member Max Baucus (D-MT) to increase funding by
$11 billion from $284 billion was agreed to easily 76-22. However,
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) attempted to negate the Grassley-Baucus funding
amendment by offering an amendment to cut public transit levels
by $5.0 billion and CMAQ funds by $4.0 billion.
In response, EESI and others sent out an action alert.
Thanks to the quick action of members of the EESI network
and other coalitions, the Sessions amendment was defeated emphatically
84-16. A
total of 30 Senate conferees were appointed including James
Inhofe (R-OK), John Warner (R-VA), Kit Bond (R-MO), George Voinovich
(R-OH), Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), John Thune
(R-SD), Jim DeMint (R-SC), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), David Vitter
(R-LA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Richard Shelby
(R-AL), Wayne Allard (R-CO), Ted Stevens (R-AK), Trent Lott (R-MS),
Jim Jeffords (I-VT), Max Baucus (D-MT), Joe Lieberman (D-CT),
Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Tom Carper (D-DE), Hilary Clinton (D-NY),
Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Barack Obama (D-IL), Kent Conrad (D-ND),
Daniel Inouye (D-HI), Jay Rockefeller (D-WVA), Paul Sarbanes (D-MD),
Jack Reed (D-RI), and Tim Johnson (D-SD). House Budget
Committee : Jim Nussle (R-IA), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and John
Spratt (D-SC), House Ways and
Means Committee: Bill Thomas (R-CA), Jim McCrery (R-LA) and
Charles Rangel (D-NY) House Science
Committee:
Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Bart Gordon (D-TN) House Rules
Committee: David Dreier (R-CA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WVA) and
Jim McGovern (D-MA) House Resources
Committee : Richard Pombo (R-CA), Greg Waldon (R-OR) and Ron
Kind (D-WI) House Judiciary
Committee: James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Lamar Smith (R-TX) and
John Conyers (D-MI) House Government
Reform Committee: Tom Davis (R-VA), Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Todd
Platts (R-PA) House Energy and
Commerce Committee: Joe Barton (R-TX), Charles Pickering (R-MS)
and John Dingell (D-MI) House Education
and the Workforce Committee: John Kline (R-MN), Ric Keller
(R-FL) and John Barrow (D-GA). Homeland Security:
Christopher Cox (R-CA), Dan Lungren (R-CA) and Bennie Thompson
(D-MS) Text
of the SAFETEA legislation is available at:
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| Senator Hatch Reintroduces CLEAR Act The CLEAR (Clean Efficient Automobiles Resulting from Advanced Car Technologies) Act was reintroduced by Senators Orrin Hatch (R-UT) on April 28, 2005. The bill which is co-sponsored by Senators Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Susan Collins (R-ME), John Ensign (NV), Joe Lieberman (D-CT), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Jim Jeffords (I-VT), John Rockefeller IV (D-WV) Olympia Snowe (R-ME) provides
tax incentives for the use of alternative fuels and technologies
in automobiles. The bill will also extend tax credits to benefit
alternative fueling infrastructure. This is the third time that
the legislation has been introduced after being scuttled with the
defeat of previous Energy bills. Some of the key tax incentives offered by
the CLEAR Act include: Fuel
Cell Vehicles - $4000 base credit for the purchase of a fuel
cell vehicle. An additional credit up to $4000 will also be offered
based on fuel economy. These credits will extend for ten years. Hybrid-electric
Vehicles - Up to $1,000 credit on hybrid-electric
vehicles depending on the amount of electric drive power, with additional
credits of up to $3,000 based on fuel economy performance. These
credits will be offered for six years. Dedicated
Alternative Fuel Vehicles – Base credit of up to $2500, with
additional credits for vehicles certified as Super Ultra Low Emission
(SULEV). Eligible alternative fuels include compressed natural gas
(CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG),
hydrogen, and methanol. Mixed
Fuel Vehicles – Vehicles
using mixed fuels (combination of alternative and petroleum fuels)
are eligible for partial credit if the percentage of petroleum fuel
does not exceed 25 percent. For example, a vehicle using a combination
of 75 percent alternative fuel and 25 percent petroleum fuel, is
eligible for 70 percent of the credit offered to dedicated alternative
fuel vehicles. Alternative
Fuel Incentives - A
credit of 50 cents is provided for every gallon of gas equivalent
use of LPG, CNG, LNG, hydrogen, ethanol and methanol. The credit will
be available to retail distributors for a period of six years. Medium
and Heavy Duty Vehicles – The CLEAR Act also offers credits
based on weight category for medium and heavy duty vehicles including
trucks and buses. Vehicles
over 26,000 pounds are eligible for credit up to $40,000 for use of fuel
cells or battery electric technology, $32,000 for use of alternative
fuels and up to $24,000 for hybrid vehicles. The CLEAR Act is expected
to be offered in conjunction with the Energy Bill which was
reported out by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on
May 26, by a vote of 26-1. Floor action is scheduled for June.
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Upcoming
EESI Briefing
For
more information on this briefing, go to:
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| EPA
Idling Law Workshops Announced http://www.epa.gov/otaq/smartway/idle-state.htm
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Climate
Change: A Transportation Planning Approach to Reducing Greenhouse
Gases To
register for this workshop, go to:
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| Freight
Solutions Dialogue: Climate Protection and Clean Air Through Efficient
Goods Movement |
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| EESI’s National Clean Bus Project is eager to learn about your clean bus fleet. If you are in the process of procurement, or if you already operate buses that produce fewer emissions and consume less fuel than conventional diesel buses, let us know if we haven’t heard – and told -- your story! Provide (1) the name of your organization and primary contact person; (2) type of bus engine, fuel, and other emission control devices used; (3) number of buses; (4) funding sources; (5) costs and benefits; (6) and lessons learned. We’ll post this information on our website and include it in future editions of the Clean Bus Update! Send this information to Shefali Ranganathan at sranganathan@eesi.org or call 202-662-1883. More information can be mailed to 122 C St., NW, Suite 630, Washington, DC 20001. | |
| The Clean Bus Update is a monthly periodical providing an overview of current program and policy activities related to the deployment of low-polluting, energy-efficient buses in the United States. Topics include technology developments, clean vehicle deployment, energy consumption, the environment, government policy, and public health. The National Clean Bus Network is an informal coalition of public and private sector organizations working to increase the use of cleaner bus technologies and fuels. The National Clean Bus Network is a free resource to all clean bus stakeholders. If there are issues we are missing and you think we should cover, please let us know. | |
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