Heavy Duty Vehicles
Emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines are a major source of particulate matter, oxides of nitrogen, and air toxics. Reducing emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines is a high priority for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (Air District) and other air quality agencies. Both the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are adopting regulations to require clean heavy-duty diesel engines. The Air District funds heavy-duty clean air vehicle projects.
Incentives
One of the major ways owners can reduce heavy-duty diesel engine emissions is by acquiring new heavy-duty clean air vehicles or installing retrofit devices on existing heavy-duty diesel engines. The Air District funds a variety of heavy-duty clean air vehicle projects, which are discussed below:
Vehicle Incentive Programs
Transportation Fund for Clean Air (TFCA) Regional Fund and County Program Manager Fund These two grant programs fund two types of heavy-duty vehicle projects:
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Clean Air Vehicle Projects: These projects are for the purchase of new clean air vehicles to replace older vehicles in the project sponsor's fleet. Project sponsors may request no more than the incremental cost of the clean air vehicle, which is the difference in purchase price of the clean air vehicle and its diesel or gasoline counterpart. The engine of the new heavy-duty vehicle must be certified to at least the California Air Resources Board's (CARB) optional reduced emission NOx plus non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) standard for 2010.
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Emission Reductions from Existing Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines: All devices or technologies must be certified/verified by CARB to reduce emissions and be approved by CARB for use with the relevant engine. Eligible technologies include engine repowers (replace the old engine with a new engine), particulate matter (PM) retrofit devices, and fuel additives or substitutes. Note: at this time, no fuel additives or substitutes are verified by CARB to reduce emissions.
Carl Moyer Program
Lower Emission School Bus Program
Additional Information
Heavy-duty vehicle - Vehicles greater than 14,000 pounds gross vehicle weight (GVW)
Bi-fuel - A vehicle that has the ability to operate on gasoline or diesel as their primary fuel. These types of vehicles are NOT eligible for Air District funding
Dual-fuel - Engines that operate on a combination of natural gas and diesel
Natural gas - Natural gas is a mixture of hydrocarbons (mainly methane (CH4)) and is produced either from gas wells or in conjunction with crude oil production. Because of the gaseous nature of this fuel, it must be stored onboard a vehicle in either a compressed gaseous state (CNG) or in a liquefied state (LNG)
Biodiesel - Biodiesel is a cleaner-burning diesel replacement fuel made from natural, renewable sources such as new and used vegetable oils and animal fats. Like petroleum diesel, biodiesel operates in compression-ignition engines. Blends of up to 20% biodiesel (mixed with petroleum diesel fuels) can be used in nearly all diesel equipment and are compatible with most storage and distribution equipment. These low level blends (20% and less) generally don't require any engine modifications and can provide the same payload capacity as diesel. Using biodiesel in a conventional diesel engine substantially reduces emissions.
Additional information on Natural Gas Fueling Infrastructure
Information on natural gas fueling stations is available on the following sites:
California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition
CALSTART
Department of Energy Natural Gas information
California Air Resources Board (CARB)
Additional information on Heavy-Duty Clean Air Vehicles
CARB on-road heavy-duty vehicle information
CARB heavy-duty engine certification information