Projects
South Coast Air Quality Management District Grant For a Heavy-Duty Natural Gas Drayage Truck Replacement Program in the South Coast Air Basin
With the help of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will replace 180 old existing diesel-fueled trucks with versions powered by cleaner-burning liquid natural gas (LNG).
The 180 trucks are owned and operated by individuals and companies currently performing drayage at the two ports. The average heavy-duty vehicle at the port facilities is 12 years old and travels approximately 67,000 miles every year of its lifetime. Without this project, these drayage trucks would continue operating in the greater Los Angeles area for many more years before they must be retired under fleet rules set by the California Air Resources Board.
The LNG-fueled replacement trucks will routinely perform the same drayage service in South Coast Air Basin communities highly impacted by poor air quality. The trucks will make daily trips between the ports and intermodal distribution facilities, traveling along major goods movement routes that include I-710 and I-110. Both of these interstate highways are regional priorities for mitigation of heavy-duty truck emissions.
The LNG-powered replacements will be similar to the trucks they replace with regard to type, gross vehicle weight rating, annual vehicle-miles traveled, and drayage function. They will be either Freightliners or Kenworths and will be equipped with commercially available Cummins-Westport or Westport natural gas engines, which are certified by the US EPA and CARB, and meet the applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
Grant Amount
$5,142,000 from the Energy Commission, with an additional $9,408,389 in ARRA stumulus funding from the federal government.
Match Funding
$19,440,000 from the project's participants.
Total project cost:
$33,990,389
Project Participants
The South Coast Air Quality Management District is the air pollution control agency responsible for monitoring and regulating air pollution in the South Coast Air Basin, and the Riverside County portions of the Salton Sea Air Basin and Mojave Desert Air Basin. SCAQMD's jurisdiction is the second most populous urban area in the United States and covers approximately 11,000 square miles with about 16 million inhabitants.
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is one of the nation's largest metropolitan planning organizations, representing six counties, 189 cities and more than 19 million residents. SCAG's mission is to undertake planning and policy initiatives that encourage a more sustainable Southern California.
The Clean Cities Coalition is part of the US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program. A network of volunteer coalitions, Clean Cities supports local decisions to reduce petroleum consumption. It develops public and private partnerships to promote alternative and renewable fuels, fuel economy measures, idle reduction technologies, and newly emerging technologies.
Project Benefits
By replacing 180 existing diesel trucks with cleaner LNG-burning ones, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will displace an estimated 8,200 gallons of diesel per truck each year; that amounts to nearly 1.5 million gallons of diesel fuel saved annually. Assuming that each replacement truck is driven 112 miles daily, 5 days a week, the change out will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 168 tons of CO2 each year. The project will also reduce pollution from carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, Nitrogen Oxide and PM 2.5.
In the first two years, the project is expected to create 152 US jobs for alternative-fueled vehicle manufacturers, vehicle dealerships, truck operators, mechanics, and trainers who will teach how to maintain and operate the heavy-duty vehicles. A variety of businesses will be supported by the project-businesses located in many of Southern California's Enterprise Zones, including the Los Angeles Harbor area, the Central City, the Mid-Alameda Corridor, the Northeast Valley, the San Bernardino and Riverside areas, and Long Beach.
Grant Agreement Number: ARV-09-002