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EPA Awards $200,000 for Program to Reduce Pollution from Ground Freight Carriers
Release Date: 02/07/2003
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(02/07/03) EPA has awarded a $200,000 grant to the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) under the Agency’s newly announced SmartWaySM Transport program designed to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from ground freight carriers such as trucks and locomotives. The EPA grant to EPRI will go towards supporting reductions in long-duration idling on trucks. Truck drivers idle their engines while they rest to provide heat, air conditioning, or to supply electric power to run appliances such as a microwave. Idling the main engine to provide for these needs consumes significant amounts of fuel and pollutes the air. In fact, each year the trucking industry consumes over one billion gallons of diesel fuel from idling and produces over 11 million tons of carbon dioxide and 150,000 tons of nitrogen oxides. By installing the idle reduction technologies, truck drivers will be able to turn off their main engine and operate these components through either the auxiliary battery or by plugging into any 120 volt outlet, which is about a 90 percent energy savings. Participating fleets and EPRI will track the fuel and maintenance savings associated with this idle reduction technology. The participating fleets will then be required to re-invest all the savings into the purchase of additional idle reduction technologies. For additional information about the SmartWay program, see:
https://www.epa.gov/otaq/smartway/index.htm.
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