Diesel Technology Grants Announced; Forum Urges DERA Reauthorization
Five recipients will share $5.6 million in awards for emerging technology projects to help reduce diesel emissions.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the recipients:
- City of Los Angeles Harbor Department for $731,000 for a hybrid crane with a small diesel generator combined with a battery to be used at ports.
- California Air Resources Board for nearly $1.2 million for a NOx-reducing device for locomotive engines.
- University of Houston for $1 million for NOx-reducing technologies installed on school buses.
- Puget Sound Clean Air Agency for nearly $1.2 million to use a seawater scrubber, which removes pollution from large ship engines.
- South Coast Air Quality Management District for $1.5 million for an exhaust capturing mechanism used on a variety of ships while at port.
The Diesel Technology Forum (DTF), the leading advocate for the advancement of clean diesel technologies, applauded the awards.
Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the DTF, said, “With the upcoming announcement by EPA of new clean air standards for ozone, additional and emerging solutions for reducing these emissions will be of even greater importance. More than 600 counties throughout the nation face the distinct possibility of being in violation of the new air standards.
“Investments in emerging technologies and research like those named today are a vitally important part of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA). They spur innovation and investigation into new approaches to reduce emissions from existing engines," Schaeffer added.
EPA estimates that there is a $13 economic and environmental benefit for every $1 spent on upgrading and modernizing diesel equipment.
Nationally, DERA is supported by more than 150 environmental and public health organizations, industry representatives, and state and local government associations including the American Lung Association and National Association of Clean Air Agencies.
“We are urging Congress to reauthorize the DERA program this year,” Schaeffer said. “There is still too much to be accomplished for our air quality to allow such a successful program to come to an end before we have completed our mission.”
DERA was created in 2005 to improve air quality, particularly in those counties that are in non-attainment with EPA’s particulate matter and ozone standards. Since then, DERA has provided funding for clean air projects in every state in the nation to assist in meeting federal air standards. By applying new emissions control devices, repowering with newer engines, or other approaches, emissions of existing diesel engines can be cut by 25-90 percent.
The EPA will be announcing a total of $120 million in clean diesel grants throughout this summer.
The Diesel Technology Forum is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting clean diesel technologies. Forum members include engine and vehicle manufacturers, diesel fuel refiners, and manufacturers of emissions control devices.