For Release: Press Contact: MK Campbell, CALSTART
December 22, 2009 mkcampbell@calstart.org
626/744-5602
Web Will Be Portal to Request $20 Million in Incentives Available in 2010 for Heavy-Duty Hybrids
Dealer Training, Online Web Applications to Make Process Easy
Pasadena, Calif. – A ground-breaking California project designed to spur the purchase and use of medium- and heavy-duty hybrids has officially launched with the unveiling of its informational website:
www.californiahvip.org.
Californiahvip.org supports the California Hybrid Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP). It will provide all HVIP details and requirements, and be the electronic portal used in 2010 to request vouchers that help pay for advanced, clean hybrid trucks and buses.
HVIP is managed by CALSTART and sponsored by the California Air Resources Board (ARB). As part of the launch, CALSTART also announced that special HVIP training sessions for truck dealers and fleets will commence in January. The training will help dealers and fleets prepare for requesting vouchers. Details are on the
website.
ARB created the nearly $20 million HVIP to speed the market introduction of low-emitting hybrid trucks and buses by reducing the up-front cost of these vehicles for fleets that purchase and operate them in California. The HVIP voucher is intended to reduce about half the incremental cost of purchasing hybrid heavy-duty trucks and buses.
The vouchers will be available starting at the end of January 2010 on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified dealers and their fleet customers. To qualify, dealers must successfully complete training and sign the Terms and Conditions. The vouchers will range from $10,000 to $45,000 and each fleet is limited to a maximum of 100 vouchers.
Training Schedule (found at
www.californiahvip.org)
• Jan 5, 2010 10am – 12pm. Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District
• Jan 6, 2010 2:30pm – 4:30pm. Bay Area Air Quality Management District
• Jan 13, 2010 1:30pm - 3pm. San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
• Jan 14, 2010 11am – 12pm. South Coast Air Quality Management District
Hybrid trucks and buses have been shown in testing to reduce both greenhouse gases and fuel use by 20-50 percent, depending on the vehicle and its application. Some hybrids are showing even greater reductions, especially when combining reductions from turning off the engine at work sites and at stops, incorporating advanced designs, and including low-carbon fuels.
“HVIP is an exciting project that could lead to the introduction of as many as 800 hybrid trucks and buses on California’s roads, a nearly 50 percent increase in volume for these vehicles in the early market,” said John Boesel, President and CEO of CALSTART, which is implementing the project on ARB’s behalf after winning a competitive grant solicitation. “We hope HVIP becomes a model for how to spur the faster adoption of clean, low-carbon vehicles nationwide.”
About the California Air Resources Board
The
Air Resources Board is a department of the California Environmental Protection Agency. ARB's mission is to promote and protect public health, welfare, and ecological resources through effective reduction of air pollutants while recognizing and considering effects on the economy. The ARB oversees all air pollution control efforts in California to attain and maintain health based air quality standards.
About CALSTART
HVIP is one of several projects operated by CALSTART, North America’s leading clean transportation technologies and solutions consortium. One key focus area for CALSTART has been the market introduction of clean, low-carbon solutions in medium and heavy-duty vehicles. CALSTART is a member-supported organization of more than 140 firms, fleets and agencies worldwide dedicated to supporting a growing high-tech, clean transportation industry that cleans the air, creates jobs, cuts imported oil and reduces global warming emissions. Visit
www.calstart.org.
--30--