LOS ANGELES, March 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) today announced the company's latest efforts to help California fleets obtain funding for the purchase of new near-zero emissions heavy-duty natural gas trucks. Beginning March 5, fleets operating within the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) are eligible to apply for incentive funding to replace diesel trucks with new near-zero emissions natural gas trucks through the Carl Moyer Program. Fleet owners whose applications are accepted will receive up to $100,000 towards the purchase of the new trucks. The program grant is competitive, which means funds are distributed on a rolling basis until all money is awarded. According to the SCAQMD, almost 8,000 tons of NOx (smog-forming emissions) and more than 232 tons of particulate matter have been reduced each year with the air district as the result of the Carl Moyer Program.
Last year, the Carl Moyer Program was expanded to include infrastructure projects such as fueling and charging stations and SoCalGas representatives are available to assist with applications for compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations in addition to applications for new trucks. In 2018, SoCalGas customers received more than $1.4 million to build three new CNG stations thanks to the Carl Moyer Program. The expansion of CNG stations across the state is a crucial step in the transition to near-zero natural gas trucks.
SoCalGas customers received funding for 116 new near-zero natural gas trucks through the Carl Moyer Program in 2018. In the last two years customers have received funding to replace more than 250 diesel trucks with grants from all of California's incentive funding programs.
"Incentive programs like the Carl Moyer Program are vital tools to help California reduce emissions and can help the state reach its established climate goals," said Sharon Tomkins, vice president of customers solutions and strategy for SoCalGas. "Studies show that replacing 250 diesel trucks with new, near-zero emissions natural gas trucks is the equivalent of removing more than 13,000 passenger cars from the road."
The transportation sector is responsible for about 40 percent of California's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and more than 80 percent of the state's NOx, or smog-forming, emissions. Transportation is the only sector that saw an increase in GHG emissions in the last year. These new heavy-duty natural gas trucks cut smog-forming emissions by more than 90 percent compared to the cleanest heavy-duty diesel trucks on the road today. When these ultra-low emission natural gas trucks are fueled by renewable natural gas, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by at least 80 percent. Already, close to 70 percent of natural gas fleets in California are fueled with renewable natural gas. SoCalGas recently announced that renewable natural gas will soon be available at its utility-owed fueling stations.
The Cummins-Westport near-zero 12-liter natural gas engine is the only heavy-duty engine in the category to not only meet, but exceed, the California Air Resources Board's cleanest optional low-NOx standard of 0.02 g/bhp-hr. Results from a recent study conducted by the University of California, Riverside helps to understand one reason replacing these diesel trucks is so important. The study showed that NOx emissions from diesel trucks are "actually much higher" than California Air Resources Board certification standards. The study cited poor performance of after treatment systems for diesel vehicles as the main reason.
About SoCalGas
Headquartered in Los Angeles, SoCalGas® is the largest natural gas distribution utility in the United States. SoCalGas delivers affordable, reliable, clean and increasingly renewable natural gas service to 21.8 million customers across 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California, where more than 90 percent of residents use natural gas for heating, hot water, cooking, drying clothes or other uses. Natural gas delivered through the company's pipelines also plays a key role in providing electricity to Californians—about 60 percent of electric power generated in the state comes from gas-fired power plants.
SoCalGas is committed to investing in its natural gas system infrastructure, while keeping bills affordable for our customers. From 2013 through 2017, the company spent nearly $6 billion to upgrade and modernize its natural gas system to enhance safety and reliability. The company is also committed to being a leader in the region's clean energy future, and is working to accelerate the use of renewable natural gas from dairy farms, landfills and wastewater treatment plants and the development of renewable energy storage technologies. SoCalGas is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), an energy services holding company based in San Diego. For more information visit socalgas.com/newsroom or connect with SoCalGas on Twitter (@SoCalGas), Instagram (@SoCalGas) and Facebook.
SOURCE Southern California Gas Company
