UPS Makes 3-year, $450M Commitment to Expand Natural Gas Fleet

UPS continues to bank on alternative fuels being the future of its fleets, announcing plans to purchase more than 6,000 natural gas-powered trucks between 2020 and 2022.

United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) said Monday the three-year commitment represents a $450 million investment in expanding the company’s alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicle fleet, as well as supporting infrastructure.

As part of the move, UPS said it entered into an exclusive agreement with Agility Fuel Systems, a subsidiary of Norway-based Hexagon Composites, to purchase compressed natural gas (CNG) fuel systems for a combination of heavy- and medium-duty trucks and terminal tractors.

UPS said the deal builds on previous CNG investments: $130 million in 2018, $90 million in 2017 and $100 million in 2016. It also complements the Atlanta-based logistic giant’s May 2019 commitment to purchase 170 million-gallon equivalents of renewable natural gas (RNG) from Clean Energy Fuels Corp through 2025.

Vehicles equipped with CNG fuel systems can interchangeably use RNG and conventional natural gas. RNG is produced from landfills, dairy farms and other bio sources, yielding up to a 90% reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions when compared to conventional diesel, according to UPS.

Over the past decade, UPS says it’s invested more than $1 billion in alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles and fueling stations to help meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 12% across its global ground operations by 2025.

Since 2016, Agility Fuel Solutions provided natural gas fuel storage and delivery systems to more than 1,700 UPS trucks. Under the new agreement, Agility builds end-to-end natural gas systems for heavy-duty gas trucks, terminal tractors and medium-duty walk-in vans, which are UPS’s familiar brown delivery trucks.

UPS said it will deploy the new vehicles on routes utilizing its partnership with TruStar Energy, which is designing, manufacturing and installing five CNG fueling stations in California, Texas and Ohio. UPS said that by the end of 2019 it will be operating 61 natural gas fueling stations strategically located across the U.S., and outside the U.S. in Vancouver, Canada, and Tamworth, United Kingdom.

UPS says it deploys more than 10,000 low-emission vehicles that can vary from all-electric, hybrid electric, hydraulic hybrid, ethanol, CNG, liquefied natural gas and propane.

EPA Requests Applications for Grants to Help Reduce Diesel Emissions from School Buses

WASHINGTON (September 30, 2019) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of approximately $10 million in rebates to public school bus fleet owners to help them replace older school buses. Upgrading buses with older engines reduces diesel emissions and improves air quality. Tomorrow marks the start of Children’s Health Month, and today’s announcement is an important part of the agency’s commitment to protecting children’s health and their future.

“Children’s health is a top priority for EPA, and these grants will help provide cleaner air and a safer, more reliable ride to and from school for America’s children,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “This DERA funding reflects our broader children’s health agenda and commitment to ensure all children can live, learn, and play in healthy and clean environments.”

EPA standards for new diesel engines can make them more than 90% cleaner than older ones, but many older diesel engines still in operation predate these standards. Older diesel engines emit large quantities of pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which have been linked to serious health problems such as aggravated asthma and lung damage.

EPA will accept applications from Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, to Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019.

This is the seventh rebate program to fund cleaner school buses offered under Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) appropriations. Nearly 30,000 buses across the country have already been made cleaner as a result of DERA funding.

To learn more about the rebate program, applicant eligibility, selection process and informational webinar dates, visit: www.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-rebates.

Questions about applying may be directed to: CleanDiesel@epa.gov.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Opens Refuse Hauler Funding Round

The second round of funding for projects under the Texas Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Program (TxVEMP) to replace or repower refuse vehicles (garbage trucks, roll-off trucks, dump trucks, sweeper trucks, chipper trucks, and grapple trucks) is now open!

Eligible Applicants: Eligible applicants under the TxVEMP must operate vehicles configured to collect and transport municipal solid waste (refuse vehicles at least 51% of the vehicle’s annual mileage in one of the Priority Areas.

Refuse vehicles being replaced or repowered must:

be a Class 7 or 8 refuse vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 26,001 lbs.
have a diesel engine with a model year of 1992-2009;
be considered capable of performing its primary function for the next five years;
been continuously inspected and registered in Texas for the two years immediately preceding the application signature date;
been used routinely by the applicant in its primary function in Texas for the two years immediately preceding the application signature date; and
been owned by the applicant for the two years immediately preceding the application signature date.

New refuse vehicles must:

be powered by electricity, diesel, or an alternative fuel;
have an engine model year not more than one year older than the year the application is submitted;
be certified by the EPA or CARB to a NOx emissions standard or family emissions limit (FEL) of 0.2 g/bhp-hr or lower;
be used in the same priority priority area as the refuse vehicle being replaced or repowered; and
be of the same type, weight category, and body and axle configuration as the vehicle being replaced.

Activity Life and Usage Commitment:

The applicant must commit to use the grant-funded vehicle at least 51% of the vehicle’s annual miles of operation in one of the Priority Areas for the duration of the five-year activity life.

Applications will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. on Oct. 8, 2020, or until all funds have been awarded. Copies of the request for grant applications, maximum funding amount tables, and application forms are available at: www.TexasVWFund.org.

Contact TxVEMP staff toll-free at 833-215-8989 with questions regarding the grant application process.