Eligible EVgo customers in Texas markets of Austin, Houston, and Dallas/Fort Worth can save $10,000 off MSRP4 on a new 2017 Nissan LEAF!

In partnership with EVgo Nissan has expanded the Dallas Fort Worth LEAF $10,000 discount to include Austin and Houston.   Only Nissan dealerships in these 3 cities can extend the offer to only EVgo customers in these 3 cities.

As part of their efforts to accelerate clean transportation alternatives in Texas, EVgo is partnering with Nissan North America to offer eligible customers a special rebate on the purchase of a new 2017 Nissan LEAF electric vehicle. This limited time offer expires 6/30/2017.

See your local participating Texas Nissan Dealer for complete details at: https://www.nissanusa.com/nissandealers/location.

California Study Shows Economic Benefit of Renewable Natural Gas

A new jobs study reveals that deploying trucks fueled by renewable natural gas could create up to 130,000 new jobs and add $14 billion to California’s economy. The ‘RNG Jobs Report’ examines the economic potential of fueling heavy-duty trucks with renewable natural gas produced in California, instead of being powered by petroleum-based diesel. The study was released jointly today by the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG Coalition) and the California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition (CNGVC) at the Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) Expo, the nation’s largest alternative, clean-fleet trade show.

A switch to renewable natural gas trucks could quickly help California achieve its air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, and climate change-related goals, the two coalitions say.  More than 95 percent of the trucks on California roads currently use petroleum-based diesel fuel and are a major source of particulate, nitrogen oxide (NOx) and GHG emissions. In Southern California, the heavy-duty trucking sector is the single largest source of NOx emissions, which combine with other pollutants to form both ground-level ozone and fine particulates, also known as PM2.5. Those pollutants are responsible for a wide range of health impacts from exacerbating  asthma to premature deaths. In fact, the ports and related goods-movement activity emit more than 35 percent of all smog-forming pollutants in the region.

The full study is available here.

2017 West Coast-to-East Coast NGV Road Rally – First Texas Spur!

On June 8, the NGVAmerica NGV Road Rally will kick off its First ever Texas spur!

Held in conjunction with the Greater Houston Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance’s meeting, NGVs will depart from Houston en route to Conway, AR, where we will hook into the main NGVAmerica road rally on June 9.

We are looking for drivers and NGV’s! More details will follow, but here are the basics:

Location: Houston Distributing, 7100 High Life Drive, Houston, TX
Date: Thursday, June 8
Time: 10 am to 12 pm

Perks: Media and Free Gas in Houston

For more information, please visit: http://www.ngvamerica.org/2017rally/ or contact Susan Shifflett at 979/270-2045 or susan@s3-services.com.

TERP Grants for Drayage Trucks and Equipment Still Available!

Up to $4 million in grants available for qualifying applicants on a first-come, first-served basis.

Deadline: 5:00 p.m., Friday, May 26, 2017, or until all funds are awarded.

The TCEQ Texas Emission Reduction Plan (TERP) Program is still accepting grant applications for the Drayage Truck Incentive Program (DTIP). The grants encourage individuals, businesses, governments, and other entities operating at eligible seaports and Class I rail yards located in the state’s air quality nonattainment areas to replace their on-road vehicles, non-road yard trucks, or other cargo handling equipment.

Applicants may be eligible for funding if, for at least two years preceding the submission date of the application, the applicant has:

  • Owned or leased the on-road vehicle, non-road yard truck, or other cargo handling equipment eligible to be replaced under the program; and
  • Operated the vehicle or equipment at one or more of the designated seaports or rail yards for a minimum of 200 visits or days of operation per year for the preceding two years. Designated seaports and railyards include terminals and facilities located at the Port of Houston, Port of Galveston, Port of Freeport, Dallas-Fort Worth area, El Paso area, and participating facilities of the Houston Ship Channel Security District. A list of designated seaports and railyards will be available on the web at www.terpgrants.org.

Up to 80% of the cost to replace eligible vehicles or equipment may be awarded to activities that will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOX) and other pollutants, including particulate matter (PM), at these facilities and in the nonattainment areas and other affected counties.

Grant applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until the earlier of 5:00 p.m., Friday, May 26, 2017, or until all available funds have been awarded. For detailed information on how to apply, and for access to DTIP grant application forms, go to: https://www.tceq.texas.gov/airquality/terp/drayage-truck-incentive-program-dtip, or call toll-free at 1-800-919-TERP (8377).

Interactive Alternative Fuel Finder (IAFF)

H-GAC introduces the Interactive Alternative Fuel Finder (IAFF) a new tool to help existing alternative fuel users find refueling stations for any alternative fuel type. It shows up-to-date filling locations along with additional information such as contact information, opening hours, and payment options. Additionally, this tool can also help alternative fuel users and providers locate the need for future stations using market and regional fleet location data. By combining this information, it will be possible to examine the existing supply of a particular alternative fuel and combine that with information about where local fleets reside and the location of local warehouse and other freight facilities to better understand both supply and demand within the HGB region.

This tool can be found and explored at iaff.h-gac.com.

AFV Summit at Earth Day Texas

Panel Discussions and Vehicle Displays

Thursday, April 20, 2017 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (CDT)
Fair Park
Dallas, TX 75210
Register

During the AFV Summit at Earth Day Texas three panels of experts will discuss clean transportation choices using fuels produced in the United States, which will drive growth in the economy and help make the EARTH a cleaner, healthier, and more prosperous place to live for generations to come.

Gaseous Fuels – Fuel Extracted in the United States
Biofuels – Fuel Grown in the United States
Electric Drive – Fuel Generated in the United States

AFV Summit Agenda

  • Welcome and Introductions – 10:00 a.m. – 10:15 a.m.
  • Opening Keynote Speaker – 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
  • Gaseous Fuels (Natural Gas and Propane Autogas) – 10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
  • Lunch (provided) – 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
  • Biofuels (Biodiesel and Ethanol) – 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
  • Break – 2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
  • Electric Drive Vehicles – 2:45 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
  • Fleets for the Future Procurement Kickoff – Opportunities for Group Discounts on Alternative Fuel Vehicles – 4:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
  • Closing Comments – 5:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

An estimated fifty AFVs will be on display outside of the Summit.
Summit attendees will be able to view and ask questions about the vehicles.

Summit attendees are also invited to the National AFV Day Odyssey Kickoff Event
at 8:30 a.m. outside of the Cotton Bowl.

Texas Natural Gas Vehicle Grant Program

This program is intended to encourage entities who currently operate on-road heavy-duty or medium-duty vehicles in Texas to replace the vehicles with natural gas vehicles or repower the vehicles with natural gas engines. Grant awards will provide reimbursement up to 90% of the incremental cost for the replacement or repowering of an existing diesel or gasoline vehicle or engine with a natural gas vehicle or engine. Eligible entities include individuals, corporations, organizations, governments, or governmental subdivisions or agencies, business trusts, partnerships, associations or any other legal entity.

Deadline for applications is May 26, 2017 on a first come, first served basis.

Click HERE for more information.

TCEQ Anncounces Drayage Truck Incentive Program

Drayage Truck Incentive Program (DTIP)

This program is aimed at reducing NOx, PM, and other pollutants at seaports and rail yards in Texas nonattainment areas. Those receiving financial incentives will replace high NOx and PM emitting vehicles and equipment with newer, lower-emitting vehicles and equipment. Certain seaport terminals (including the Ports of Houston and Galveston, in the Houston Advance area) and Class I intermodal rail yards (including one in El Paso and six in Houston), along with other participating facilities in the Houston Ship Channel Security District are eligible to apply. Grant awards may reimburse up to 80% of the eligible incremental costs of a replacement project or the default grant amount set for that type of activity, whichever is less.

Deadline for applications is May 26, 2017 on a first come, first served basis.

Click HERE for more information.

Propane Council of Texas Offers Incentives for Public Fleets to Go Green

Public fleets can now take advantage of incentives to help lower their carbon footprint in their communities. The Propane Council of Texas, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on clean-burning, domestically-produced propane is offering funding for Texas public fleets to switch to the greener alternative.

Since 2010, the Council has offered incentives for businesses to power their vehicles with propane autogas and has now expanded funding to public fleets, including city, county, law enforcement and school white fleet for 2017.

The Propane Council of Texas offers incentives up to $7,500 per vehicle for fleets statewide for the purchase of new, dedicated original equipment manufacturer (OEM) propane autogas vehicles as well as conversions to propane. The program has a perpetual cap of $30,000 per fleet.

Visit www.procot.org and www.fuelingtexas.com for more information about the benefits of propane autogas and incentives including funding availability.

DOE Vehicle Technologies Office Issues Program-Wide Funding Opportunity Announcement

On December 15, 2016, the U.S. DOE Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) issued a Fiscal Year 2017 Program-Wide Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to support research and development of advanced vehicle technologies, including batteries, lightweight materials, and advanced combustion engines, as well as innovative technologies for energy efficient mobility. Investments in advanced, energy efficient transportation technologies and systems will improve our nation’s energy security, support energy independence, reduce transportation emissions, and strengthen U.S. economic competitiveness.

The funding opportunity seeks projects in four areas of interest that apply to light, medium, and heavy-duty on-road vehicles, energy efficient mobility, and transportation infrastructure systems:

  1. Battery500 Seedling Projects – This topic seeks proof-of-concept, or seedling projects, that complement the VTO Battery500 Consortium’s research to more than double the specific energy (to 500 watt-hours per kilogram) of lithium battery technologies which will result in smaller, lighter weight, less expensive battery packs, and more affordable electric vehicles.
  2. Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) Development of Low Cost Carbon Fiber for Lightweight Materials – This topic seeks to develop low-cost carbon fiber while advancing ICME techniques to accelerate the development-to deployment lead time in all lightweight materials systems.
  3. Emission Control Strategies for Advanced Combustion Engines – This topic aims to develop and demonstrate catalyst materials and after-treatment strategies that enable vehicles with advanced combustion engines to significantly improve fuel economy while meeting near-zero emissions standards.
  4. Energy Efficient Mobility Systems Research and Development – This topic seeks to support proof-of-concept research to develop concepts that support future transportation scenarios that maximize the energy efficiency of people and/or goods movement.

Prospective applicants are encouraged to review the Notice of Intent or the full FOA posted to EERE Exchange to learn about steps that can be taken to prepare for applying to the potential FOA. Information is also available on Grants.gov.