The Greater Houston Natural Gas Vehicle Alliance, Centerpoint Energy and the NGVAmerica, are looking for natural gas vehicles and operators from Texas and Louisiana.

On Thursday, June 8, 2017, the first NGV Road Rally: Texas Style will be held from 10 am to 1 pm at Houston Distributing, 7155 High Life Drive, Houston, Texas 77066.

After an awards’ ceremony and catered lunch, NGV drivers will leave Houston and travel to Conway, Arkansas, where they will join the NGVAmerica Road Rally on their way to Washington, D.C.

If you would like to sign up as a driver for the NGV Road Rally: Texas Style or if you would like more information, please contact Susan Shifflett at 979/270-2045 or email me at president@houstonngvalliance.org.

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.

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.

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.

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 (NO_X) 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).

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.

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.

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.

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.