The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) aims to upgrade 400 trucks traveling along the West Coast's Interstate-5 corridor with fuel-saving and pollution-reduction technologies through a partnership with the US Department of Transportation (DOT), Oregon's DOT, and Cascade Sierra Solutions.
The partnership will make EPA's SmartWay upgrade kits available for long-haul trucks. The kits package together a variety of fuel and emissions-saving technologies and typically consist of engine idle reduction technology, low rolling resistance tires, improved aerodynamics and exhaust after-treatment devices.
Because of the fuel savings, upfront capital costs of SmartWay kits are generally paid back within one to three years. In addition to the short payback period, if a loan is needed to purchase an upgrade kit, the monthly fuel savings exceed the monthly loan payments, thus increasing profits from the first day companies use the kits, EPA said.
For more information, contact Roxanne Smith at 202-564-4355 or e-mail her at [email protected].