The California Air Resources Board, or CARB, announced this past summer that it has secured $125 million for discounts on zero-emissions equipment. The funds come from the Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project, or CORE, and they’re for point-of-sale discounts on purchases of zero-emissions equipment and vehicles. While they may be vital tools in reducing the shipping industry’s considerable carbon footprint, these vehicles and equipment have comparatively high upfront costs. These discounts can help.
California shipping
If California were a sovereign nation, its economy would be the fifth largest in the world. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are the largest and second-largest, respectively, in the United States by container volume, and 17th and 22nd largest in the whole world. As such, California plays a huge role in global shipping, so this move to lessen their climate impact is a significant one.
The clean transportation nonprofit organization Calstart administers the discounts. The project has more than double the amount allocated when it launched in January 2020. Some of the qualified zero-emission equipment that the program covers include:
- Agricultural equipment
- Airport ground-support equipment
- Commercial harbor craft
- Construction equipment
- Large forklifts and cargo-handling equipment
- Mobile power units
- On- and off-road terminal tractors
- Railcar movers and switcher locomotives
- Truck- and trailer-mounted transport refrigeration units
Zero-emissions equipment
Purchasers of zero-emissions equipment are entitled to receive up to $500,000 per vehicle or piece of equipment at the point of sale. Charging or refueling infrastructure and zero-emission equipment that is operated in disadvantaged communities could qualify for further funding. The program doesn’t require buyers to sell or scrap their existing equipment.
CORE is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide initiative that uses billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. During the first round of CORE, participants claimed over 460 vouchers for vehicles. Furthermore, electric vehicle supply equipment worth a total of more than $62 million was logged in the initial round.
The most requested equipment type was terminal tractors. These tractors are particularly well-suited to operate as electric vehicles. This is because they can return to the charging station at any time, so there’s no range anxiety.
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