Clean Diesel Funding Announcement Applauded By Diesel Technology Forum
The Environmental Protection Agency's announcement in mid-October that it was awarding $30 million for clean diesel projects is, according to Allen Schaeffer, the Executive Director of the Diesel Technology Forum, another important step in reducing emissions primarily through the use of clean diesel technology.
The funding for the Diesel Emission Reduction Program (DERA) and State Clean Diesel Grant Program propose to to replace, retrofit, or repower older diesel-powered engines like marine vessels, locomotives, trucks, and buses.
Schaeffer noted that DERA is one of the few environmental programs that has sustained strong support from both Republican and Democrats in Washington, D.C. and state capitals throughout the nation.
"There are an estimated 11 million existing older diesel engines and equipment that do not have the most recent clean diesel technology which has reduced emissions by 97 percent. The U.S. needs a two-fold approach based on a solid economic plan that gets the nation's contractors and truckers to invest in the new generation of the cleanest and most fuel efficient diesel engines ever made.
"Second, we need a fully-funded DERA program that provides assistance to owners of existing engines and equipment that still have productive value but would benefit from modernizing and upgrading. The new clean diesel engines and ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel have dramatically reduced emissions and helped improve air quality throughout the country," Schaeffer said. "But it's vital that we use this new technology to help clean up the older diesel engines still in use."