Eaton Corporation has established a program to assist diesel truck fleet owners in applying for the $156 million in diesel hybrid truck grants available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
Under the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) related Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA), funding is available through ARRA for up to 25 percent of the cost of a new hybrid truck. Fleets can purchase multiple trucks. An existing diesel truck has to be taken out of service for each new hybrid truck purchased.
Dontia Warren, market development manager for Eaton's Hybrid Power business unit, said that by combining the DERA funding with an Internal Revenue Service tax credit and the fuel and operating savings of a hybrid versus a conventional diesel truck, the cost of a new diesel hybrid truck could be about the same as a conventional new truck over a five-year period.
“There is a sense of urgency to our effort, since the submission period for EPA regional applications begins March 17 and ends April 27,” said Warren. “Our goal is to identify all of our customers who qualify and want to take advantage of this opportunity by no later than April 1.”
DERA grants are made to non-profit organizations that have jurisdiction over air quality for projects that reduce diesel emissions. The non-profit organizations submit the applications to the appropriate EPA regional office.
More information about the the DERA program is available at www.epa.gov/cleandiesel. To learn more about Eaton's program, e-mail inquiries to [email protected].