You Can't Always Get What You Want: What the Rolling Stones and Emerging Technologies Have in Common

(Diesel Technology Forum) Efforts to develop and “commercialize” emerging technologies in the time horizons considered may not provide substantial air quality benefits if these technologies do not find their way into the fleet in substantial numbers.

Whether it is electric cars or electric trucks, the policy debate in California is laser focused on the deployment schedule for emerging transportation technologies, many of which are not commercially available. From all-electric trucks to larger trucks deployed with as-yet-defined ultra-low emission standards for internal combustion engines, the benefits provided by these emerging commercial vehicle technologies are off in the distance. While these technologies are years away from generating any benefits, the greater adoption of existing clean technologies that are quite literally sitting on dealer lots today can provide significant and immediate term clean air and climate benefits.

California’s experience with existing program to incentivize emerging commercial vehicle technologies has provided very few benefits. Almost a decade ago, policymakers in California decided to encourage the adoption of alternative fuels and the vehicles powered by them as a clean air and climate. Since 2007, funding provided to the California Energy Commission under AB 118 helped interested commercial vehicle owners purchase natural gas heavy-duty equipment. Even greater funding was allocated to help grow the nascent natural gas fueling infrastructure. According to the latest Integrated Energy Policy Report (IEPR) for 2015, over $70 million in AB 118 funding helped grow the natural gas fleet to just under two percent of the commercial vehicle fleet in California as of 2015. This funding does not include expenditures provided by individual air districts for natural gas vehicle purchase incentives. Very little air quality benefits have been generated for California from a technology that represents just under two percent of the commercial vehicle fleet.

Significant time is required to research, develop and test emerging technologies. Once a technology is ready for the market, even more time is needed for fleets to adopt the technology in substantial numbers to generate air quality benefits. Meanwhile, policymakers should consider the clean air and climate benefits from existing technologies that are ready to deliver immediately for California. In fact, you don’t have to look far, just far enough to a dealer’s lot. READ MORE