The new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) final new emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles were announced recently. They will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to one billion metric tons of CO2e and provide up to $13 billion in total net benefits to society through 2055, according to the EPA.
“These standards will spur wider adoption of proven electric truck technologies, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollutants while cutting costs for operators and their customers. It’s a big step forward for cleaning up the freight sector, but ensuring successful implementation will require trucking companies, charging station companies, and utilities and regulators to ramp up collaborative efforts,” says Daivie Ghosh, senior research analyst, The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
The standards are technology-neutral, average emissions requirements across each manufacturer’s sales can be met with a combination of moving toward electric and efficiency improvements to diesel trucks.
“Everyone from truck manufacturers to fleet operators and companies building electric charging stations knows what they need to plan for now. Utilities have a big but achievable job ahead building the charging infrastructure that will soon be needed. Utilities and stakeholders can take advantage of the guidance provided by the recently released National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy,” says Ghosh.
