When a utility crew using a traditional bucket truck responds to fallen wires, the truck's engine may idle for hours while the crew works in the lift bucket to repair the problem.
But when a crew using one of International's new electric-hybrid trucks responds to the same situation, the truck's batteries store enough electricity to operate the lifting system for as long as two hours. When the batteries run down, the engine starts automatically, runs for six to eight minutes to recharge them, and then shuts off - simultaneously reducing fuel consumption, engine wear, and pollution.
That combination of efficiency and environmental benefit is what the Ohio Green Fleets Program, formally announced during a news conference yesterday at the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments' Toledo offices, is all about.
From a public-policy perspective, the program's goal is "to improve the environmental performance of thousands of business and government fleets across Ohio," said Sam Spofforth, executive director of Clean Fuels Ohio, a statewide nonprofit organization touting low-pollution, energy-efficient fuels and fuel-saving technology.
On display during the event were International's electric-hybrid light-duty truck, a propane-powered MedCorp ambulette, and three Toledo Area Regional Transit Authority buses: the authority's hydrogen-assisted biodiesel minibus and two of its full-sized buses - a new one with a modern, low-emission diesel engine burning biodiesel and an older vehicle with a traditional diesel engine for comparison.
TARTA recently received a $1,714,627 grant from the Ohio Department of Development to replace the diesel engines on 33 of its 1998 and 1999 model buses with low-emission engines. Alerting other agencies and private fleet owners to the availability of financial help for them, too, was a main reason for the news conference yesterday.
Grants, loans, and tax breaks are available for fleet owners who replace vehicles, replace engines, retrofit their existing engines to make them "greener," or use technology to reduce idling, Mr. Spofforth said.
"We are here to help fleet owners assess which options work best for them," he said.
Among those examining the display vehicles was Jeff Croskey, Toledo's administrator of fleet operations, who said the city has advertised for 14 hybrid sport utility vehicles for its engineering services and environmental services divisions. The city also considered hybrids for trash collection, he said, "but the cost factor was a problem."
Hybrids' higher initial cost "is the only deterrent" to buying them, Mr. Spofforth conceded.
Jim Ray, an International Truck and Engine Corp. representative at the meeting, said the hybrid version of his company's light-duty truck costs about $45,000 more than one with a traditional engine, but the grants and tax breaks reduce that difference significantly.
Val Daiga, the vice president of engineering for MedCorp, said his company will convert all of its vehicles to propane within three months because it is cheaper, cleaner, and lower-maintenance.
"It also has a U.S. source," he said. "The money stays here when you buy propane."
Shannon Nabors, district chief for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said state programs focus on diesel engines because they are more durable and emit tiny particles "that can reach very deep into the lungs" and cause respiratory problems, especially for the very young and very old.
Ohio EPA sponsors a separate emissions-reduction program aimed at retrofitting diesel school-bus engines to reduce pollution.
So far, Ms. Nabors said, the agency has distributed $1.6 million to 33 school districts across Ohio, but "we haven't had a lot of applications for this program from northwest Ohio."
Contact David Patch at:
dpatch@theblade.com
or 419-724-6094.
