Clean Vehicles Program Overview
H-GAC's Clean Vehicles program is a fuel/technology-neutral grant program that funds cost-effective engine retrofit, repower, replacement, conversion (to alternative fuels), or the establishment of publicly accessible alternative fuel infrastructure. Overhead and administrative costs are not eligible for funding. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the funds are exhausted.
Eligible entities include any public or private fleets that primarily operate within the 8-county ozone non-attainment area (Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, and Waller counties).
Both light- and heavy-duty vehicles are eligible; however, at this time, off-road vehicles are ineligible. Eligible vehicles must spend at least 75% of their operating hours within the 8-county ozone non-attainment area, and travel more than 12,000 miles/year. As a general rule, the replacement of the heaviest, oldest, and most used diesel engines will qualify for the most funding.
Program Process
Clean Vehicles works through a 3-phase process consisting of the application phase, the implementation phase, and the compliance phase.
In the Application Phase, staff review submitted application forms for completeness, to calculate emission reductions, and to determine capital cost-effectiveness. For private entities, the Clean Vehicles program will fund the project at a rate of $70,000/ton NOx reduced per year up to 75% of the project cost; for public entities, the cost-effectiveness rate is $150,000/ton NOx reduced per year, up to 75% of the project cost.
Calculations are based on the following formulas:
Annual emission reduction = (grams/mile without controls - grams/mile with controls)
Tons per year reduced = Annual emission reduction * Annual miles / 907200
Capital Cost Effectiveness = Total Cost of Project / Tons per year reduced
All retrofits must be EPA- or CARB-certified, and all new heavy-duty engines must have a nitrogen oxide (NOx) rating of no more than 0.2 g/bhp-hr**. New infrastructure applications must include committments from fleets to utilize the infrastructure once constructed, and must include the characteristics of those fleets to assist in the analysis of the application.
Once the application is evaluated, staff will contact the applicant to discuss their grant eligibility, and to verify that the applicant wishes to go forward with the project. At this time, staff will conduct a Pre-Approval Site Visit to verify the information included in the application and to ensure that certain administrative/operational protocols (i.e. Workplace Drug & Alchohol policy) are in place. A financial/risk assessment will also be performed to gauge the potential for future compliance problems.
Following H-GAC Board approval of the grant award and the execution of a contract, the Implementation Phase begins. During this period, the new equipment is ordered and installed, and any engines that were replaced are destroyed. Participants may then invoice H-GAC for reimbursement by submitting the appropriate documentation.
The final step is the Compliance Phase, in which the project is monitored to demonstrate that the anticipated emission reductions are being achieved. Participants must submit quarterly monitoring reports for 5 years, which detail the mileage, fuel consumption, and maintenance records of the funded equipment. Also, H-GAC staff may conduct a site visit and/or audit of the project.
**Note: for projects involving the expenditure of Supplemental Environmental Project (SEP) funds (open only to local governments and school districts), NOx ratings up to 0.35 g/bhp-hr NOx will be accepted for new applications for vehicles with a GVWR of between 19,501-33,000 lbs (classes 6 & 7, including school buses), that are submitted through October 31, 2010.
Clean Cities/Clean Vehicles is a program of the
Houston-Galveston Area Council
3555 Timmons, Suite 120, Houston,
TX 77027
713.627.3200 • Fax 713.993.4508
