Tuesday
Jun102008
The truck stops here
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 12:32PM
“When trucks stop, America stops.” The state of the development of hybrid medium and heavy duty trucks was discussed at a hearing before the Subcommittee on Energy and Environment. Chairman Nick Lampson (D-Tex.) opened with the fact that 60 percent less fuel is used by hybrid trucks compared to conventional ones.
Terry Penney, Technology Manager of National Renewable Energy Laboratory, pointed out that 80 percent of all goods are transported by conventional trucks which use 40 billion gallons of diesel. Hybrid trucks are estimated to save more than 1000 gallons of diesel per year. By switching to hybrid trucks, transportation costs will also go down, reducing the price of goods for Americans. Other benefits include more jobs in the hybrid truck industry, less greenhouse gas emission and less dependency on foreign oil.
However, Jill Egbert, Manager of Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), admitted that upfront costs of hybrid medium-to-heavy duty trucks were daunting. Richard Parish, Senior Program Manager of Calstart Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF), agreed and said better purchase incentives were necessary. At the moment, the purchase incentives are high but fail to cover the differential costs of hybrids. If manufacturing volume increased, production costs would go down. Parish also suggested a government commitment program ranging from five to ten years to help replace hybrids from conventional fleets. When asked about the 21st century Truck Partnership Program, Parrish said it had limited success and needed a new vision.
Terry Penney, Technology Manager of National Renewable Energy Laboratory, pointed out that 80 percent of all goods are transported by conventional trucks which use 40 billion gallons of diesel. Hybrid trucks are estimated to save more than 1000 gallons of diesel per year. By switching to hybrid trucks, transportation costs will also go down, reducing the price of goods for Americans. Other benefits include more jobs in the hybrid truck industry, less greenhouse gas emission and less dependency on foreign oil.
However, Jill Egbert, Manager of Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), admitted that upfront costs of hybrid medium-to-heavy duty trucks were daunting. Richard Parish, Senior Program Manager of Calstart Hybrid Truck Users Forum (HTUF), agreed and said better purchase incentives were necessary. At the moment, the purchase incentives are high but fail to cover the differential costs of hybrids. If manufacturing volume increased, production costs would go down. Parish also suggested a government commitment program ranging from five to ten years to help replace hybrids from conventional fleets. When asked about the 21st century Truck Partnership Program, Parrish said it had limited success and needed a new vision.
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