The CNGVC voted at its spring board meeting to create an environmental justice advisory committee. The committee will help the Coalition align its work on legislation and regulatory actions with efforts to reduce pollution in disadvantaged communities, particularly communities of color, along California’s transportation corridors and near major nodes of transportation and ports.
Please contact Coalition President Thomas Lawson (Thomas@cngvc.org, 916-448-0015) if you are interested in joining the committee or want to recommend someone.
Westport Innovations has completed its merger with Fuel Systems Solutions, parent company of IMPCO Automotive and other clean-transportation technology companies. Shareholders of both companies approved the merger at separate special meetings on June 1. The merged company is named Westport Fuel Systems Inc.
California netted only $10 million, instead of the $600 million the state had projected, in this fiscal year’s final quarterly auction of cap-and-trade carbon credits. California and Quebec released results of their May 18 joint cap-and-trade auction of carbon allowances, which showed that they sold only 7.2 million of the 67.7 million pollution credits up for immediate use. Of the 10 million credits put up for use in 2019, they sold only 914,000.
California’s Department of Finance expected that cap-and-trade auctions would net $2.4 billion this fiscal year. The first three auctions brought in a total of $1.8 billion, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
Decreased demand for pollution credits could stem from a lawsuit challenging the cap-and-trade program, filed by the California Chamber of Commerce, as well as the uncertainty of what happens when AB 32 expires in 2020, observers said.
“The May auction is proof that the Legislature and the governor need to act to extend AB 32 past 2020 to ensure long-term security and investor confidence in the cap-and-trade market,” said Coalition President Thomas Lawson.
Peterbilt has expanded its line of refuse trucks with the Model 520, which can be powered by either the 8.9-liter ISL G or the 11.9-liter ISX12 G natural gas engine from Cummins Westport. The new model has a dual-station cab with similar work environments in each station, so drivers can operate from either side of the truck with access to the same controls and displays.
The city of Santa Monica announced that it will replace 29 older vehicles with 31 new CNG-powered Ford pickup trucks, including Ford F-150 trucks, in support of the city’s policy to use lower-emission fuels. The city will use the trucks for code enforcement; animal control; maintenance of city facilities, parks, and streets; and more.