State jacks up savings on electric trucks
Businesses, nonprofits and governments in Westchester could get up to $60,000 off their purchases of battery-electric commercial vehicles under a new state program recently announced by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority this month rolled out the state”™s $19 million Truck Voucher Incentive Program to encourage purchases of energy-efficient transportation.
The program includes a $9 million voucher fund for purchases of battery-electric trucks and buses in Westchester and 29 other counties ”“ including Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess and Orange in the lower Hudson Valley ”“ that do not meet federal clean air standards. Two alternative fuels and diesel retrofit voucher funds that total $10 million will be used only for New York City fleets.
In Westchester, the voucher program applies to battery-electric vehicles in classes 3 to 8, which include large pick-ups, delivery vans, box trucks, buses, tractor-trailers, garbage trucks and construction vehicles such as cement and dump trucks.
Electric equipment manufacturers approved for the program include AMP Trucks Inc., Boulder Electric Vehicle, Electric Vehicles International and Smith Electric Vehicles.
The vouchers are being distributed to state-approved vehicle manufacturers, dealers and retrofit providers, allowing them to pass on the full incentive in a lower vehicle price to buyers.
The state”™s transportation initiative is funded by the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program.
State officials said the transportation sector is responsible for three-fourths of petroleum consumption in the U.S. and 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in New York. The program”™s administrator, the state Energy Research and Development Authority, estimated the vouchers could encourage the purchase or retrofit of up to 1,000 low-emission trucks in areas of the state with the poorest air quality.
John Boesel, president and CEO of CALSTART, a national nonprofit picked to help manage the voucher program, said state incentives like this “have a big impact and really help to clean the air, prevent climate change and drive innovation in the commercial vehicle sector.”
More information on the truck voucher program can be found online at truck-vip.ny.gov.