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CARB Reopens CORE Project with $125M in Incentives For Zero-Emissions Equipment July 27, 2022
CORE first
opened in February 2020 and closed that
August after the total allocation of $44.6
million was exhausted. Due to high demand,
$30 million of the FY 2021-22 allocation was
appropriated ahead of CARB’s board meeting
to fund vouchers on a contingency list. The
project’s relaunch, scheduled to begin in
July 2022, will have $125 million in
available funds. CORE is part
of
California Climate Investments,
a statewide initiative that puts billions of
Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing
greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the
economy, and improving public health and the
environment — particularly in disadvantaged
communities. CORE
encourages and assists purchasers and
lessees of off-road equipment – agricultural
tractors, forklifts, airport cargo loaders,
container loaders, railcar movers and the
like – in acquiring zero-emission versions
of this equipment. While conventional
internal-combustion engine (ICE) off-road
equipment accounts for only a small
percentage of all vehicles in California,
shifting over to zero-emission equipment can
help reduce the significant amount of
greenhouse gasses these vehicles release. The project
is streamlined for ease of use. Those who
qualify will be provided vouchers by CORE
for point-of-sale discounts on off-road
equipment, up to a maximum of $500,000 per
voucher, and will not have to retire or sell
their existing ICE equipment (called a
“scrappage” requirement). There will also be
additional funding for charging/refueling
infrastructure equipment operated in
disadvantaged communities and for small
businesses. “California
is backing up its commitment to clean the
air in overburdened communities with a
significant investment in zero-emission
vehicles and sustainable transportation,”
CARB Deputy Executive Officer Craig Segall
said. “CORE is specifically designed to
assist industry sectors that currently use
off-road equipment and can help clean up the
communities hardest hit by air pollution.” The project,
administered by the national clean
transportation non-profit
CALSTART,
is expected to reduce emissions,
particularly in the most impacted areas;
help build confidence in zero-emission
technology in support of CARB strategies and
subsequent regulatory efforts; and provide
benefits such as technology transferability,
reductions in advanced-technology component
costs and larger infrastructure investments. “CORE
increases awareness and uptake of
zero-emission equipment across many industry
sectors and also sends market signals to
manufacturers who can bring more of this
equipment to the market,” said Niki Okuk,
deputy director at CALSTART. “We are
looking forward to the new products coming
online and the improvements in emission
reductions and air quality.” There are
nine funding categories of zero-emission
equipment that CORE supports, including: The
equipment eligible
under these categories is manufactured and
sold by such companies as: |
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What could be
done with $125 million to reduce the
environmental harm being done by off-road
equipment? The California Air Resources
Board (CARB) aims to find out and has
announced the second round of its Clean
Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project
(CORE), tripling the amount of allocated
funding from the previous round for
equipment used in agriculture, airport,
railyard, port, construction, and marine
operations.