TRUCKING
Chugging along the highway: cleaner trucks and fuel
That big truck passing you on the highway may appear to be doing more harm than good to the environment, but even the nation’s truckers are trying to clean up their act.
Under direction from federal and state environmental regulators, the nation’s trucking industry is trying to go green by producing cleaner trucks and fuel and by controlling the amount of gas that’s wasted.
They’re hoping such changes will not only reduce the amount of pollution the trucks put out, but also make them run more efficiently and save money for the companies and drivers.
“If it turns you green, it also saves you money,” said John Simon, CEO of Grand Island Sales & Service, a fuel hauler.
However, much of the change relies on new technology, some of which has not been tested extensively. Trucks with advanced new engines are expensive, and break down more frequently. So-called “biodiesel” fuel is not yet broadly available, at least not in this area. And the use of new fuels requires a level of new infrastructure that is not yet widespread enough.
“The infrastructure isn’t at a point where it need to be for the emissions requirements imposed on manufacturers,” said Brendan J. Staub, president and CEO, Turnpike Global Technologies LLC, a Buffalo-based trucking technology company. “We have some major changes that need to take place.”
As such, a truly cleaner trucking industry likely remains years away. But companies say they are at least doing what they can.
“We’re not there yet. But we will be. We’ll definitely adjust with the times,” said Jonathon Price, owner of Price Trucking Corp., a hazardous waste and steel hauling company in Buffalo.
Controlling pollution
Big rigs are collectively among the biggest polluters to the air, pumping out gallon after gallon of diesel fuel into the atmosphere as they chug along the nation’s highways delivering their wares. As such, they’re an inviting target for environmentalists and other critics.
“A lot of people look down on the trucking industry because of its emissions,” Staub said. “It’s something that definitely has to be controlled.”
Both federal and state governments have increasingly taken aim at both forcing and encouraging such changes, through a combination of laws such as the Clean Air Act, as well as incentives and partnerships.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s SmartWay Transport, for example, is a cooperative effort with the nation’s trucking and rail industries to cut pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from both trucks and locomotives through a range of suggested strategies.
The initiative aims to cut up to 18 million metric tons of “carbon- equivalent” and up to 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxides each year. That will save up to 150 million barrels of oil a year.
But it’s the mandates that are having more of an effect. Perhaps most significantly, new federal regulations are forcing truck makers to sharply reduce the emissions from engines.
The EPA is requiring that by 2010, new heavy duty diesel truck engines must meet more stringent emission standards, sharply cutting discharges of soot, ash and nitrogen oxide, and virtually eliminating them. Manufacturers are responding by changing engines for cleaner burning and adding devices to treat exhaust and remove pollutants after the gas leaves the engine’s combustion chamber.
But some of the rules are so stringent that truck makers have called for a delay, and Caterpillar said it would get out of the diesel truck engine business. “They’re pushing to an extreme and I don’t think it’s realistic,” Simon said.
The state is also tightening enforcement of anti-pollution regulations, announcing late last year it will carry out regular but unannounced inspections in areas with heavy truck traffic.
The Department of Environmental Conservation will pull over trucks putting out visible plumes of exhaust that violate state air quality regulations. And it will patrol surrounding areas for illegal idling. Penalties are $700 for the first offense and $1,300 for later offenses.
The state also is cleaning up its own house, requiring state-owned trucks made before 2007 to be retro-fitted with emissions- reducing equipment and to use ultra-low-sulfur fuel by 2011. The DEC estimates it will cost $195 million for 30,000 state trucks, or about $20,000 per vehicle. The new mandate will also apply to trucks used for state contract work.
“The DEC is strict,” Price said. “They’re here to protect the environment, and if you don’t comply, they make you pay.”
New alternatives
But the new engines break down more easily because of all the sophisticated new technology embedded in them. And they’re much more expensive to buy in the first place, prompting concerns about a drop in truck sales and worry about the impact on smaller trucking companies during a recession.
More importantly, there’s only so far engines can go. “The manufacturers are doing everything they can,” Staub said. “But you can only buy trucks that are as clean as the diesel fuel.”
Since 1993, diesel trucks have been using low-sulfur diesel fuel, which emits 500 parts per million of sulfur. But now the EPA is requiring ultra-low sulfur diesel, which emits just 15 parts per million. Engine oils also had to be changed to work better with the new fuel.
Much talk also has focused on the use of alternative fuels, such as biodiesel, electricity, ethanol, hydrogen, methanol, natural gas, propane or even solar energy, in place of traditional diesel.
But there are only 34 alternative retailers within 99 miles of Buffalo, including 20 for compressed natural gas, 10 for propane, two for ethanol and one each for hydrogen and electric power, according to the U. S. Department of Energy. And the ethanol, hydrogen and electric retailers were all in Rochester.
Biodiesel, in particular, has garnered attention. Biodiesel — technically called methyl esters — is a clean-burning fuel made from renewable resources such as fat or vegetable oil. It has no petroleum although it can be blended with it, and it can be used in diesel engines. It’s not toxic, and it’s biodegradable.
But while it can be purchased directly from producers or distributors, there are no retail biodiesel pumps within 99 miles of Buffalo, according to the Web site of the National Biodiesel Board. In fact, the closest retailer is in Syracuse, followed by locations in northeastern Ohio, greater Pittsburgh and State College, Pa.
“There are not a lot of places that sell it,” Price said. “But whatever they’re offering, we’ll probably switch at some point.”
Idle concerns
That leaves the third option: changing how the trucks are driven and used. The biggest issue concerns idling.
Truck drivers often leave their rigs on even while they sleep at night, while they’re making a pickup or delivery, or while they’re just sitting and doing paperwork. Keeping them on heats or cools the cab or sleeping area, keeps the fuel warm in winter, avoids a cold start and keeps the drivers safe.
But it also wastes a tremendous amount of fuel. According to Staub, whose firm’s technology helps companies monitor their trucks’ fuel use, an hour of idling uses a gallon of gas. And some surveys show trucks idling six to eight hours a day, for 250 to 300 days a year.
More than 1 billion gallons of diesel fuel are consumed by idling truck and train engines, which emit 11 million tons of carbon dioxide, 200,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 5,000 tons of soot and ash, according to the federal government.
“For years, trucks have never really measured their idle. They never managed it,” Staub said. “From an environmental perspective, that’s not acceptable.”
It’s also wasting money. At current prices, idling can cost at least $6,000 or more per year in fuel costs per truck.
In response, companies are trying to put a stop to unnecessary idling, both to save fuel and money, and to limit emissions. They’re buying portable heaters and alternative power sources so the trucks can be turned off.
“You’re really not supposed to run your trucks anyway if you’re not moving,” Price said. “I keep harping on the drivers that if you’re sitting there doing your paperwork, turn your truck off.”
It’s also rapidly becoming a requirement across the country, as states, cities and other communities like California adopt tough anti-idling regulations, with stiff penalties. California trucks must now carry a message on the back, similar to those for unsafe driving, for motorists to call a toll-free number if they see the truck idling.
Major ports of entry and large businesses like General Motors Corp. that use trucks to ship much of their product are also imposing their own anti-idling rules, even barring truckers or companies that don’t comply from doing business with them.
“A lot of suppliers are very stern about anti-idling while trucks are at facilities and on properties. They don’t want to see 20 trucks sitting in line for 30 minutes,” Staub said. “These are enforced. You’d be amazed.”
And companies are turning to firms like Turnpike, whose RouteTracker device attaches to the truck so it can be monitored at all times from the company’s central operation. The device can track a host of data including fuel usage, speed, time, location and other information.
Fuel economy is another issue. Unlike cars, there are no federal fuel economy standards for trucks to meet pollution-control standards. And because of their size and weight, the trucks require tremendous power, so gas mileage is often as low as four to seven miles per gallon.
Increasing that would not only boost efficiency and save money, but would also mean less gas is used and emitted. Indeed, Wal-Mart, which is now at seven to eight miles per gallon, plans to be at 12 miles per gallon by 2020, Simon said.
Truckers can also slow down, both to increase fuel efficiency as well as reduce gas use. Staub said the fuel savings are “dramatic” if companies set their trucks to run at no more than 63 mile per hour. They can also save money and gas by properly “routing” the truck between destinations and ensuring that the contents are organized efficiently for easy unloading.
Unfortunately for the truckers — and despite their pleas — there are few if any carbon tax credits or other incentives for taking these steps, and the rules for applying for them are cumbersome or unclear. Until recently, the state was even charging its 12 percent excise tax on purchases of heating units for the drivers to heat the cabs.
“Those companies are taking the initiative to manage it,” Staub said. “Companies should be rewarded for that, because in the end, they’re creating a healthier world overall.”
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