The Government of British Columbia is announcing changes to the greenhouse gas reduction regulation to encourage more fleet operators to switch from diesel and gasoline to cleaner-burning natural gas to run their buses, trucks and marine vessels. The changes will allow utilities to expand incentives to fleet operators to convert to natural gas as their primary or secondary fuel, and advance the development of more LNG fueling stations.
It will extend the existing incentive programs by one year to March 31, 2018; allow a utility to spend up to $5 million on pilot programs to convert diesel medium and heavy duty vehicles to natural gas; remove the existing cap of $11 million on expenditures for LNG-powered marine engines to allow the incentive amounts to be applied to all eligible vehicles including marine; make the eligibility criteria and grant and loan structure for replacement of diesel engines more flexible to encourage greater use of natural gas powered engines; and facilitate the construction of fueling infrastructure.
“Natural gas is cheaper and cleaner than traditional fuels, reducing transportation costs and greenhouse gas emissions. We’re updating the greenhouse gas reduction regulation to give utilities like FortisBC more flexibility to expand incentives to fleet operators to convert their trucks, buses and ferries to natural gas,” said Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines.
Source: Government of British Columbia
