Metering Changes to Oregon’s Clean Fuels Program (CFP)
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has recently announced changes to the Clean Fuels Program (CFP) that will require meters on forklifts to participate in the program. These changes will go into effect in Q4-23 and are part of an effort to improve energy use reporting. If you are currently participating in the CFP or have signed up for rebates, it is important to be aware of these changes.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently held a workshop for stakeholders in the Low Carbon Fuel Standard program. The presentation included the much-anticipated proposed updates to the Carbon Intensity standards in the program as well as a few new concepts. PineSpire has summarized two key proposed changes for you below.
The Bay Area Goods Movement Program has $20 million available in grant funding to replace diesel equipment with electricfueled equipment. Don’t miss out on a great opportunity for your equipment to be Zero-Emission Compliant before it is mandatory! The deadline to submit your application is Thursday, March 31st.
Eligible Applications include:
Entities located in the BAAQMD (see below)
Entities whose products or business are involved in Good Movement (manufacturing, warehousing, logistics)
Replacement of Diesel cargo-handling equipment, transport refrigeration units, and rail-yard equipment
The Goods Movement Program was created to reduce diesel emissions and health risk from freight movement along California trade corridors as quickly as possible. The program is a partnership between CARB (the California Air Resources Board) and the BAAQMD (Bay Area Air Quality Management District) which includes Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, western portion of Solano, southern portion of Sonoma counties.
The program can be used to convert to electric forklifts, transport refrigeration units, rubber-tired gantry cranes, and other equipment. In addition to funding the equipment, the program can cover costs for associated new charging infrastructure.
When you decide to covert to an electric fleet now, you have the opportunity to receive grant funding, as well as become eligible to enroll in the LCFS (low carbon fuel standard) program. The LCFS program allows you to generate revenue each time you charge your electric equipment.
Additionally, electric equipment helps your operations stay in compliance with current and future regulations (like the proposed Zero Emission Forklift rule). Your bottom line will also benefit right away in reduced fuel costs and reduced maintenance costs.
To find out if your equipment is eligible for the Goods Movement Program, visit the Good Movement Program’s application page. Reach out to PineSpire to talk about your fleet strategy and making the most of these funding opportunities: contact@pinespire.com.
2022 was here before we knew it, and it goes without saying that the past few years have made in person connections and networking a challenge. Working from home, wondering if people you see on Zoom are shorter than they appear and asking ourselves when things will go back to normal have all been constants during this time.
We don’t know if we’ll work in person any time soon or that video calls will go away, but what we do know is that here at PineSpire we want to see you again… in person! To make that happen, we will be attending some of the biggest conferences the West Coast has to offer, and we want you to join us.
Wrapping up January, we will be at Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, California from the 26-27th. Unified Wine and Grape will have an exposition including a wide range of products related to the wine and grape industry and includes international representation.
Following that, we will also be attending the Food Northwest Process & Packaging Expoon February 3-4th in Portland, Oregon– the expo is one of the largest in the United States and happens to be celebrating their 50th annual show by featuring world- recognized keynote speaker, John Manzella.
Lastly, we will be at the California League of Food Producer’s Food Processing Expo on February 15-16th in Sacramento and it is California’s largest food processing expo.
All these events will be great opportunities to:
Learn about new industries
Network with other businesses and potential clients
California Low Carbon Fuel Standard begins public input process to define the Future of the LCFS program.
Proposed Updates to the LCFS Program
CARB has initiated the public input process to evaluate proposed updates to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) regulation. The process kicked off with a public input workshop in December, attended by nearly 500 participants. The event provided a forum for CARB to present potential updates to the future LCFS program across a wide range of policy aspects that would go into effect in 2024 (at the earliest).
Some of the key proposed future changes to the LCFS program include:
Tightening the permitted carbon levels in transportation fuels(called the Carbon-Intensity Score) beyond 2030. This widely anticipated update would continue to drive incentives for low carbon fuels, like electricity and green-hydrogen.
Consider addition of new eligible vehicle classes (like agricultural equipment and off-road heavy equipment).
Expanding the types of fuels subject to the program to include jet fuel for intra-state flights
Increasing verification and validation methods for fuel producers and credit generators to ensure all participants are receiving appropriate carbon scores.
PineSpire Advocates for Inclusion of Agriculture and Off-Road Equipment
PineSpire has submitted comments to CARB on the proposed rule changes to advocate for the inclusion of agricultural vehicles, improve the efficiency of reporting, and to strive to create a level playing field across vehicle and fuel types. You can see PineSpire’s comments here.
We want to amplify the voices of our food and agricultural community for inclusion in this revenue-generating opportunity. As available alternative fuel equipment (i.e. hydrogen and electric) becomes more readily available for the field and farm, it is important to advocate for the equipment to be eligible to generate LCFS credits. Being eligible in the future LCFS program would help reduce the cost of owning and operating alternative fuel equipment and staying in compliance with evolving air quality regulations.
What’s Next?
The rulemaking process is just at the beginning. PineSpire will continue to participate and keep our customers informed on the direction the new policy measures take and how that can create additional LCFS revenue opportunities. To receive regular updates, you can ask to subscribe here. If you have unique story or business perspective to share with CARB, reach out to us and we can help ensure your comments and business needs are considered in the rulemaking process.