Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/725427
26 commercial carrier journal | september 2016 L ast month, the Obama adminis- tration finalized its second round of greenhouse gas and fuel effi- ciency standards for commercial trucks. (See page 13.) Even though the rule – commonly re- ferred to as Phase 2 – was mostly expected, it doesn't make the regulatory pill any easier to swallow for fleets already on the hook for implementing electronic stability control and electronic logs, while speed limiters await them on the horizon. The 1,690-page document is an impos- ing read, but the rule essentially requires a reduction of up to 25 percent in carbon emissions from tractor-trailers over the next decade. For diesel tractor engines, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis- tration are adopting standards for model year 2027 that are more stringent than the preferred alternative from the original pro- posal, and will require reductions in carbon dioxide emissions and fuel consumption that are 5.1 percent better than the 2017 baseline for a tractor's engine. Just how all of this is going to happen remains to be seen. The resurgence of waste heat recovery is certainly on deck, as are refinements in turbo compounding and other less obvious things that I'm not smart enough to guess. Phase 2 is going to tax the imaginations of engine builders nationwide, but truck OEMs almost universally praised its adoption last month. To meet emissions standards for model year 2017, the final year of Phase 1, you've already seen most truck OEMs implement new ingenuities. From redesigned pistons to turbo compounding and one-box aftertreatment systems, rabbits already have been pulled out of the hat. According to the nonprofit Diesel Technology Forum, 42 percent of all commercial trucks in use today in the United States already achieve near-zero particulate emissions with 2007 and newer diesel technology engines. Of those trucks, 26 percent have 2011 generation or newer clean diesel technology that also achieves near zero emissions of nitrogen oxides. Allen Schaeffer, DTF executive director, says the agency's most recent research shows the 4.2 million new clean diesel commercial trucks put in service from 2007 through 2015 have saved nearly three billion gallons of diesel fuel and delivered significant emissions reductions equivalent to removing the emissions from 6.1 million light-duty vehicles from the road for one year, and NOx emissions from all light-duty vehicles for two years. Phase 2 ramps that up, with expectations to lower emissions by about 1.1 billion metric tons while reducing oil consumption by up to 2 billion barrels over the lifetime of the vehicles sold under the program. The obvious question here: "How much will all of this cost?" Most of the estimates I've seen say a model-year 2021 unit will cost about $6,000 more Cleaner trucks – and wallets Phase 2 emissions-fuel efficiency rule will mean more green to be greener IMPOSING RULE: The rule requires 25 percent fewer carbon emissions from tractor-trailers over the next decade. RABBITS OUT OF HATS: To meet mod- el-year 2017 standards, we've seen most truck OEMs implement new ingenuities. EPA NOT DONE YET: We're already headed toward an even cleaner horizon, but start saving your pennies. Even though the Phase 2 rule was mostly expected, it doesn't make the regulatory pill any easier to swallow for drivers and fleets.