Diesel Emissions Reduction

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is providing Tennessee with $1.73 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to supplement the state’s Idle Smart Clean Diesel Grant program. Idle Smart is a state program offered by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to help small trucking companies and independent owner-operators reduce engine idling, save money and reduce air pollution.

 

Tennessee motor carriers can apply for Idle Smart grant rebates to help pay for clean diesel technology for their long-haul trucks.  The Idle Smart grant rebates will cover up to 50 percent of the costs of idle reduction technologies, such as auxiliary power units, which provide an alternative to the truck’s main engine when power is needed for electricity or heating and cooling the cab during rest periods.  Auxiliary power units (APUs) use an average of 0.2 to 0.3 gallons of diesel fuel an hour, compared to the approximately one gallon of diesel fuel used every hour when the truck’s engine is idling. In addition to emitting pollutants such as nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and carbon dioxide, excessive idling also increases maintenance costs and decreases engine life.

 

Environment and Conservation is partnering with the Tennessee Department of Transportation and University of Tennessee to get the word to Tennessee’s trucking businesses about the availability of the ARRA funds for Idle Smart grant rebate program.

 

Click here for the Idle Smart APU program brochure.

 

Idle Smart grant rebates supported by the ARRA Clean Diesel Grant program will target Tennessee trucking companies registered and operating in the state. Priority will be given to fleets with five or fewer truck tractors. Approximately 85 percent of the 16,000 motor carriers in Tennessee have five or fewer truck tractors in their fleets.

 

Click here for an Idle Smart Auxiliary Power Unit Pre-Approval Application.

 

Send completed Pre-Approval Application for Idle Smart APU Rebate Program to:
Dr. Jimmy Calcagno
Idle Smart APU Rebate Program for Truckers
University of Tennessee-Knoxville
64-B Perkins Hall
1506 Middle Drive
Knoxville, TN 37996-2010

 

All ARRA funds for this program must be spent by September 2010.  Recipients of funding will be required to report data at a regular frequency, which will allow the state to calculate actual fuel savings and actual emissions reductions for each truck.

 

Click here for the Aug. 18 press release announcing the ARRA funding for Tennessee’s Idle Smart APU grant rebate program.

 

Documents and Reports

State of Tennessee's ARRA Diesel Emission Reductions Act Grant Application to EPA

EPA Grant Award Letter to State of Tennessee for State Clean Diesel Grant Program under ARRA