Project Green Fleet
Region
Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Washington, and WisconsinTimeline
2006 - PresentTopics
Overview
Environmental Initiative partners work with fleet owners and operators to reduce air pollution by upgrading older diesel vehicles and equipment through Project Green Fleet. We are currently prioritizing work in:
- Communities that have faced, or are facing environmental justice concerns or health disparities.
- Areas that are not in compliance with federal air quality standards.
- Goods movement areas including ports, rail yards, airports, or other distribution centers.
Our model is to connect fleet owners with grant opportunities to help off-set the costs of replacing or upgrading diesel vehicles or engines. We identify funding opportunities and recruit fleets to participate in grant applications. Environmental Initiative coordinates installation of equipment, quantifies emissions reduced, and administers large-scale grant funding for Project Green Fleet.
Our accomplishments
Project Green Fleet has installed pollution control equipment on 3,200 buses and retrofitted or replaced more than 1,500 heavy-duty diesel engines in trucks, transit buses, trains, boats, and other construction equipment. Together, this has reduced particulate matter emissions equivalent to removing more than 750,000 cars from the road annually.
1,500
Heavy-duty diesel vehicles and engines upgraded.
3,200
School buses retrofitted with pollution control equipment.
750,000
Cars removed from the road annually.
What vehicle types are eligible?
Project Green Fleet is able to reduce emissions on a range of diesel fleets including:
- Class 4-8 heavy-duty trucks
- Off-road construction equipment including loaders, sweepers, backhoes, etc.
- Locomotives
- Marine engines and port facility fleets
Engines must be in current use and operate at least 500 hours per year. After the upgrade, fleets must also agree to operate the equipment for at least 5 years.
Cleaning up marine diesel engines
At first glance, it’s not easy to see how towboats and air quality relate. Big engines – like the ones on marine vessels – can operate for several decades, and many of these older engines lack the environmental controls that are now standard in newer models. Learn more about our work to repower marine engines in partnership with Upper River Services in Saint Paul, Minn.
Clean Air Blogs
Experts explain Minnesota’s smoky, hazy summer
Environmental Initiative recently sat down with experts at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to learn more about air quality forecasting, recent air quality trends, and what people can do to stay safe.
Voluntary stove swap program warms homes, cleans air, cuts costs
Do you heat your home with wood? Burn more than two cords of wood per year? Have an appliance that was manufactured before 1992? You might be eligible for Project Stove Swap! We connect Minnesota residents to local vendors to swap out old, inefficient wood burning stoves for newer models.
Collaborative policy victory: Lottery reauthorization for Minnesota
The Minnesota Legislature recently passed the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund renewal bill. This important legislation will put a question before voters to reauthorize Minnesota State Lottery funds for conservation. It also creates a new $20 million per year community grants program.
Project Contacts
We collaborate with fleet owners and operators to connect them with grant opportunities to upgrade older diesel vehicles and equipment.
Our Partners
