On Friday, November 19, 2021 the California Air Resources Board (CARB) conducted a Board Meeting via Zoom to present programmatic changes to current clean transportation incentives, including potential changes to the California Clean Off-Road Equipment (CORE) Project. CARB announced it has allocated approximately $195 million to continue funding the CORE Project for FY21-22.
Potential changes to the CORE Project for FY21-22: Based on Board priorities and input received from stakeholders, staff is considering the following changes to the program:
- Equity and Small Business Considerations: Staff will evaluate methods to build awareness and make funds more accessible to small businesses while continuing to prioritize the deployment of CORE-funded equipment in low-income, disadvantaged, underserved and rural communities. This includes a $30 million set-aside for zero-emission small off-road equipment purchases made by small California landscaping companies or sole proprietors following legislative direction.
- New Equipment Categories: Staff has received interest from manufacturers of off-road equipment types that are not currently eligible to participate in CORE, such as those used in construction, agriculture, and lawn and garden. Staff sees a significant opportunity to expand the eligible equipment categories to include equipment used in these industries.
- Voucher Amounts, Off-Ramps for Mature Equipment Categories, and Other Programmatic Changes: CORE is intended to spur market growth of advanced technology in off-road equipment. Staff will continue to adjust voucher levels in a way that continues to move the needle to advance technology, ensure equipment diversity, and maximize the impact of available funding. Potential adjustments could include reducing voucher amounts for equipment categories that are further along in their commercialization arc, establishing project caps, and adjusting enhancements, as appropriate.
These changes and plans to reopen the project to new voucher requests, and other topics to be included in the FY 2021-22 Implementation Manual will be discussed in more detail in upcoming CORE Workgroup meetings beginning of 2022. Information about upcoming workgroup meetings will be announced via GovDelivery notice soon (follow link to subscribe to CORE GovDelivery email notifications if you have not already). CALSTART will provide more details via email.
For questions or comments, please email [email protected].
