Public Workgroup Meeting for the Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Project (CORE)

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved $194.95 million for the Clean Off-Road Equipment Voucher Incentive Program (CORE) in the Fiscal Year 2021-22 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Incentives in November 2021. CORE is intended to accelerate the adoption of cleaner, commercially available off-road technologies by providing a streamlined way for fleets ready to purchase specific zero-emission equipment. In addition to freight, this year CORE is expanding to include incentive funding for construction, agriculture, and professional landscaping equipment for small-business and sole proprietors. Legislatively, $30 million was dedicated to support small businesses and sole proprietors in purchasing zero-emission, commercial grade landscaping equipment.

On June 22, 2022, California Air Resources Board (CARB) staff will hold a public workgroup meeting to further discuss development of CORE. Topics will include an overview of the CORE program overview, professional landscapers’ participation, define small businesses, an overview of the zero-emission landscape equipment, and manufacturer, dealer, and owner voucher application processes.

This meeting will be webcast via Zoom. To participate in the work group meeting, please register before 3:50 p.m. on June 22, 2022. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information to join the webinar either through a computer, digital device, or via conference line. Each meeting link in the confirmation email is unique so please do not share it with others. Every person who wishes to participate needs to register separately and use the unique link sent to them to access the webinar. Please note that there is no in-person attendance option for this meeting. This meeting will be recorded. A link to the recording will be available after the meeting date on the Low Carbon Transportation Investments and Air Quality Improvement Program website. The discussion material which will be posted no later than June 22, 2022.

Date: June 22, 2022

Time: 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. (PST)

Location: Zoom

All participants will have an opportunity to comment. The meeting may end prior to the specified end time if all questions and comments are addressed prior to the designated webinar end time. If the agenda is not completed, a subsequent meeting will be scheduled. Stakeholders interested in joining the CORE information distribution can click here to subscribe.

Background

California Climate Investments Low Carbon Transportation Funding

The Low Carbon Transportation program is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment, particularly in disadvantaged communities. CARB’s Low Carbon Transportation Program is designed to accelerate the transition to low carbon freight and passenger transportation with a priority on providing health and economic benefits to California’s most disadvantaged communities. These investments support the State’s climate change strategy pillars of a 50 percent reduction in petroleum use in vehicles by 2030 and reducing short lived climate pollutants and the Governor’s goal to deploy 5 million zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) by 2030. Additionally, these incentives provide important early steps to transform the transportation sector, supporting Governor Newsom’s recent Executive Order N-79-20 calling on the State to accelerate the transformation to a zero-emission transportation fleet. Lastly, these investments reduce ozone precursor emissions and toxic diesel particulate emissions, supporting the State’s goals in these areas.

Since 2013, the Legislature has appropriated a total of over $2.7 billion to CARB for Low Carbon Transportation projects. These funds are being used to fund zero-emission and plug-in hybrid passenger vehicles through CVRP; light-duty vehicle equity projects to increase access to clean transportation in disadvantaged communities and for lower-income Californians; deployment incentives for clean trucks and buses; and advanced technology demonstration projects for freight trucks and off-road equipment.

Annual Funding Plan

The annual funding plan is each year’s blueprint for expending Low Carbon Transportation and AQIP funds appropriated to CARB in the State budget. The Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-22 Funding Plan covered a total of $1.5 billion in clean transportation appropriated to CARB in the Budget Act of 2021 as amended by Senate Bill (SB) 129 (Skinner, Chapter 69, Statutes of 2021) and SB 170 (Skinner, Chapter 240, Statutes of 2021).

The FY 2021-2022 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Incentives allocates $194.95 million to CORE to build upon a program that will bring about greater adoption of cleaner, commercially available off-road technologies by providing a streamlined way for fleets ready to purchase specific zero-emission equipment to receive funding. The modifications approved by the Board include an expansion into equipment types beyond freight, including, but not limited to, construction, agriculture, and material handling. In addition, the creation of set asides for small business or sole proprietors to purchase small off-road equipment, including but not limited to, leaf blowers and lawnmowers for professional landscape services.

Air Pollution Control Fund investments have traditionally funded multiple technologies, overcoming deployment barriers, reducing production costs, promoting consumer acceptance, and accelerating technology transfer to other sectors. This program is designed to achieve both immediate emission reductions and, as emphasized in Governor Newsom’s Executive Order N-79-20, support the transformation of California’s equipment fleet to one that is zero-emitting where feasible. In designing these investments, CARB strives to maximize the benefits for disadvantaged communities, low-income communities, and low-income households.

CORE will provide vouchers for specified types of zero-emission off-road equipment on a first-come, first-served basis, with increased incentives for equipment located in disadvantaged communities. CORE accelerates the deployment of cleaner off-road equipment and benefits the citizens of California by providing immediate criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas emission reductions and supporting California’s long-term air quality and climate change goals. and benefits the citizens of California by providing immediate criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas emission reductions and supporting California’s long-term air quality and climate change goals.

Contact

If you have questions or comments regarding this work group, please contact Mr. Eloy Florez, Air Pollution Specialist, at (951) 542-3166. If you require a special accommodation or need this document in an alternate format (i.e., Braille, large print) or another language, please contact CARB via email at [email protected] as soon as possible. TTY/TDD/Speech to Speech users may dial 711 for the California Relay Service.

Servicios de interpretación

El 22 de junio de 2022, el personal del Consejo de Recursos del Aire de California (CARB) llevará a cabo una reunión pública para presentar información y colectar comentarios para el desarrollo del Programa de incentivos de cupones para equipos todoterreno limpios (CORE, por sus siglas en ingles). Las temas de la junta incluirán una descripción general del programa CORE, la participación de los paisajistas profesionales, la definición de pequeñas empresas, una descripción general del equipo de paisajismo de cero emisiones y los procesos de solicitud de cupones del fabricante, el distribuidor y el propietario.

Esta junta se llevará a cabo en inglés con servicios de interpretación en español. Sus preguntas, comentarios, y respuestas se usarán para el desarrollo de este proyecto y serán traducidas para el beneficio de todos los participantes. Para más información favor de contactar a Sr. Eloy Florez, Especialista de Contaminación del Aire, al (951) 542-3166.