Wednesday, November 29, 2017

SJV Clean Transportation Update!




Welcome to the November 2017 San Joaquin Valley Clean Transportation Center Newsletter. With funding from the California Energy Commission, CALSTART opened the Center with the goal to accelerate the use of clean vehicles and fuels and help the region more quickly meet air quality targets.


Vehicles on display at the CALSTART 25th Anniversary included New Flyer's Xcelsior CHARGE battery-electric bus (left) and the prototype AEOS truck from Cummins, a Class 7 heavy-duty tractor cab with an all-electric range of 100 miles. Cummins expects the truck to be available in 2019 for urban delivery and short-haul trips, with longer-range engine options available later. 

CALSTART Celebrates 25th Anniversary    

Several hundred policymakers and industry leaders gathered in Pasadena Oct. 24 and 25 for CALSTART's 25th Anniversary Symposium. "Connecting Transportation, Jobs and the Environment" was the theme, with a focus on developing strategies to meet goals set for 2030 and beyond. The first day of the event was conducted on the Caltech campus, with the second day continuing at the Pasadena Convention Center.

CALSTART now has more than 180 member companies and organizations. During the event, Blue Sky Awards were presented to individuals, organizations and companies that have made outstanding contributions to clean air, climate change and the clean transportation technologies industry. The Legacy Award was presented to Mary Nichols, Chair of the California Air Resources Board. Other Blue Sky Award recipients included California Governor Jerry Brown, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, U.S. Congressman Ken Calvert (42nd District), UPS and Tesla. In addition to transforming the public image of electric cars, it was noted that Tesla now is the state's largest manufacturing employer. 

One of the highlights of the first day was a presentation on zero-emission aircraft. San Joaquin Valley Clean Transportation Center Director Joseph Oldham, who also is a pilot, talked about CALSTART's Sustainable Aviation Project, which will be the first flight training program using electric aircraft in the U.S. Read more about this exciting Valley-based project, where work has begun installing chargers at municipal airports in the communities of Reedley and Mendota as well as at the Fresno Chandler Executive Airport and Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

The second day featured panel discussions on topics such as building market demand, new technologies in both light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles, and accelerating change in looking to the future. Quotes from some of the event presentations are highlighted at right.