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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.
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CALSTART
Celebrates 25th Anniversary
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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.
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