LONG BEACH, Calif. — In an effort to raise awareness of the importance of natural and renewable gas trucking to help improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, one of the port’s leading providers of logistic services announced Thursday it was replacing its entire diesel trucking fleet with near-zero emission natural gas trucks.
Total Transportation Service Inc. made the announcement in conjunction with the non-profit Coalition for Clean Air.
The 40 new TTSI trucks will be fueled with carbon negative renewable natural gas, the company said.
In any given month, up to 14,000 trucks call at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and emit nearly 2,600 tons of smog-causing nitrogen-oxide emissions. The new trucks can reduce this type of emissions by 90 percent and, when fueled with renewable natural gas, the trucks will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 80 percent, according to a joint statement from TTSI and the Coalition for Clean Air.
“If every one of the 14,000 trucks that call at these ports were changed to natural gas, it would have a major impact on air quality in the region,” TTSI President Vic LaRosa said. “We hope other haulers will follow our lead and make the switch as well.”
At least 25% of TTSI’s investment in the new trucks was funded through the California Air Resources Board’s California Climate Investments initiative, 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, the statement said.
“TTSI’s commitment to switch their fleet to 100% clean natural gas, battery electric, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles help bring advanced technologies to market scale deployment — technologies that are needed to meet our State air quality goals,” Michelle Buffington of the California Air Resources Board said. “We applaud TTSI for their commitment to clean air and public health.”
