Electric Trucks
Pollution-free trucks, buses, and vans are Illinois’s transportation future and we must accelerate the transition from polluting diesel engines to affordable, reliable, zero-emissions electric vehicles to protect our health and improve equity for all.
Illinois’s biggest opportunity in the short term is to adopt the Advanced Clean Truck (ACT) Rule. Optimally, Illinois would also adopt the Heavy-Duty Omnibus (Low-NOx) Rule as well. Both are powerful and complementary tools that effectively reduce diesel pollution and jumpstart the zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) vehicle market in Illinois (more info available here).
Both rules apply only to sales of new trucks, buses and delivery vans and only govern those manufacturers. The ACT rule compels manufacturers to offer an increasing percentage of new sales to be zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses and delivery vans, while the Low-NOx rule requires new fossil fuel-powered engines to dramatically reduce toxic air pollution.
WHAT ARE MEDIUM- AND HEAVY-DUTY TRUCKS?
From delivery vans, to buses, to tractor-trailers, these are the kinds of electric and clean vehicles that will be more available with adoption of the two rules.
ADVANCED CLEAN TRUCK RULE
This rule would require manufacturers of trucks, buses, and delivery vans to ensure that a certain percentage of their new sales are zero-emission vehicles by a specific date. This guarantees those who want to make the transition to pollution-free, electric vehicles are able to do so. In Illinois, this rule would begin with model year 2026 if finalized in 2022.
The rule establishes a tiered set of requirements based on the type of vehicle: beginning in model year 2026, manufacturers must increase their proportion of zero-emission truck sales to 10% for Class 2b-3, 13% for Class 4-8, and 10% for Class 7-8 tractors, and then increase to between 30-50% by model year 2030 and 40-75% by model year 2035.
One rule can’t get the whole job done without the other. The Advanced Clean Truck and Heavy Duty Omnibus (Low NOx) rules must be adopted simultaneously to maximize public health and environmental benefits.
We need Illinois to join the states receiving the benefits of clean, electric trucks: New Jersey, Washington, Oregon, California, Massachusetts, Colorado, Vermont, etc.
Source: NRDC, It’s Time for Clean Truck Rules in Illinois, July 2022
HEAVY DUTY OMNIBUS LOW-NOx RULE
Despite best efforts to protect health and the climate, thousands of new diesel trucks will be sold in the coming years. To make those new trucks as clean as possible, this rule would dramatically reduce NOx pollution (smog) from new diesel truck, bus and delivery van engines by comprehensively overhauling exhaust emission standards, test procedures, and other emissions-related requirements for 2024 and subsequent model year heavy-duty engines.
When the rule begins, the NOx standards would be cut to about 75% below current emission limits and tightening to 90% below current standards in 2027.
The “Low-NOx” Rule is an emissions standard and will reduce emissions from new fossil fuel medium- and heavy-duty trucks.
