Port of Virginia launches enhanced green operator program in partnership with Virginia Clean Cities
The newly relaunched Green Operator Program for trucks that service the Port of Virginia can provide up to $20,000 toward the purchase of drayage trucks and up to $6,000 toward the purchase and installation of retrofit devices, the company said in its press release.
Recognizing the need to modernize the drayage truck fleet and reduce the fuel and maintenance costs incurred by truck owners, The Port of Virginia created the Green Operator Program in 2006 to incentivize truck owners to replace early model trucks with newer trucks equipped with clean-diesel technology. This newly opened phase furthers that original goal.
Port facilities include Norfolk International Terminals (NIT), Portsmouth Marine Terminal (PMT), Newport News Marine Terminal (NNMT), Virginia International Gateway (VIG), all in Hampton Roads, the Port of Richmond (POR) and the Virginia Inland Port (VIP) in Front Royal, Virginia.
The Port of Virginia Green Operator Program provides funds to replace older vehicles with more emission-efficient engines, provides funds to retrofit older trucks with tailpipe technologies and recognizes partners for achieving goals that reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases associated with the transport of goods.
Truck owners servicing The Port of Virginia may choose from two options; 1) truck replacement or 2) truck retrofit. Monetary incentives are offered in both categories to assist with the purchase of a 2008 or newer truck or the purchase and installation of clean diesel technology for an existing truck.
The Port of Virginia Green Operator Program was the first voluntary truck replacement program ever developed by a U.S. port. To date, “GO” remains the most successful clean-truck program in the country, replacing or retrofitting over 400 trucks and reducing NOx, CO, VOC, SO2, and PM emissions from dray trucks servicing The Port of Virginia facilities by as much as 25 percent.
