PA to Receive $1.5 Million Clean Diesel Emerging Technology Grant
[for Towboats]
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Dept. of Environmental Protection
Commonwealth News Bureau
Room 308, Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120
News Release
CONTACT:
Ken Snyder
Phone: 717-783-1116
Tom Rathbun (DEP)
Phone: 717-787-1323
24 September 2009
HARRISBURG – Governor Edward G. Rendell today announced that the
commonwealth has received a $1.5 million Clean Diesel Emerging
Technology Grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to
upgrade the diesel engines of a towboat operating in the Pittsburgh
area.
“The Port of Pittsburgh is the busiest port in the nation in terms of
total trips made, and as a result, Allegheny County has the highest
annual diesel emissions from commercial marine vessels of any county in
Pennsylvania,” Governor Rendell said. “With this funding we’ll be able
to upgrade these towboat engines, which will help improve air quality
in the region, cut fuel costs for the operator and create or retain as
many as 32 jobs.”
The Recovery Act grant will pay Cleveland Brothers of Murrysville to
overhaul both diesel engines on the Pittsburgh-based vessel Champion
Coal to reduce emissions and improve fuel efficiency. The towboat is
owned by Consol Energy and moves freight on a 200-mile stretch of the
Monongahela and Ohio rivers.
The Champion Coal towboat operates for approximately 8,000 hours each
year and consumes more than 600,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually.
The engine upgrades will reduce harmful air emissions by more than 86
tons per year and cut fuel usage by five percent, saving nearly 40,000
gallons of diesel fuel or nearly $86,000 each year of operation.
After the upgrade, Cleveland Brothers will run a series of field tests
to verify engine system performance through the first 1,000 hours of
operation. The rebuilt engines will have a service life in excess of 30
years.
“This is the latest in a series of steps we’ve taken including
electrifying truck stops along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, restricting
idling of heavy-duty diesel vehicles and upgrading railroad engines to
improve air quality and reduce diesel emissions across the state,”
Governor Rendell said. “The towboat engine upgrades are a
cost-effective way to reduce marine vehicle emissions and improve air
quality.”
One hundred tugboats service freight movements along the Allegheny,
Monongahela and Ohio rivers. Consol Energy operates nearly 30 of those
boats. Allegheny County contains 102 of the 191 piers, wharves and
docks in the seven-county area around Pittsburgh.
To learn more about how the federal economic stimulus will benefit
Pennsylvania, visit http://www.recovery.pa.gov