United Parcel Service – CNG delivery vehicle. Courtesy/NMED
NMED News:
ALBUQUERQUE — The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) awarded United Parcel Service (UPS) $473,222 in grant funding to replace 16 delivery vehicles with low pollution compressed natural gas (CNG) delivery vehicles.
“New Mexico has helped school districts and nonprofit organizations reduce their climate-warming emissions from their vehicle fleets,” Environment Secretary James Kenney said. “Now, UPS is following suit by retiring diesel-fueled vehicles and replacing them with cleaner vehicles.”
Over the life of the vehicles, oxides of nitrogen (NOX) will be reduced by 9 tons, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) will be reduced by over half a ton. NOX contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone, and both ozone and PM2.5 contribute to the formation of smog.
UPS is replacing trucks based in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Carlsbad, Silver City, Clovis, Hobbs and Farmington. The new replacement vehicles will be relocated to operate from Albuquerque.
Funding from NMED will partially reimburse UPS for the replacement of these vehicles. The total project cost of replacing the trucks is $1,440,000.
“At UPS, we believe in contributing positively to the communities in which we live and work. With over 18,000 alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles in our fleet, we are proud to collaborate with the New Mexico Environment Department to increase our number of renewable natural gas vehicles and make a difference on the road,” said Ryan Bankerd, UPS Corporate Affairs Director of Sustainability. “This type of work helps drive our company’s advancement of lower-carbon solutions, reduce emissions and deliver real change.”
UPS is one of the world’s largest companies, with 2023 revenue of $91.0 billion, and provides a broad range of integrated logistics solutions for customers in more than 200 countries and territories. Focused on its purpose statement, “Moving our world forward by delivering what matters,” the company’s approximately 500,000 employees embrace a strategy that is simply stated and powerfully executed: Customer First. People Led. Innovation Driven. UPS is committed to reducing its impact on the environment and supporting the communities we serve around the world. UPS also takes an unwavering stance in support of diversity, equity and inclusion. More information can be found at www.ups.com, about.ups.com, and www.investors.ups.com.
In 2005, the U.S. Congress passed the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) as an amendment to the Energy Policy Act. DERA was designed to reduce diesel emissions from existing diesel fleets that did not meet the federal emission standards at that time. The EPA is responsible for overseeing and distributing the DERA funds. EPA has awarded funding to NMED, and NMED in turn, serves as a pass-through agency providing sub-grant funding through its New Mexico Clean Diesel Program, for projects that reduce heavy-duty diesel emissions.
Since 2008, the Air Quality Bureau, which manages the program, has awarded over $2.3 million in grant funding for qualifying diesel emissions reduction projects, including this project. Additional information and application materials to the DERA program are available here.