(The following report appeared at CalTradeReport.com on March 24.)
VANCOUVER, B.C. — RailPower Technologies Corp. has been contracted to supply a pair of hybrid-powered yard locomotives for use by as-yet-unnamed rail carriers in Southern California.
The sale by the British Columbia-based company – which manufactures “Green Goat” and a “Green Kid” hybrid yard locomotives – was approved for funding under the Carl Moyer emissions reduction technology program, which is administered by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD).
The SCAQMD monitors air quality for the region encompassing most of Southern California.
The locomotives cut smog-precursor oxides of nitrogen NOx and particulates 80-90% and greenhouse gases 50-80%, when compared to conventional yard locomotives.
The “Green Goat,” at 2,000 equivalent horsepower (hp), is built for shuttling rail cars in large rail yards, while the “Green Kid,” at 500-1,000 hp, is designed for use in smaller industrial yards.
Traction power for both units comes from a series of lead acid batteries, which take up the majority of space under their long hoods. The batteries are kept charged by a small diesel prime mover, which runs only as required to keep the batteries charged.
Since its only function is to charge the batteries, the prime mover runs at a constant speed when operating. Power is always available without delay from the batteries. As a result, the unit is much quieter than a conventional diesel-electric, and much more efficient and lower in pollution.
Specific details of the sale weren’t disclosed and RailPower is reportedly finalizing end-user arrangements for the Green Goat and a customer is expected to be announced shortly, the company said.
Several rail carriers including the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, the Union Pacific Railroad, the Harbor Belt Line, and a number of smaller short lines serve the region.
The Carl Moyer Program is an incentive-based program which taps into available new environmental technologies to help California advance clean air goals.
Through the program, California implements incentive-based reductions in diesel engine emissions that are called for in the State Implementation Plan (SIP), the state’s “roadmap” for meeting federal clean-air mandates.
Together, with other incentive-based measures, the Carl Moyer Program has the potential to reduce NOx emissions, and can do so cost effectively for between $5,000 and $12,000 per ton.
By comparison, controls on stationary sources cost between $10,000 – $20,000 per ton.