Ontario Incentive Program Is A Step In The Right Direction

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The recent announcement of the four-year, $15 million Ontario anti-idling technologies grant is a great beginning.

If any of you have purchased an APU retroactive to August 2007, you’ll be able to apply for a hunk of that money back.

An APU can run up to $10,000 so this will go a long way in achieving a quick return on your investment.

(Providing of course that the infrastructure is in place in order to process claims in a reasonable length of time. In the beginning, passenger car rebates took months. Maybe this time they will get it right).

Applications for this rebate will be available Nov. 28.

Ontario’s action plan on reducing greenhouse gas emissions is aggressive.

By 2014 they plan on cutting back by 6% compared to 1990 levels.

By 2020 (this guy hopes to be retired), that reduction moves to 15% below 1990 levels and by 2050 (this guy will be long gone), that number screams to 80% below 1990 levels.

I suppose 1990 should be deemed “the year of gas” or something along those lines.

It is being used as the benchmark of environmental irresponsibility.

All of the above reductions refer to megatonnes.

In 2014 a 6% reduction will be equal to 61 megatonnes “relative to business-as-usual.”

In 2020 the reduction moves to 99 megatonnes “relative to business- as-usual,” etc.

Of course, my next question is just what exactly is “business-as-usual?”

I couldn’t find that answer from the report I read. (I do admit, it was 45 pages long and not exactly bedtime reading, so if it was there and I missed it, please accept my apologies).

In all probability, it’s based on an internationally accepted standard that a group of environmental experts deem safe.

Love it or hate it, the recent legislation mandating the use of speed limiters is also part of the same provincial initiative.

It is estimated that an APU can save up to 7,200 litres of diesel annually.

Do the math.

Even without the rebate, under normal operating conditions that unit is going to pay for itself within a year to 18 months.

Take advantage of this offer if you can.

If you don’t have an extra 10 grand hiding under your bed (I wouldn’t get out of bed if I did) it may be worth financing the investment.

It’s not often our politicians open their checkbook, so let’s take advantage.

-Rob Wilkins is the publisher of Truck News and he can be reached at 416-510-5123 or by e-mail at rwilkins@trucknews.com.

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Truck News is Canada's leading trucking newspaper - news and information for trucking companies, owner/operators, truck drivers and logistics professionals working in the Canadian trucking industry.


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