Obama Views New Hybrid Trucks in California
President Obama visited a California center featuring new hybrid trucks Friday, including plug-in hybrid with an engine developed by Eaton Corp. and the Electric Power Research Institute.
The truck, on display at Southern California Edison’s Electric Vehicle Technical Center, is one of five “boom and bucket” trucks Eaton will provide to utilities for testing.
It improves fuel economy by up to 70% compared with a conventional truck, Eaton said in a statement.
The hybrid’s chassis is based on a Ford-550 and can be recharged by plugging it into a standard 120- or 240-volt outlet.
Eaton said earlier this month that it will assist truck fleets in applying for the $156 million in grants available for diesel hybrid trucks under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Funding is available, through the Environmental Protection Agency, that could pay for up to 25% of the cost of a new hybrid truck.
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