Hybrid truck legislation

At a June 10, 2008 hearing of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment of the Committee on Science and Technology, witnesses from NREL, Eaton Corp., Dueco, PG&E and Calstart told members of the subcommittee that if the government wants to accelerate the introduction of hybrid technology into medium and heavy duty commercial trucks, more government support is needed relative to R&D and purchasing incentives. 

Legislation to be introduced by Rep. Sensenbrenner, as currently drafted, would specifically accelerate research of plug-in hybrid technology in trucks.  At the hearing, the representative from Calstart indicated that it would be better to provide funding for hybrid trucks in general and not focus specifically on plug-in’s.

Information on the hearing is online at http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2216.