NATSO, SIGMA, NACS Urge EPA to Adopt Technology-Neutral Approach to Greenhouse Gas Standards for Heavy-Duty Trucks

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NATSO, representing America's travel centers and truck stops, SIGMA: America's Leading Fuel Marketers, and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) today urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise its proposed greenhouse gas standards for heavy-duty trucks and adopt a market-oriented, technology-neutral approach to transportation decarbonization. 

Rather than adopting a single approach to emissions reductions, the organizations urged EPA to harness the immediate decarbonization benefits of existing lower carbon options, including renewable diesel and biodiesel. 

"The enormous practical and logistical challenges associated with electrifying trucks necessitate that the agency not rely entirely on a prodigious pace of heavy-duty electrification to decarbonize the trucking sector," the organizations wrote in public comments submitted to EPA. "Instead of depending on one technology to act as a silver bullet, the agency should adopt an agnostic approach to low-carbon technologies that can deliver substantial emissions savings in the heavy-duty sector, without compromising the market's ability to gravitate toward electrification as it becomes commercially viable and practical at scale."

With the right alignment of policy incentives, transportation energy providers can facilitate a faster, more widespread, cost-effective transition to petroleum alternatives, including electricity, in the coming years. 

Fuel retailers support the development of electric vehicle technologies and the associated refueling network but are concerned that the current state of heavy-duty electric vehicle charging technology renders the electrification timeline proposed under this rulemaking unachievable. 

Renewable diesel and biodiesel represent the best opportunity for reducing carbon emissions from the commercial trucking sector for the foreseeable future. Establishing sensible tailpipe emissions in conjunction with strong incentives for renewable liquid fuels will encourage investments in currently scalable technologies that can reduce the carbon footprint of fuels that are in use today. 

Policies that incorporate lifecycle GHG emissions which consider multiple technologies and ensure an accurate accounting of the lifecycle carbon intensity will facilitate continued investment in all decarbonization technologies, as opposed to only one.

Under EPA's proposed rule, off-highway refueling locations will need dozens of fast chargers to support 25 percent of new long-haul trucks being electric by 2032. However, the charging capacity required at a single large truck stop would be equivalent to the electric load of a small town, according to a recent study from RMI. Fuel retailers remain unconvinced that electricity providers will be able to increase generation and transmission activity to service that load at scale within 10 years.

Fuel retailers have provided biofuels to reduce the carbon footprint of the nation's ground transportation for more than a decade. Compared with petroleum-based diesel, biofuels reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75 percent. Between 2011 and 2019, renewable diesel and biodiesel removed more than 18 million tons of carbon dioxide in California alone.

The fuel retailing sector has urged EPA to increase the blending mandate for biodiesel and renewable diesel under the Renewable Fuel Standard and encourage Congress to eliminate preferential treatment for sustainable aviation fuel, which uses the same feedstocks as renewable diesel but produces fewer emissions savings. 

NATSO, SIGMA and NACS look forward to working with EPA to improve its GHG standards in a manner that is feasible and practicable.

About NATSO, NACS, and SIGMA

NATSO is the trade association of America's travel centers, truck stops and off-highway transportation energy retailers. Founded in 1960, NATSO represents the industry on legislative and regulatory matters; serves as the official source of information on the diverse travel center, truck stop and transportation energy retail industry; provides education to its members; conducts an annual convention and trade show; and supports efforts to generally improve the business climate in which its members operate. Contact: Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman, Vice President, Public Affairs. 202-365-9459

NACS advances the role of convenience stores as positive economic, social and philanthropic contributors to the communities they serve. The U.S. convenience store industry, with more than 153,000 stores nationwide selling fuel, food and merchandise, serves 165 million customers daily—half of the U.S. population—and has sales that are 10.8% of total U.S. retail and foodservice sales. NACS has 1,900 retailer and 1,800 supplier members from more than 50 countries.

SIGMA is the national trade association representing the most successful, progressive, and innovative fuel marketers and chain retailers in the United States and Canada. Founded in 1958 as the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America (SIGMA), SIGMA has become a fixture in the motor fuel marketing industry. Representing a diverse membership of approximately 250 independent chain retailers and marketers of motor fuel, the association serves to further the interests of both the branded and unbranded segment of the industry while providing information and services to members. For more information visit SIGMA.org.

SOURCE NATSO, Inc.