Cummins Westport Engine Runs Extra Clean

摘要

Interest in natural gas as a motor fuel has waned since diesel fuel plunged in price several years ago. That took away NG's principal advantage of substantially lower cost, which for a while was half that of diesel. That lessened a user's ability to pay off the high premium to equip a truck to burn it, not to mention the millions of dollars needed to set up an on-site filling station. So why would Cummins Westport bring out a Near Zero-emissions version of its ISL-G gas-fueled engine and Kenworth make it available? Because ever-cleaner air is still important in California, the state that first mandated low-emissions trucks and cars, says Kurt Swi-hart, Kenworth's marketing director. The state has been putting its money where its teeth are with incentive programs to help offset much of the cost of adopting clean-burning engines.