Medium and heavy-duty truck owners in Oregon looking to go electric can now apply for a state rebate to help lower those costs.
City of Roses Disposal & Recycling and Portland General Electric unveiled Oregon’s first electric garbage truck on Thursday Nov. 2, 2023.
Monica Samayoa / OPB
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality recently launched the Zero-Emissions Rebates for Oregon Fleets Program for these larger vehicles, which are often used by businesses.
The program provides a wide range of rebates for businesses and nonprofits buying or leasing a new electric medium or heavy-duty vehicle. Utility vans, walk-in delivery trucks, school buses and tractor trailers are all eligible.
“We are really excited to introduce this program and get more electric vehicles on the road, especially in this section of weight classes, and help improve air quality,” DEQ’s medium and heavy-duty rebate coordinator Dalton Sheppard said.
According to DEQ, the transportation sector accounts for 35% of the state’s overall greenhouse gas emissions, making it the largest carbon-emitting sector in Oregon. Medium and heavy-duty vehicles are responsible for nearly half of those on-road emissions.
Sheppard said the overall goal for the program is to encourage the adoption of zero-emission medium and heavy-duty trucks that will not only lower costs but also help reduce diesel pollution from gas-powered vehicles.
“They have been showing us a lot of excitement, and they’re anticipating buying vehicles, and they have been waiting until the rebate program opens to make those vehicles more appropriate for their business needs,” he said.
Oregon and the federal government have long offered rebates for the purchase or leasing of personal electric vehicles. Oregon’s Zero-Emissions Rebate program is the state’s first program offering rebates for commercial vehicles. The program is funded by both state and federal funding, with a combined $17 million for rebates.
While there are fewer electric options for this class of vehicles, the past few years have shown a lot of progress, especially with electric delivery vans. But costs have been a barrier, with smaller vans starting at $40,000 and heavy-duty trucks often costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. That’s made the switch to electric unattainable for some businesses.
Businesses, nonprofits and government entities located and operating in Oregon are eligible to participate. Each applicant can get up to five vehicle rebates per calendar year, Sheppard said, with the rebate amount determined by class size.
Organizations buying the heaviest category of truck can get rebates of up to $120,000 per vehicle.
“We’ve priced the rebates to bring those prices of the new zero-emission vehicles closer to a price point that their gas or diesel counterpart might be at, and we really start to see that price difference between the gas or diesel version or the zero-emission version increase as the class of vehicle goes up,” Sheppard said. “So that’s why we increase our rebate amount incrementally as well to follow that price increase by weight class.”
Sheppard hopes the rebates can help build a market for these electric vehicles.
Interested parties must first apply through a DEQ portal, which will determine eligibility. Applicants must receive approval and apply for a rebate before purchasing or leasing a vehicle at an approved dealership, per DEQ.
As of Monday, nine applicants have been approved, with a few applying for more than one zero-emission vehicle.
The program will remain open until the funds are exhausted.
