The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) unveiled proposed rules Wednesday that would require manufacturers to meet increasing sales targets for medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks in the state after 2025, to cut carbon emissions.

The rules, which set out a system of credits and deficits governing the number of vehicles that manufacturers would have to sell in the state, are based on California’s Advanced Clean Trucks regulation approved last year.

The DEP estimates that the rules will reduce carbon emissions by 2.6 million metric tons from 2024 to 2040. Environmentalists welcomed the rules, saying they address a key source of pollution that particularly affects communities close to ports and highways. By focusing on the trucking industry, the rules also target one of the industries that underpin the state’s economy, providing transportation for goods to move from the Port of New York and New Jersey to distribution centers.

The rules are designed to help move New Jersey toward Gov. Phil Murphy’s goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050. Transportation accounts for 42% of carbon emissions in the state, and emissions from heavy trucks are a big contributor. The state’s master plan, released in 2019, assumes that 75% of medium-duty trucks and 50% of heavy-duty trucks will be electric by 2050.

“New Jersey has the opportunity to become the East Coast leader in truck electrification,” said Hayley Berliner, clean energy associate with Environment New Jersey. “We would urge a rapid adoption of this rule by the end of the year.”

There are few electric trucks on the road in the state. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says only a handful serve the port, and the New Jersey Motor Truck Association says it knows of none in use around the state. Truckers say the electric trucks on the market are too expensive and can’t go far enough without needing to refuel. In addition, truckers say, there are too few recharging points around the state. (See NJ Looks to Boost Heavy-duty Charge Points.)

The announcement Wednesday opened a two-month public comment period on the rules, with a public hearing to be held by DEP on May 20.

Rising Sales Goals

The rules apply to the manufacturers of all vehicles larger than 8,500 pounds who sell more than 500 vehicles in New Jersey annually.

Under the rules, manufacturers accrue “deficits” based on their sales of vehicles in the state that are neither zero-emissions or near-zero emissions vehicles. The deficits are calculated based on factors including the model year, the weight class group and whether a vehicle is considered a tractor.

To follow the law, the manufacturer must accrue credits that are equal to or exceed the value of deficits it accrues in a particular year. Credits would be awarded for the sale of a vehicle in New Jersey that is zero-emissions or near-zero emissions, with the value of the credits based on the weight class.

Each year after 2025 through 2035, the value of deficits increases, based on sales percentages set out in the rules, forcing the manufacture to sell more electric vehicles to remain in balance with deficits, or to otherwise obtain credits. Manufacturers that don’t accrue enough credits to wipe out their deficit can purchase credits from another manufacturer that has accrued an excess. Credits can also be banked if they are not needed in one year and used in subsequent years.

The proposed rules require the individual manufacturer’s sales of zero- or near-zero emissions vehicles to rise each year in the decade after 2025 until they account for 55% of class 2b and 3 trucks by 2035, 75% of Class 4 to 8 trucks and 40% of truck tractor sales.

Penalties for EV Sales Shortfall

Manufacturers that fail to comply with the rules face a fine of $2,500 for the first offense and up to $30,000 for each offense after the third one. Manufacturers face similar penalties for claiming credits for the sale of a vehicle to a purchaser not from New Jersey.

To provide data for future rule changes, the proposal requires that manufacturers report EV sales figures and requires federal, state and local governments that use trucks more than 8,500 pounds in weight, along with businesses and non-profit organizations that use them, to submit a report on how they use the vehicles.

Environmental groups, some of which had participated in a public hearing on the proposal last year, expressed enthusiasm for New Jersey’s action.

“We are very excited to see these rules move forward,” said Mary Barber, director of regulatory and legislative affairs for the Environmental Defense Fund, who tracks New Jersey Legislation. “Its introduction will have a really big impact.”

The organization in March released a consultant’s report suggesting that while electric trucks still had some way to go match the needs of the market in terms of the distance they can travel before recharging, the EV trucks available at present are up to many of the tasks that truckers face. The report concluded that more than 70% of the trips made between the Chino yard of NFI Trucking and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach could be done within the range of an existing electric truck.