Funded through the Zero- and Near Zero-Emission Freight Facilities program, The Volvo Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions (Volvo LIGHTS) project aims to get cleaner trucks on the road to transport goods from ports to the Inland Empire. This project includes 23 zero‑emission battery electric trucks, 29 off‑road battery electric tractors, and 58 Level 2 and direct current fast chargers. Volvo LIGHTS also includes 1.9 million kilowatt-hour solar panels to create a zero-emission goods movement system connecting the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to four freight-handling facilities in the Inland Empire. The zero-emission trucks will have a range of about 300 miles, which is sufficient to run from the ports and deliver goods to warehouses in the Inland Empire.
Given that many warehouses are located in disadvantaged communities, this project will decrease local air pollution and improve health impacts for Inland Empire residents like Mary Valdepeña. When Mary and her husband built their Fontana home in 1965, it was surrounded by fields, citrus groves, and grapevines. Today, it is surrounded by warehouses, with a concrete wall and truck trailers parked side-by-side next to her property line. From her house, she is exposed to the air pollution produced by the warehouse’s operations and constantly hears sounds of trucks.
Over the last decade, large companies have built more than 150 million square feet of industrial space in the Inland Empire—mostly warehouses served by diesel trucks. To better address the Inland Empire’s poor air quality, pilot and demonstration projects are underway to advance technologies that can reduce pollution from vehicles that transport goods to and from warehouses and ports.
“The Volvo LIGHTS project can change the way we transport goods across Southern California,” said Wayne Nastri, Executive Director of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. “Accelerating the use of battery electric heavy-duty trucks, in combination with expanded infrastructure and use of renewable energy, will improve air quality for the communities severely impacted by diesel pollution and is essential in obtaining the NOx reductions we need to meet the federal clean air standards.”