By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Agricultural equipment manufacturers seem to be ready for stricter emissions standards for non-road diesel engines, an official with the Assoc. of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) confirmed.
“I haven’t heard of any manufacturers that won’t be in compliance by 2014,” said Charlie O’Brien, AEM’s vice president of agricultural services. “There’s a whole lot of work to be done. These aren’t small changes. It’s a game-changing event.”
In 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Tier 4 emission standards, which are designed to further reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter by 90 percent. Tiers 1-3 were phased in beginning in the 1990s.
Non-road, or off-road, vehicles are to be fully compliant with Tier 4 standards by 2014. Only new equipment purchased after 2014 is affected. Some larger engines 750 horsepower and over will have until 2015 to be in compliance.
“We are going to make that burst of black smoke that erupts from diesels a thing of the past,” then-EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt said in 2004. “We’re able to accomplish this in large part because of a masterful collaboration with engine and equipment manufacturers, the oil industry, state officials, and the public health and environmental communities.”
When the Clean Air Nonroad Diesel Rule was signed, the EPA said it would result in the widespread introduction of emission control systems, a move comparable to the advent of catalytic converters for cars in the 1970s. The agency said the new standards would result in reductions of pollution equivalent to having some two million fewer trucks on the road.
Engine and equipment manufacturers were concerned with the timeline, but not with the goal of the rule, O’Brien said.
“There was absolutely no objection to what they were trying to accomplish,” he explained. “Their ultimate objective is to have cleaner air. There were some concerns raised about the timeline, because 2014 isn’t that far away.”
To get engines into compliance has required more than a simple tweak, O’Brien noted.
“Everyone needs to understand the amount of research and development that has gone into this. I’ve heard that 50 to 75 percent of R&D budgets have been spent on this one particular issue. Billions of dollars have been spent by manufacturers the last few years. What will be coming out is light years ahead of where we’ve been in the past.”
Various manufacturers are using different methods to get their engines into compliance, O’Brien noted. “What they’re doing will vary by model and manufacturer. But for many, this will probably require some structural changes in the equipment, such as to the frame.”
A side benefit to the Tier 4 rule may be the updating of some electronics, including those used for monitoring, he said.
Equipment fitted with Tier 4-compliant engines could possibly cost more, O’Brien said. “If they’re spending that much in order to be in compliance, there probably will be some increases. But the manufacturers have their own pricing structures.”
In the next six months or so, AEM plans to post some frequently asked questions about Tier 4 compliance on its website, www.aem.org
Customers of Archbold Equipment, in Archbold, Ohio, may start ordering Tier 4 compliant equipment in July, but it won’t be available until 2011, said Daryl Nofziger, the store manager.
The store, which sells Case IH agricultural equipment, is selling Tier 3 equipment through June, he said. “We’ve heard from some customers who are not too fond of having to change,” Nofziger said. “They’ve heard rumors of an increase in price, and they know new equipment could have another liquid and an extra tank.”
Beginning in August, Nofziger said he and his staff will go to school to learn about the Case IH Tier 4 compliant line.
“It will be a good opportunity to get everybody up on it. We can go hands on and learn more, visualize more,” he added. |
