Be Looking for Correspondence from TCEQ

With the ERIG grant round closing on August 13th, those who applied for a ERIG grant should be checking the mail for a letter from the TCEQ. In the past, applicants could expect to see letters 30-45 days from the closing date of the round.

TCEQ's ERIG Round Opens

Minutes ago the TCEQ announced the opening of their latest Emissions Reduction Incentive Grant (ERIG) round. The deadline to file is 5:00pm on August 13, 2010.

As a reminder for those new to the ERIG program this is not the first come, first served format used for Rebate Grants. The state collects all applications and weighs them against each other after the deadline.

Because of that ERIG rounds take a little more time, but normally (if you operate the equipment a significant number of hours) pay out larger grants.

You can review the official announcement and download forms here.

A Different Kind of Grant Round Opens

The state is accepting TERP applications for the Texas Clean Fleet Program (TCFP). The email just came down. This is not the ERIG or Rebate Grant program, but something different.

Here are a couple of key quotes:

"The TCFP grants are available to owners of fleets of 100 or more vehicles operated in Texas, at least 25 of which are diesel-powered vehicles."

"Grant applicants must commit to replace at least 25 diesel-powered vehicles with hybrid or alternative fuel vehicles."

We'll keep an ear open about the ERIG round, but again, this isn't it.

ERIG Round Delayed Until June

The round originally expected to open in April/May is now officially slated for sometime in June. These get pushed sometimes for administrative reasons.

It's Official: HDVEGP Grant Round Extended

The North Central Texas Council of Governments just announced they still have $2 million in grant funding available and they will continue taking applications on a first-come, first-served basis until June 25 or when the money runs out.

Also, if you got approved on this round after February 26th of this year you can purchase anytime before the end of 2010.

Deadlines for the end of the round and implementation were starting to loom so this helps some folks.

Here's a link to their page if you want to read more.

Don't Let Your Grant Approval Die On The Vine

We've seen some signs of things starting to turn around with the economy (knock on wood) and several customers have approved TERP grants from earlier rounds they set aside for better times.

Take this opportunity to go back and see exactly when your forms say your purchase deadline is. As long as it hasn't passed you have two options. You can purchase before the time runs out or file for an extension.

The 2009 ERIG round was the first in a long time where many applicants who filed correctly were turned down or placed on the contingency list. The TCEQ had more applicants than money.

If you already have grant approval make sure you hold on to it unless you are sure you are no longer going to buy.

Increased interest in the TERP program has made it tougher to get these dollars. Don't let them slip away.

ROMCO's Facebook Page

Just a quick step back from TERP talk for a general announcement...

We've created a Facebook page that will have some TERP news, but will mainly be a site for ROMCO in general. We'll post links to videos of interest and any manufacturer specials that could save you money on equiment or parts and service.

This page will still be the better to follow if your only interest is the TERP program, but if you have a FB account feel free to add us as a friend.

Rebate Grant Officially Closed For This Round

As of 3/1/2010 the Rebate Grant round officially closed.

Hopefully if you were planning to file you beat the deadline. Otherwise there's a grant round (ERIG) of the horizon in the next couple of months.

Rebate Grant Update: It's Going Fast

Two weeks after it opened this Rebate Grant round is almost out of funds. More than $13 million at the start has been whittled down to $1,286,932 as of Monday.

We had a few customers jump on this opportunity for ARRA stimulus dollars and it appears they weren't the only ones.

Rebate Grants may have gained some fans since recipents don't have the worry of meeting annual hour numbers.

The next round will be in the ERIG format in the April/May time frame. You may want to start thinking about how many hours you can comfortably commit to now.

TERP ARRA Rebate Grant Round Open

Word has come down in the last ten minutes or so that this has officially opened and forms are ready for download from the TCEQ's website.

On-road applications now allow for diesel, natural gas or propane powered vehicles, but since the focus here is off-road construction equipment I won't go into any more detail except to make you aware this widens the applicant pool a little which means more people competing for the same money.

This round closes on April 20, 2010, but since it is first come, first served there's a good chance the money will be gone by then anyway.

Good luck.

*UPDATE*

Forgot to list the starting dollar amount: $13,165,683 (as of February 8, 2010)

HDVEGP Puchase Deadline on the Horizon

If you have an approved grant with the HDVEGP then be aware the deadline to buy is April 30th of this year.

That is the round currently being run by the North Central Texas Council of Governments and money is actually still available.

At this point it would take a somewhat quick turnaround of gathering information, applying, getting approved and then purchasing, but you do have time.

With the ARRA-sponsored Rebate Grant round kicking off sometime this month and talk of an ERIG round opening in April or May there are some good grant opportunities out there.

Rebate Status The Same, ERIG Update

We're in a holding pattern for the next ARRA-sponsored Rebate Grant round which is still scheduled to start sometime in February. No solid date yet.

The next ERIG round will be in April or May based on what I've been told by the state. Keep in mind they have processes to go through and at times dates get pushed back, but that is what the expectations are as of today.

Rebate Grant Round On The Horizon

The TCEQ has announced an upcoming Rebate Grant round that will be funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The linked page above has the announcement and forms. Both are drafts at this point, are subject to revision and cannot be used to apply.

As of this moment there is not a start/opening date for this round. The deadline date is listed as April 30, 2010 so it has to start before then.

As of right now eligible counties for this round will include:
Austin - Williamson, Travis, Bastrop, Caldwell and Hays
Beaumont/Port Arthur - Hardin, Orange and Jefferson
Dallas/Ft. Worth - Denton, Collin, Tarrant, Dallas, Rockwall, Kaufman, Ellis, Johnson and Parker
Houston/Galveston/Brazoria - Brazoria, Ft. Bend, Waller, Montgomery, Liberty, Chambers, Galveston and Harris
San Antonio - Comal, Guadalupe, Wilson and Bexar
Tyler/Longivew - Upshur, Gregg, Rusk, Smith and Harrison

As is usually the case with Rebate Grant rounds these will be judged on a first come, first served basis whenever the round officially opens.

The state previously said March or April will have an ERIG round so that is looming ahead as well.

TCEQ TERP Meeting Tomorrow

The TERP program continues to evolve so the state makes a point of having public meetings before each round to clear up questions and ask for input from those who apply for TERP grants.

The meeting will start tomorrow at 10:00 am in Austin - link here for more details including a map - if you have the time and interest to attend. That same page has a document of the proposed changes.

I won't go into detail about every point since you can read it yourself and several of the items won't significantly affect our customers, but one item did stand out for heavy construction equipment buyers.

On the Rebate Grant program the state is considering requiring a minimum number of annual hours of use. The current application asks about hours, but they do not affect the grant.

As has been noted here several times Rebate Grants are much better for replacing lower annual hour units. It will be interesting to see what minimum threshold they set.

There are other items on the list. Some apply more to on-road or locomotives and not the focus of this page, heavy construction/mining equipment.

Some items do apply to our products, but they are not changes as much as putting existing policy down on paper which is a must when you do stuff like this.