Colorado officials say they are excited about the future of “zero-emission trucks” after holding a press conference discussing going green in Colorado on Tuesday.
The press conference held on March 22nd involved Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado energy officials as they announced that Class 8 Nikola zero-emission semi trucks will soon hit Colorado highways. Nikola Corp. will soon begin selling it’s electric semi trucks in Colorado through Wagner Equipment Corp.
“It’s really exciting to see a class 8 semi-truck available for sale in the state of Colorado,” said Kay Kelly with CDOT to Western Slope Now.
“These vehicles are being driven day and night. They’re driven over a long [period] and with heavy loads. Delivering the goods and services that everyone in the state relies on and you know with I-70 in the state, we’re a major thoroughfare for other states and commerce,” she continued.
Kelly says that she believes Colorado is leading the charge towards electric semi trucks and the presumed positive effects the switch will have on air quality, and points out that trucking companies in Colorado can now order these electric trucks. Back in February, Colorado delayed the implementation of clean-truck policies until 2026 in order to reevaluate how to best implement the policies, and to focus on current supply chain issues.
“These trucks are less than 10% of the vehicles on the road. They’re 22% of our on-road greenhouse gas emissions, they’re a significant portion of our ozone precursor emissions. I think Colorado is definitely leading on clean trucks, they’re a lot of states working like we are to make their state a friendly environment for zero-emission trucks.”
“We have a goal to reduce emissions from medium and heavy-duty at least 45% in Colorado by 2050.”