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Pilot Green Transport Fund
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| Background |
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The transport sector (including road and marine transport) is the second largest air pollution source in Hong Kong, accounting for about 37% of the local respirable suspended particulates and nitrogen oxides each and 6% of sulphur dioxide. Motor vehicle exhaust is also the main cause of roadside air pollution. In respect of greenhouse gases, the share of the transport sector is about 18% of local emissions. To help improve roadside air quality and reduce carbon emissions, thereby helping to avert global climate change, the Government has set up a $300 million Pilot Green Transport Fund to support the testing of green and innovative technologies applicable to the public transport sector and goods vehicles.
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| Eligibility for Application |
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| Eligible Applicants |
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An applicant must be an existing transport operator based in Hong Kong (including cross-boundary transport) who:
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| 1. |
operates ferries, taxis, public light buses, vehicles of charitable / non-profit making organizations providing services to their clients, franchised buses and non-franchised public buses, or goods vehicles (including special purpose vehicles);
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| 2. |
has been in the relevant transport service for more than one year;
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will likely remain in the service after the trial to bear fruit;
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has the potential to put the new technology under test into wider use in its own operation upon successful trial;
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is willing to share the findings of the test with other operators; and
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is not receiving or has not received funding from other Government sources, public bodies or charitable organizations for the same purpose of the application, except the incentive scheme to encourage the early replacement of Euro II diesel commercial vehicles and the tax incentive scheme to encourage the use of environment-friendly commercial vehicles.
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Technologies Supported
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The Fund supports a green and innovative technology which:
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| 1. |
works on sound scientific principles;
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outperforms its conventional counterpart by emitting significantly less air pollutant or greenhouse gas, or demonstrating much better fuel economy. However, regular upgrading of emission performance of conventional fossil fuel vehicles in accordance with the prevailing international standards (e.g. European standards) should not generally be qualified for application;
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has not been commonly or widely used for day-to-day operation in the relevant transport trade locally;
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is affordable to the transport trades in respect of capital and operation costs;
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is likely able to cope with the local operating conditions such as hilly terrain, hot and humid climate, intensity of operation, etc.;
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does not violate any statutory requirements such as roadworthiness, fire safety, etc. and can satisfy the approval requirements of the relevant regulatory authorities; and
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is not for research purpose.
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The products to be tested may involve:
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alternative-fueled vehicles such as hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, etc.;
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after-treatment emission reduction devices such as diesel particulate filters, selective catalytic reduction devices, exhaust gas recirculation systems, wet scrubbers, etc.;
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fuel saving devices; or
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conversion of in-use conventional vehicles to alternative-fueled vehicles.
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| Subsidy Level |
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The Fund only subsidizes the capital cost of the hardware (including installation cost if applicable) of the green and innovative technology product proposed for trial but not the associated recurrent expenditure. Please refer to the Table for the subsidy level of various technologies for trial.
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An applicant is allowed to submit more than one application to try different technologies (e.g. a public light bus operator to try both hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles) or to test products from different suppliers for the same technology under the same application to compare performance subject to the caps in the Table. A transport operator is, however, subject to an upper limit of $12 million in total subsidy.
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Green and innovative technology product
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Subsidy level
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Subsidy cap
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(a)
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Alternative-fueled vehicles
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(i)
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Subsidy per vehicle
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(i)
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Price premium between the alternative-fueled and the conventional vehicle or 50% of the cost of the alternative-fueled vehicle, whichever is higher
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$3 million per vehicle and
$9 million per application
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(ii)
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Related support systems
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(ii) |
50% of setting up cost
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Conventional vehicles
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After-treatment emission reduction devices;
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75% of the cost of the device including installation or the vehicle conversion cost
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$1.5 million per device or vehicle conversion,
and
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Fuel saving devices; or
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$9 million per application
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Conversion of in-use conventional vehicles to alternative-fueled vehicles
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Ferries
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Engine retrofit or testing of alternative-fueled engine
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75% of the device or engine including installation
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$3 million per engine or device, and
$9 million per application
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As technology continues to develop, green and innovative technology products other than the above categories may also be available for trial by the transport trades. Such applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Related subsidy levels and caps are the same as above.
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| Limits of Applications |
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There are limits on the number of applications for each type of transport (1) and on the number of products being tested. Please see the Table below. Also, each application is limited to one type of green and innovative technology, and one type of transport.
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Limit on each green and innovative technology
used on each type of transport
(e.g. electric taxi, ferry emission reduction device)
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(a)
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Total no. of applications
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15 applications
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(b)
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Total no. of products tested in one application
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50% of the no. of conventional transport owned by the applicant that are of the same type as the test transport, maximum of 6 products (2)
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(c)
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Total no. of products from the same supplier in one application
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50% of the no. of conventional transport owned by the applicant that are of the same type as the test transport, maximum of 3 products (2)
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Note:
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(1)
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Transport means ferry or various classes of vehicles, including light bus, taxi, and various classes of goods vehicles and buses. See Table 2 of the Pilot Green Transport Fund - Guide to Application.
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(2)
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For calculating the no. of conventional transport, van type and non-van type light goods vehicles can be counted together; medium goods vehicles are counted regardless of permitted gross vehicle weights and similarly for heavy goods vehicles; buses are counted regardless of number of seats. If the applicant owns only one conventional transport of the same type as the test transport, the limit is 1 product.
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| Steering Committee |
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Given the diversity and continuous evolvement of technologies, a Steering Committee has been set up to assess and advise the Government on the approval of funding for each application. The Committee is chaired by a non-official member and include, inter alia, members appointed in their personal capacity but drawn from academic institutions and the transport trades, as well as representatives of relevant Government Departments. Please click the following link for the membership list of the Committee.
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| Membership List |
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The Committee is to assess and advise EPD on applications of the Pilot Green Transport Fund. The terms of reference of the Committee are as follows:
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to decide on the funding rules in relation to the eligibility and funding caps in processing and vetting the applications for funding support under the Fund;
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based on the relevant guiding principles / eligibility criteria, to consider and make recommendation on -
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(i)
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whether an application should be approved;
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(ii)
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if an application is recommended for approval, the subsidy amount; and
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(iii)
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the terms and conditions, if any, for approving an application;
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to consider the relative priorities for funding support;
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to review the trial findings of the approved applications; and
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to receive reports from the applicants if there are changes to the continuing use of the funded products.
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| Application for the Fund |
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The Fund is open for application from 30 March 2011 until the HK$300 million budget is fully utilized. Please refer to the Guide below for application.
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Guide to Application
(Updated date: 10 August 2011)
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| Pilot Green Transport Fund Application Form |
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An applicant has to fill out the above application form and send it together with the required supporting documents to:
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Pilot Green Transport Fund Secretariat
Environmental Protection Department
33/F, Revenue Tower
5 Gloucester Road
Wan Chai, Hong Kong |
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The Steering Committee generally holds meetings at a quarterly interval, depending on the status and number of applications received. Tentatively, the next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled to take place in May 2012 or June 2012.
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The Secretariat will normally be able to complete assessing an application in two to three months and report the outcome to the Steering Committee for deliberation if all the requested information is properly provided in the application. However, a longer time may be required should there be many applications awaiting the vetting or the application involves a technology or issues that require more time to consider. The Secretariat will notify the applicant two weeks before the Steering Committee meeting which will consider his application.
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| Subsidy Agreement |
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After an application has been approved, the applicant, as the subsidy recipient, must sign an agreement with the Government and shall comply with all the agreement terms for receiving the subsidy from the Fund. Attached below is a sample agreement for reference. In the final agreement to be signed between the successful applicant and the Government, the Government may revise the terms to cater for the situations of the subject application and the relevant recommendations of the Steering Committee.
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Sample Agreement for Pilot Green Transport Fund
(Updated date: 23 December 2011)
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| Product Performance Data Collection |
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During the trial period, the subsidy recipient shall record fuel/energy consumption, maintenance cost and any other relevant data on a daily basis for evaluating the performance of the subsidized product being tested. The subsidy recipient shall also provide for comparison the performance of conventional product(s) used for the same or similar purpose during the trial period or other historical period to be required in the subsidy agreement. The subsidy recipient shall provide the types of data in the form specified by the Government. Please refer to the sample forms below for the types of data to be collected for an example of electric vehicles, and conventional vehicles.
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Daily Operation Report
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Maintenance
Report
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Monthly Operation Report
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Electric Vehicles
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Electric Vehicles:
Charging System:
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Hybrid Vehicles
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Emission Reduction / Fuel Saving Device Retrofitted on Vehicles
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Conventional Vehicles
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| Approved Applications |
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24 applications were approved, which cover the trial of 16 electric buses, 10 electric goods vehicles and 24 hybrid electric goods vehicles, amouting to a total subsidy of almost $61 million.
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Details of the approved applications
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Summary of number of applications and products approved
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| Invitation for Provision of Subsidized Products |
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You may click on the below link to find out the invitation posted by the subsidy recipients for provision of subsidized products.
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Current notices of invitation
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| News and Events |
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| References |
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| Pilot Green Transport Fund Leaflet |
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Discussion Paper for Legislative Council Finance Committee Meeting on 28 January 2011
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Discussion Paper for Legislative Council Panel on Environmental Affairs Meeting on 20 December 2010
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| Further Information |
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| For further information, please contact us at: |
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Pilot Green Transport Fund Secretariat
Environmental Protection Department
33/F, Revenue Tower
5 Gloucester Road
Wan Chai, Hong Kong |
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Telephone:
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2824 0022
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Fax:
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2838 2155
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| Email: |
pgtf@epd.gov.hk |
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