A consultation on TransportEnergy Powershift grants ended last week and officials at the Energy Savings Trust (EST) are now sifting through responses before it meets to discuss funding levels with the Department for Transport.
The trust sought fleet views on future grant levels and how to best manage future demand.
A spokesman this week said EST officials would hopefully be able to announce new funding levels by the end of this month.
New grants will be operational from April 1.
TransportEnergy PowerShift manages four programmes – PowerShift, CleanUp, Best Practice and New Vehicle Technology Fund. Each has its own specific aims and objectives to help create 'a sustainable market for cleaner vehicles in the UK'.
Through Government funds, it aims to ensure that clean fuel vehicles are practically and economically viable.
Fleets applying for a grant for clean fuel vehicles (CFVs) must choose vehicles that appear on the Powershift register.
The EST says that nearly 25% of all carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere comes from road transport.
Energy Saving Trust chief executive Phillip Sellwood says market research conducted for the trust indicates consumer demand for cleaner vehicles will grow next year. In order to meet the anticipated demand he said 2004/05 grant levels must be revised to 'ensure the programmes continue to provide the widest possible support to the market'.
Last year, it was reported that grants to help fleets buy LPG-powered vehicles had run out with five months of the financial year left. (Fleet NewsNet November 13 2003).
The EST said it was putting all applications on hold until April this year. It had an annual £10 million grant to cover the extra cost of conversions of new cars available through the PowerShift programme as well as money to convert older, larger vehicles through CleanUp.
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