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RailPower Technologies Corp. recently reached an agreement with a Class I to lease and operate a Green Goat® hybrid locomotive in San Joaquin Valley, Calif., for five years. The undisclosed large road plans to use the unit for local and switching service in the Fresno area.

RailPower will fund production of the locomotive with a grant from California's NOx and PM Emission Reduction Credit Program, which is administered through the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District's Heavy-Duty Engine Emission Reduction Incentive Program. The program aims to reduce NOx and particulate emissions from heavy-duty diesel engines used by locomotives, trucks and farm equipment.

"The San Joaquin Valley is … one of the most polluted parts of the United States due largely to the long, warm summers and surrounding mountains that tend to trap the smog," said RailPower President and Chief Executive Officer Jim Maier in a prepared statement. "The Green Goat will not only do its job in contributing to reducing emissions, it will also be a very quiet solution."

Featuring 130-horsepower diesel generators and long-life recyclable batteries, 2,000-horsepower Green Goats are designed to reduce NOx and other emissions 50 percent to 80 percent, and fuel use about 50 percent compared with a conventional switcher.

RailPower currently has 12 Green Goats on order, including one to be used for five years in the Los Angeles Harbor area under a five-year lease agreement reached last week with an undisclosed Class I.