LOS ANGELES, Oct 29 (Reuters) - U.S. nonprofit Climate

United on Tuesday announced a plan to spend up to $250 million

to buy as many as 500 electric semi trucks over three years in

what it called the biggest single order of those zero-emissions

trucks in the country so far.

Climate United then aims to lease those vehicles at

attractive rates to truckers that haul containers to and from

California seaports, where roughly 33,000 so-called drayage

trucks must have zero tailpipe emissions by 2035.

The program could give a much-needed jolt to the adoption of

heavy-duty electric trucks that now account for less than 1% of

the total U.S. trucking fleet. Those vehicles can cost as much

as three times more than traditional diesel versions that are a

major source of planet-warming greenhouse gases.

"High upfront costs make it difficult for independent

owner-operators and small fleets to transition to all-electric,"

said Beth Bafford, CEO of Climate United.

The Maryland-based nonprofit said it plans to make initial

orders in the first quarter of 2025 and that it is prioritizing

class 8 trucks that are assembled in the United States with

domestically made parts.

Trucks from manufacturers like Volvo Trucks North America

, BYD and Kenworth

already are shuttling cargo around ports in California,

including the nation's busiest seaport complex in Los Angeles

and Long Beach.

Climate United's program is funded by a $6.97 billion grant

from the National Clean Investment Fund, part of the Greenhouse

Gas Reduction Fund created under President Joe Biden's Inflation

Reduction Act.

Climate United also is partnering with Forum Mobility, which

is building charging depots in California ports and along common

freight routes.

"For so long, this has been the story of the chicken and the

egg. You can't have the trucks before you have the charging, and

you can't have the charging before you have the trucks," said

Jacqueline Torres, a vice president at Forum Mobility.

"This program brings both of those together."