Gov. Tom Corbett Thursday awarded more than $6.7 million in Act 13 funding to 18 companies and organizations making the switch to natural gas for their heavy-duty fleet vehicles.

“Act 13 was a leap forward in strengthening oversight of the drilling industry,” Corbett said. “The law was also a leap forward in helping to continue to grow jobs and clean the air at the same time as demand in the transportation sector develops. Natural gas, particularly from the shale formations here in Pennsylvania, is an abundant, affordable, domestic fuel that is putting this country on a path to energy independence.”

Act 13 of 2012 was the single biggest step in modernizing the state’s Oil and Gas Law in nearly three decades. It increased protections of private water supplies, empowered the Department of Environmental Protection to issue larger fines and included one of the most progressive hydraulic fracturing fluid disclosure laws in the nation.

The Act also authorized DEP to develop and implement the Natural Gas Energy Development program, which distributes up to $20 million in grants over three years to help pay for the incremental purchase and conversion costs of heavy-duty natural gas fleet vehicles.

In this first round, $5 million was reserved for local transportation organizations, as obligated by the Act. DEP received applications from 49 applicants requesting nearly $13 million in grants. An additional $11 million will be available in August, with 50 percent slated for local transportation organizations. The third and final grant round is slated to open in 2014.

A list of grants awarded is available online.

Eligible vehicles for all three rounds of the Natural Gas Energy Development program include those fueled with compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) or bi-fuel vehicles weighing 14,000 pounds or more.

Grant requests cannot exceed 50 percent of the incremental purchase or retrofit cost per vehicle or a maximum total of $25,000 per vehicle.

Alternative Fuel Grants Program Opening

Gov. Corbett also announced a May 25 opening for the Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant (AFIG) program, providing an estimated $10 million to help companies and organizations purchase or convert CNG, LNG or bi-fuel vehicles weighing less than 14,000 pounds, as well as electric, propane or other alternative fuel vehicles of any weight.

Applications will also be accepted for innovation in alternative fuel transportation, including non-road vehicles, such as natural gas-powered trains or marine vessels. The AFIG program is funded by a gross receipts tax on utilities.

The deadline for applications is July 26.

For more information, visit DEP’s Natural Gas Vehicle Program webpage.

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5/20/2013