On December 13, the Department of Environmental Protection awarded more than $2.55 million to improve air quality in communities through cleaner fuel transportation infrastructure.

The 2024 Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant (AFIG) funding to municipalities and businesses will fund clean school buses, electric vehicle chargers, and other projects to lower air emissions from transportation.

Projects were funded in Allegheny, Bucks, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Tioga, Washington, Westmoreland and York counties.

“Communities are investing in zero- and low-emission transportation because they recognize this is a pathway to cleaner air and better health,” said DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley. “This round of awarded projects will help with the robust deployment of electric delivery trucks, passenger vehicles, semi-trailer trucks, and more across Pennsylvania — along with the installation of three new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. By providing opportunities to deploy cleaner transportation alternatives, DEP is affirming the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to ensuring Pennsylvanians have clean air to breath and healthier communities as a result.”

In Pennsylvania, 47 percent of nitrogen oxide emissions come from gasoline and diesel vehicles, and transportation contributes up to 22 percent of Pennsylvania's overall greenhouse gas emissions.

The AFIG program provides funding to help school districts, municipalities, businesses, and nonprofit organizations in Pennsylvania replace these older gasoline- or diesel-fueled vehicles with electric, renewable natural gas (RNG), compressed natural gas (CNG), ethanol, biodiesel, or propane gas fueled vehicles. It also funds installation of fueling equipment for these vehicles.

The funding program engages a diverse range of stakeholders in advancing sustainable transportation. This includes Environmental Justice Areas (EJ Areas), which DEP defines as a geographic area characterized by increased pollution burden, and sensitive or vulnerable populations based on demographic and environmental data.

The grant program awarded funding to 14 recipients for 16 projects.

Thirteen vehicle projects will provide 26 electric, 15 RNG, 48 propane, and 11 CNG vehicles, while three infrastructure projects will enable EV chargers at five locations.

These projects are estimated to save 575,241 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) per year. Nine projects are located in or serve EJ Areas. 

The funded projects are as follows:

Allegheny County

-- Plum Borough School District: $300,000 for the purchase of three EV school buses.

-- Fishers of Men Community Development Corp.: $101,722 for the installation of two DC Fast chargers for use by the Fishers of Men fleet and the general public and $17,500 for the purchase of one Class 1 passenger EV and one Class 3 medium duty EV transit van.

Bucks County

-- Waste Management of Pennsylvania, Inc.: $300,000 for the purchase of 15 RNG waste vehicles.

Lackawanna County

-- L.T. Verrastro, Inc.: $200,000 for the purchase of seven Class 8 CNG trucks.

Lehigh County

-- City of Allentown: $60,000 for the purchase of eight Class 1 passenger EVs

-- Lineage Logistics Services, LLC.: $150,000 for the purchase of two Class 8 EV terminal tractors.

-- Carpenter Co.: $75,000 for the purchase of one Class 8 EV terminal tractor.

Montgomery County

-- Norristown Area School District: $10,000 for the purchase of two propane school buses.

-- Township of Abington: $75,000 to install five dual-plug Level 2 electric vehicle charging stations at three locations for use by the Township's fleet and the general public and $15,000 for the purchase of two Class 1 passenger EVs.

Philadelphia County

-- AAA Club Alliance Inc.: $117,885 for the purchase of one EV passenger truck, two medium-duty propane trucks, and four medium-duty CNG trucks.

Tioga County

-- Endless Mountains Transportation Authority: $300,000 for the purchase of 10 propane transit vehicles.

Washington County

-- Star Lake Ford LLC.: $300,000 for the installation of 1 DC Fast charger and 2 Level 2 chargers for use by the applicant's courtesy fleet and the general public.

Westmoreland County

-- DMJ Transportation: $248,030 for the purchase of 34 propane school buses.

York County

-- CT TAAS 1 LLC.: $280,000 for the purchase of seven Class 7 EV delivery vehicles.

Click Here for the complete announcement.

Visit DEP’s Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant webpage for more information on this program.

For more information on environmental programs in Pennsylvania, visit DEP’s website.  Submit Environmental Complaints; Click Here to sign up for DEP’s newsletter; sign up for DEP’s eNotice; visit DEP’s Blog,  Like DEP on Facebook, Follow DEP on Twitter and visit DEP’s YouTube Channel.

Related Articles This Week:

-- PA Solar Center: Whitehall Borough, Allegheny County To Install Solar Energy Facility In Early 2025  [PaEN]

-- Penn State Extension: How Local Ordinances Can Address Concerns About Physical Impacts Of Grid-Scale Solar Development  [PaEN]

-- Guest Essay: Renewables Can Help Stop Winter, Summer Power Outages, Avoid Energy Price Spikes - By Matt Walker, Clean Air Council and Julia Kortrey, Evergreen Action  [PaEN]

-- EPA Awards $735 Million To Support Local Purchases Of Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Including $2.8 Million To Penn Hills School District In Allegheny County  [PaEN]

-- DEP Awards $2.55 Million In Grants To Support Clean Fuel Infrastructure, Purchase Of Clean Vehicles  [PaEN]

-- PA Environmental Professionals Hosting Jan. 14 Webinar On PA Policies & Plans For Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions  [PaEN]

-- Rep. Martin Causer Returns As Republican Chair Of House Environmental Committee; Priority- Getting Government 'Out Of The Way' Of Energy Production  [PaEN]

NewsClips:

-- The Energy Age Blog: Dream Team: Rooftop Solar With Electric Vehicle - Crunching The Numbers From Sept. to November

-- Penn State Extension Energy Essentials Newsletter: Grid-Scale Solar Technologies; Home Heating Assistance; Biomass Heating; Education Opportunities

-- Centre Daily Times: University Joint Authority $81 Million Biosolids Project Underway To Turn Waste Into Renewable Energy

-- PA Capital-Star: It’s Do Or Die Time For Philly Hydrogen Hub, Green Groups Are Rallying Against It

-- Inside Climate News: Clean Energy Industry Questions New PJM Proposal That Could Move Fossil Fuel Projects To Front Of Interconnection Queue

-- Utility Dive: PJM Expects Summer Peak Load To Grow 2% A Year On Average Driven By Data Centers

-- Utility Dive: FERC Rejects Plan To Shift PJM’s Electric Transmission Planning Protocol In Win For State Regulators

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: Middlesex Twp., Cumberland County Could Become Home To Region’s First Large Scale, 700 Acre Data Storage Complex

-- Bloomberg: When A Giant Data Center Comes To A Small Town

[Posted: December 13, 2024]

12/16/2024