Pennsylvania Announce Grants and Rebates for Cleaner Trucks and Buses

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced new grants and rebates for trucks and buses through the Driving PA Forward initiative. $6.4 million in competitive grants and $12 million in rebates are available for trucks and buses with diesel engines to be replaced or repowered with cleaner-burning alternatives, including natural gas engines.

“Replacing or repowering vehicles like school buses and local delivery trucks with cleaner alternatives, as well as tractor trailers hauling cargo across Pennsylvania highways, is critical to improving air quality and protecting public health across the state,” said DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell. “These grants and rebates are excellent opportunities for schools and businesses to cut down on emissions.”

Grants are available for Class 8 vehicles like tractor trailers and transit buses to be either replaced or repowered. Rebates are available for Class 4-7 trucks, school buses, and other vehicles. The new vehicle or engine may be powered by natural gas, clean diesel, or other alternative fuels.

Eligible applicants include school districts, municipal authorities, political subdivisions, nonprofit entities, corporations, air quality or transportation organizations, and others. Funds for the grants and rebates are from the $118 million settlement with Volkswagen, relating to emissions cheating.

Full details for the grants and rebates, including eligibility requirements, can be found here. DEP will hold webinars for interested applicants for the rebates on December 3, 2018, at 10:30 a.m. and the grants on December 4, 2018, at 10:30 a.m. Registration details can be found here.

In addition, the DEP is making available approximately $1 million in grants to support the installation of publicly accessible alternative fuel infrastructure projects in designated major transportation corridors.

CNG fueling stations are among the eligible projects. All projects must be fully accessible to the public and be located within the designated alternative fuel corridors of I-76, I-276, I-376, I-476, I-70, I-79, I-90, I-95, and I-80.

The funding is made possible through the commonwealth’s FAST (Fixing America’s Surface Transportation) Act. This special solicitation under the AFIG (Alternative Fuels Incentive Grants) Program is designed to provide long-term certainty for surface transportation infrastructure planning and investments.

Individual project awards will provide up to a fifty percent reimbursement and be capped at $500,000. Proposed projects must be standalone and cannot rely on receiving funding from multiple applications.

Additional application requirements and restrictions are available here. Applications must be submitted online through the Electronic Single Application system here.