Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced nearly $1 billion in grants to replace gas heavy-duty vehicles and school buses with electric vehicles.
The Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program will support the adoption and deployment of eligible Class 6 and 7 electric vehicles while also funding charging infrastructure and workforce development and training.
There are two program sub-competitions for the EPA grants:
- The School Bus Sub-Program for applicants replacing school buses (70% of funding)
- The Vocational Vehicles Sub-Program for applicants replacing non-school bus Class 6 and 7 vehicles. That includes box trucks, refuse haulers, dump trucks, street sweepers, delivery trucks, bucket trucks, and utility trucks (30% of funding)
The Inflation Reduction Act statute requires that at least $400 million of the program’s funding go to projects that will serve one or more communities dealing with significant pollution as defined by EPA’s National Ambient Air Quality Standards.
Over 3 million Class 6 and Class 7 vehicles are currently in use in the US, spanning a wide variety of vehicle types and vocations, including school buses, refuse haulers, and utility and delivery trucks.
The grant program is funded through the Inflation Reduction Act under President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.
“In addition to all the progress we’re making to electrify light-duty vehicles, today’s funding from the EPA will catalyze projects that bring electric school buses, garbage trucks, and delivery vans to neighborhoods across America – reducing pollution in our communities and creating good-paying manufacturing jobs,” said John Podesta, senior advisor to the President for International Climate Policy.
The transportation sector is the US’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and a leading source of health-harming pollution.
Most of the vehicles eligible for replacement are powered by internal combustion engines that pre-date recent EPA emission standards. Pollution from these vehicles is associated with respiratory and cardiovascular disease, among other serious health problems. Children, older adults, those with preexisting cardiopulmonary disease, and those of lower socioeconomic status are at higher risk.
To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and you share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. – ad*
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
