The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that 70 applicants across 27 states, three Tribal Nations, and one territory have been tentatively selected to receive over $735 million to assist in the purchase of over 2,400 zero-emission vehicles through its first-ever Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program. The majority of the funding will go toward adopting green school buses.
Across the nation, over 3 million Class 6 and Class 7 vehicles are currently in use, spanning a wide variety of vehicle types and vocations. Many of these are older vehicles that emit higher levels of harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter, and greenhouse gases than newer vehicles. This pollution 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 particularly vulnerable to these health impacts.
The EPA program aims to accelerate the adoption and deployment of eligible Class 6 and 7 zero-emission vehicles. Proposed replacement vehicles include battery-electric box trucks, cargo trucks, emergency vehicles, refuse/recycling haulers, school buses, shuttle buses, step vans, transit buses, utility vehicles, and other vocational vehicles, as well as a small number of hydrogen fuel cell transit buses. In addition, the program also funds zero-emission vehicle fueling infrastructure (e.g., electric vehicle charging stations), as well as workforce development and training.
Approximately 70% of the selections will support the purchase of clean school buses, helping provide clean air for children on their ride to school. These projects complement the EPA’s Clean School Bus program, which has awarded nearly $3 billion for nearly 9,000 clean school buses to date.
Selected Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program examples include:
- Saint Louis Public Schools will receive an anticipated $10,128,735 to replace 30 Class 6/7 diesel buses with Class 6/7 zero-emission buses to reduce the district’s emissions. The project will directly improve the air quality for students, staff, and community members and reduce district transportation costs. In addition, the district plans to leverage a public-private partnership with Highland Electric Fleets to ensure cost-effective use of EPA funding and successful implementation of the project.
- Boston Public Schools will receive an anticipated $35,079,653 to replace 125 Class 7 heavy-duty diesel and propane school buses with new, zero-emissions electric units, as well as charging provided by 125 direct-current fast chargers, with advanced load management and sharing capability.
- North Central Texas Council of Governments will receive an anticipated $60 million. NCTCOG will award rebates to program beneficiaries to replace approximately 234 vocational vehicles with 234 zero-emission vehicles. Specific projects will be identified through a call for projects to select rebate recipients. Based on a regional survey, NCTCOG expects the fleet mix to consist mainly of box trucks, step vans, and refuse haulers; most new vehicles will be battery- electric with a few hydrogen fuel cell vehicle pilot projects. Each project is expected to include supporting infrastructure. NCTCOG will also develop a regional workforce development plan, implement priorities identified through the plan, and host related first responder training.
- Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community will receive an anticipated $190,000. SMSC will use grant funding to replace its laundry truck with an all-electric alternative. It has existing charging infrastructure on-site that can be used while it waits for new charging infrastructure to be installed closer to where the vehicle will be parked, enabling the new truck to be in service as quickly as possible.
The EPA anticipates finalizing awards in early calendar year 2025 once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied. Project implementation will occur over the next two to three years depending on the scope of each project. Learn more about the grant program here.