Greentech Lead U.S: Department of Environmental
Protection, Pennsylvania, announced it will begin accepting
applications Dec. 1 for its Natural Gas Vehicle Grant program, which
will provide up to $20 million over the next three years to help pay
for the incremental purchase and conversion costs of heavy-duty natural gas
fleet vehicles.
In the first year, $10 million in grants will
be available, $5 million of which is slated for local transportation
organizations, including non-profit agencies providing public transportation
services and public transportation, port and redevelopment authorities.
Non-profit organizations, for-profit companies, local
transportation organizations, state-owned or state-related universities,
commonwealth or municipal authorities and the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission
will be eligible to apply for the remaining amount.
An additional $7.5 million in funding will be
available the second year, with $2.5 million the third year.
Eligible vehicles must weigh 14,000 pounds or more and be
fueled with compressed natural gas or liquefied natural gas. Bi-fuel vehicles
are also eligible.
Grant awards will be capped at 50 percent of the
incremental purchase or retrofit cost per vehicle, with a maximum total
of $25,000 per vehicle. The incremental purchase cost is defined as the
difference between a vehicle eligible for these grants and one powered by
traditional fuels, such as diesel or gasoline.
“With this new technology coupled with grant money
available, Pennsylvania is in a leadership position to wean our
country from its dependence on foreign oil for transportation fuel,” DEP
Secretary Mike Krancer said. “Through Act 13, Governor Corbett
and the legislature moved us in the right direction by creating opportunities
for converting vehicle fleets from imported oil to homegrown, clean-burning,
cheaper natural gas.”
“The next step was our standing-room-only series of
seminars DEP hosted over the past few months to educate the public about the
grant program and converting vehicle fleets to run on natural gas,”
Krancer said. “Now, our grant program will provide funding for local
governments, schools and businesses to land lower operational costs, lessen
dependency on foreign oil and clean the air all at the same time.”
For this first year, grant applications are due Feb.
1, 2013. Grants will be awarded in late March 2013.