(AGENPARL) – mer 11 dicembre 2024 Issued: Dec 11, 2024 (10:21am EST)
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Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $735M in Selections for Clean
Heavy-Duty Vehicles as Part of Investing in America Agenda
70 applicants tentatively selected to receive funding for over 2,400
zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, along with infrastructure and workforce
development projects, to tackle climate change, reduce air pollution, and
advance environmental justice
WASHINGTON — Today, Dec. 11, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
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. EPA’s Clean Heavy-Duty
Vehicles Grant Program, created by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction
Act, will replace existing internal combustion engine heavy-duty vehicles with
zero-emission vehicles, while also supporting the build out of clean vehicle
infrastructure, as well as the training of workers to deploy these new
zero-emission technologies. Together, the selected projects announced today
will reduce harmful emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, support good-paying
jobs, and improve air quality in communities across the country, particularly
in those that have been overburdened by air pollution.
“Thanks to President Biden, we are accelerating American leadership in
developing clean technologies that address the impacts of climate change,”
said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Together, the Clean Heavy-Duty
Vehicles Grant projects announced today will slash air pollution and enhance
the country’s infrastructure for cleaner transportation solutions, creating
good-paying jobs along the way.”
“To tackle the climate crisis, we have to slash pollution from every sector,
including heavy-duty transportation,” said John Podesta, Senior Advisor to
the President for International Climate Policy. “Today’s awards from the
EPA will create good-paying jobs, make our communities healthier, and protect
our planet.”
“From zero-emission freight vehicles to clean school buses for kids, the
Biden-Harris Administration is advancing the next generation of clean
transportation that will help reduce pollution and make our nation’s cities
and communities healthier,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali
Zaidi. “When paired with our investments in zero-emission port
infrastructure and freight corridors, this Administration’s sector-wide
approach to decarbonizing transportation is delivering economic, social and
environmental benefits to communities in every corner of the country.”
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. Cleaning up pollution
from heavy-duty vehicles helps protect the health of 72 million people living
near truck freight routes in America.
EPA’s Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program will accelerate the adoption
and deployment of eligible Class 6 and 7 zero-emission vehicles. Vehicles
eligible for replacement include older vehicles powered by internal combustion
engines that pre-date recent EPA emission standards.
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 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program also funds zero-emission
vehicle fueling infrastructure (e.g., electric vehicle charging stations), as
well as workforce development and training. These investments support the
implementation of the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Blueprint for
Transportation Decarbonization and the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor
Strategy .  
Approximately 70% of the selections announced today will support the purchase
of clean school buses, helping provide clean air for children on their ride to
school. These projects complement EPA’s Clean School Bus program through the
President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which has awarded nearly $3
billion for nearly 9,000 clean school buses to date.  
Selected Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program examples include:
Boston Public Schools has been selected to 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. 
Saint Louis Public Schools has been selected to 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 of nitrogen oxides, particulate
matter, and greenhouse gases. 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 (Highland) to ensure
cost-effective use of EPA funding and successful implementation of the
project.
North Central Texas Council of Governments has been selected to receive an
anticipated $60,000,000. 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 fleet survey conducted to inform this
proposal, 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 ZEV
workforce development plan, implement priorities identified through the plan
and host first responder training specific to ZEV.
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community has been selected to 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
onsite 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 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program advances President Biden’s
Justice40 Initiative, which aims to deliver 40% of the overall benefits of
certain federal investments to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized
by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
EPA prioritized disadvantaged communities facing air quality challenges,
including nonattainment with EPA’s fine particulate matter and ozone
National Ambient Air Quality Standards or high levels of ambient diesel PM.
Applications were evaluated on engagement with affected communities,
especially local residents, to ensure their meaningful participation with
respect to the design, planning, and performance of the project. Approximately
$523 million of the funds announced today will be used to fund projects
serving communities located in areas in nonattainment with the NAAQS.
In addition to the funding for the replacement of existing internal combustion
engine Class 6 and 7 heavy-duty vehicles with eligible Class 6 and 7
zero-emission vehicles, funding may also be used to support zero-emission
vehicle adoption and deployment by providing:
Zero-emission vehicle refueling infrastructure.  
Workforce development and training.
Project implementation costs.
EPA will work with selected applicants over the coming weeks to finalize
awards. EPA currently 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.     
Additionally, EPA and the Department of Labor expect to issue in early 2025 a
separate grant program designed to strengthen the workforce development
ecosystem through curriculum development in order to prepare workers to
maintain and repair ZEVs.
Please visit the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program webpage for
additional information and updates as EPA works with tentatively selected
applicants to finalize awards and implement their projects.
For further information and to stay up to date on matters related to our
office, sign up for the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles listserv.
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