The state of Pennsylvania has awarded $7.3 million in funding under the latest round of the Natural Gas Energy Development program. The grants will go to 18 companies, organizations and partnerships making the switch to natural gas for their heavy-duty fleet vehicles.
Established under Act 13 of 2012, broad legislation aimed at modernizing the state's Oil and Gas Law, the program is administered by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and funded by impact fees paid by natural gas operators.
According to the DEP, the program distributed up to $20 million in grants over three years in order to help pay for the incremental purchase and conversion costs of heavy-duty fleet vehicles.
For this third round of the program, the department received applications from 37 applicants requesting more than $10 million in grants. The first two rounds awarded a total $14.4 million to 43 companies and organizations making the switch to natural gas.
Eligible vehicles for all three rounds of the program included compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied natural gas (LNG) or bi-fuel vehicles weighing 14,000 pounds or more.
Grant requests could not exceed 50% of the incremental purchase or retrofit cost per vehicle, with a maximum total of $25,000 per vehicle.
The 18 companies, organizations and partnerships that were awarded grants under this latest round are listed below, alphabetically by county, with a brief project description and funding amount:
Allegheny
– Giant Eagle, purchase 16 CNG vehicles – $400,000
– Penske Truck Leasing, purchase 20 CNG trucks – $500,000
Beaver
– Beemac Trucking, purchase 15 CNG trucks – $375,000
Bucks
– Constructural Dynamics, toward the purchase of 20 CNG concrete mixer trucks – $500,000
Cumberland
– NFI Interactive Logistics, purchase 15 CNG trucks: $375,000
– New Era Logistics, toward the purchase of 10 LNG trucks: $250,000
Dauphin
– Ryder Truck Rental with partner Modern Transportation, purchase 10 CNG trucks: $250,000
Lackawanna
– Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities with partners Road Scholar Trucking, DeNaples Auto Parts, and DeNaples Sanitation, convert 19 vehicles to CNG: $475,000
Northampton
– Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities with partner W.W. Transport, purchase and convert 30 trucks to CNG: $500,000
Northumberland
– Sheehy Mail Contractors, purchase 20 CNG trucks: $500,000
Potter
– REV Hoopes Trucking, purchase 20 LNG trucks: $500,000
– REV LNG, purchase 16 LNG trucks: $400,000
Schuylkill
– Penske Truck Leasing, purchase 20 CNG trucks: $500,000
Westmoreland
– Pittsburgh Region Clean Cities with partner United Parcel Service, purchase 20 CNG trucks: $500,000
Multiple locations
– Penske Truck Leasing, purchase 20 CNG trucks for deployment in Dauphin and York counties: $500,000
– CR England, toward the purchase of 10 LNG trucks that will travel through Lancaster, Chester, Delaware, Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery counties: $239,197
– Waste Management of Pennsylvania, purchase 25 CNG refuse vehicles to be used in Pen Argyl, Northampton County, as well as Erie and Washington counties: $500,000
– Northeast Associates, convert five trucks to CNG, traveling through Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Fayette, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties: $125,000
Notably, the DEP also recently extended its Alternative Fuel Vehicle Rebate program, which provides incentives for Pennsylvanians to purchase several types of alternative fuel vehicles.
Photo courtesy of Ryder.
