The Department of Environmental Protection today announced the award of nearly $32 million in grants that will advance the state’s transition to zero-emission school buses to better protect the health of schoolchildren and improve public access to charging stations in New Jersey communities.
Specifically, the DEP awarded more than $18 million through the second round of its Electric School Bus Grant Program for local purchases of 53 electric school buses and 41 associated fast chargers. In addition, the DEP awarded $13.6 million through its EV Charging Grant Program for 26 public and private projects to install publicly accessible charging stations at or near town and retail centers, multi-unit housing, and transit hubs across the state.
“The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in New Jersey,” said Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette. “These grant programs are advancing New Jersey’s long-term electric-vehicle emission reduction goals by replacing diesel school buses that emit harmful pollutants with clean electric buses and by expanding public and private charging infrastructure in our communities.”
The DEP’s Electric School Bus Grant Program and EV Charging Grant Program are highlighted in the recently released New Jersey Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Roadmap report, which outlines the progress, challenges and strategies to accelerating the use of zero-emission vehicles in the Garden State.