TRENTON - The Murphy Administration recently announced the availability of $35 million in grants to help local governments electrify their shuttle, school bus and truck fleets to protect public health and the environment, leveraging proceeds from New Jersey’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
The new funding is for the replacement of diesel vehicles owned by, or serving, local towns including shuttles, transit buses, garbage trucks, dump trucks and small school buses. Municipal and private fleets serving towns are encouraged to submit proposals for the Diesel Modernization Program, which accepts applications on a rolling basis. Grants that meet the eligibility requirements will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.
“While trucks and buses account for only four percent of all vehicles on the road, they generate nearly 25 percent of our transportation-sector greenhouse gas emissions and emit pollutants that are especially harmful to vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly and those with heart and lung conditions,” said Environmental Protection Commissioner Shawn M. LaTourette. “We encourage towns across the state, and the fleets that serve them, to take advantage of this funding to replace dirty diesel trucks with electric ones that will better protect our communities from harmful air pollution and bring us closer to meeting our climate goals.”
Base incentive amounts reimburse the cost of purchasing a new electric vehicle and, if needed, a charging station and range from $15,000 to $270,000 depending on the size of the vehicle. Additionally, higher amounts are available for vehicles owned by small businesses and towns. Fleet owners are required to provide documentation that vehicles purchased with grant money replaced existing diesel vehicles.
Driving Change Through RGGI
Proceeds from New Jesey’s participation in RGGI, a cap-and-trade pact among 11 northeastern states dedicated to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity-generating sector, will fund the projects. With this new funding, the state has invested $176 million of RGGI proceeds in electric vehicles to date.
To complement these projects, the state also offers the New Jersey Fleet Advisor program, which provides zero-cost assistance to help small fleets navigate key decisions around fleet electrification. This includes vehicle recommendations, cost projections and on-site infrastructure assessments. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Both the RGGI funding opportunity and technical assistance program directly support New Jersey’s Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) Rule, which was adopted in December 2021 to accelerate the large-scale transition to electric medium- and heavy-duty trucks. Through the rule, manufacturers are required to sell zero-emission trucks as an increasing percentage of their annual sales from 2025 to 2035.
