New York launches $85Mn Clean Transportation Prizes

Today, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo launched the New York Clean Transportation Prizes initiative offering up to $85 million through three competitions. New York State is looking for clean transportation solutions with a focus on underserved communities.

The three competitions include the Clean Neighborhoods Challenge, the Electric Mobility Challenge and the Electric Truck & Bus Challenge, with each run in two phases. All applicants must register by 22 July 2021 to be eligible to submit proposals. The competitions expect proposals by late August – after registering at the July deadline.

In detail, the Electric Mobility Challenge offers up to three $7 million grand prizes for projects that “demonstrate innovative safe and convenient electric mobility options that help to solve disadvantaged community transportation needs,” the governor’s office writes. That is total prize money of 21 million dollars.

The Electric Truck & Bus Challenge holds up to three $8 million grand prizes, so $24Mn in total. In this case, the State wants to see “electrified solutions to the deployment of medium- and heavy-duty electric vehicles or their replacement through other electrified transportation modes.”

The remaining 30 million dollars are to go into the Clean Neighbourhoods challenge, which looks at transportation options more broadly. Again the prizes may be received by three competitors with up to 10Mn dollars grant money.

Independent global experts will help New York State assess applications and help guide the project selection process through different phases of the competition, the governor announced. They will announce the first selection by winter 2021/22.

During the first phase of the programme, selected applicants may receive a $100,000 planning grant and $50,000 in funding for community partners or in-kind support from NYSERDA provided expert consultants and additional support services.

The governor’s office and partner, the Long Island Power Authority, reckon up to 18 projects (with three on Long Island) could be awarded funding during the first phase. Final proposals must be submitted by spring 2022 as part of the second phase, and grand prizes to be selected in summer 2022.

The New York Clean Transportation Prizes scheme is part of New York’s ‘Make Ready’ programme. Private utilities in New York State fund the Make Ready scheme to boost access to charging stations, EV infrastructure, and other clean transportation options with a view to disadvantaged communities. The investments could total 1.5 billion dollars, as reported. Besides, 48.8 million dollars from the diesel scandal settlement with Volkswagen will be used to finance electric public transport and school buses and charging infrastructure for this purpose. According to the plans announced last July, on Long Island alone, 4,650 new charging points are planned by 2025 to provide electricity for 180,000 new electric vehicles in New York State.

governor.ny (PI), nycleantransportationprizes.org (the competitions)