Colorado offers $7 mn in grants to electrify vehicle fleets
The Colorado Energy Office has launched the Fleet-ZERO grant program, which aims to provide financial support for charging equipment and infrastructure, enabling a shift away from traditional diesel- and gasoline-powered vehicles.
The grant program offers $7 million to businesses, local governments, nonprofits, and other entities to help electrify their vehicle fleets, including light, medium, and heavy-duty vehicles.
“Fleet vehicles, in particular, are major contributors to dangerous air pollution like nitrogen oxides and particulate matter,” stated Matt Lerman, infrastructure program manager at the Colorado Energy Office. Fleet vehicles significantly impact pollution due to their extensive usage, accounting for only a fraction of vehicles on the road but responsible for 22 per cent of road-based greenhouse gas emissions in Colorado.
Lerman emphasized the importance of addressing fleet vehicles within the program, stating, “It’s essential to make sure that those vehicles that have that big impact and have that high mileage and high emission consideration are dealt with in this program.”
The grants provided through the Fleet-ZERO program will vary depending on the complexity and power capacity of the charging systems. Awards range from $3,000 for relatively simple charging infrastructure to approximately $500,000 for more advanced and high-powered systems. Certain groups will receive more generous grants, including disadvantaged, minority, and small business enterprises, nonprofits, school districts, and tribes.
The funding for the Fleet-ZERO program comes from a fee on retail deliveries and a federal program. It is part of a larger plan that includes $310 million in electrification funding available through the Colorado Energy Office and other state agencies in the coming years. Colorado’s budget provides tax credits for new and used electric vehicle purchases, supports programs for e-bikes, and promotes home electrification by replacing gas appliances with induction ranges and heat pumps.
The state targets having one million EVs on Colorado roads by 2030.
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