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DEP awards grants for electric school buses, police vehicle

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Local communities will benefit from more than $2.7 million in statewide grants for clean fuel transportation projects.

Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration announced Friday that the money would go to 18 projects in Pennsylvania through the Alternative Fuel Incentive Grants (AFIG) program.

The program is administered through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

“These projects will help every single Pennsylvanian breathe cleaner air at school, in their communities, and at their workplaces,” said DEP Executive Deputy Secretary Ramez Ziadeh in a press release. “The impact of these grants is not limited to a specific city block or bound by a municipal property line.”

A large beneficiary of the grants is Nuvve, a San Diego, Calif., company with a branch in Pennsylvania, which receive $300,000 for 10 electric school buses to be used in Washington, Allegheny and Mercer counties.

A representative for Nuvve did not respond to a request for comment.

According to Nuvve’s website, the company provides charging stations for electric buses and offers services for managing a fleet.

It also helps government agencies with purchasing electric vehicles.

The 10 buses are estimated to save more than 18,400 gallons of gasoline per year, according to the press release.

East Washington Borough will also receive $7,500 for its Tesla Model 3 police vehicle.

East Washington’s council approved the purchase of the $56,000 vehicle last summer. The grant will reimburse a portion of that expense.

Police Chief David Bradley said the Tesla has worked well for the department, and handled well in the recent snowstorm.

“We received 1,000 hours of free charging with the Tesla. That means we won’t pay electricity for at least a year-and-a-half to charge that vehicle,” Bradley said.

According to Bradley, that benefit was provided through Tesla.

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