$100 Million In Green Transportation Grants Awarded by Transportation Department

The federal government has awarded $100 million in grants to 43 metropolitan transit agencies that had submitted plans to cut emissions and create so-called "green" jobs.

The grants mark the Obama Administration's continued investment in reducing the environmental impact of transportation vehicles by using technologies that boost fuel efficiency and cut pollution.

Many of the green grants are for agencies to replace diesel transit buses with diesel-electric hybrid and battery-electric buses, but a number also involve increased use of solar energy.

California-based transportation agencies such as the Bay Area's AC Transit and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be given more than $17 million for projects such as boosting solar energy capacity to make hydrogen with clean electricity, installing photovoltaic panels to offset electricity use at maintenance yards, and installing a flywheel energy storage system, the U.S. Transportation Department said in a statement announcing the grants.

Georgia's Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) will be given $10.8 million, the largest amount provided for a single agency, to build that state's largest photovoltaic installation, utilizing the roofs of shade structures at a bus storage facility for installation of the solar energy cells.

Among other projects, the Montgomery, Ala., transit agency will replace gasoline and diesel buses with electric hybrids; the Lowell, Mass., agency will construct wind turbines to generate electricity, and the agency serving the Vancouver, Wash., region will install solar panels to generate clean electricity at several transit facilities.

"These grants will put Americans to work now while improving our environment in the future," Peter Rogoff, administrator at the Federal Transit Administration, said in the statement." The transit industry continues to be at the forefront of reducing pollution and creating a cleaner, safer environment for our nation."

The House last week approved a bill that would authorize $2.9 billion for the Energy Department to boost government-led research into making cars and trucks more fuel-efficient over a five-year period.

The measure would push the government to team up with companies and universities to conduct research on technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells,  improved batteries for hybrid vehicles and electric cars and battery charging infrastructure and other improvements to the electric power grid.

The Obama Administration last week also unveiled a new average fuel efficiency standard of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016 for new passenger vehicles.

Danny King, Contributor

Posted by

John O'Dell September 22, 2009, 12:12 AM

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Diesel, Fuel Cell, Fuel Economy, Hybrid, Hydrogen, Mass Transit, Plug-ins and Electric, Solar

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