November 22, 2021. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Nov. 18 that the Metropolitan Energy Center (MEC) in Kansas City, Missouri, was awarded $1,457,181 from the 2021 Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) National Grants program.
This will finance the replacement of 16 diesel, long-haul freight trucks with 16 low-nitrogen oxide, compressed natural gas (CNG) freight trucks. The funding will also allow MEC to conduct a rebate program to replace two to four diesel transit buses or off-road diesel cargo handlers with electric models.
This grant award was part of over $77 million awarded to projects that reduce diesel emissions from the nation’s existing fleet of older, dirtier engines and vehicles. $53 million was awarded through the 2021 DERA National Grants program, and an additional $24 million was awarded to states through the DERA State Grants program. The DERA program funds grants and rebates that protect human health and improve air quality by reducing harmful emissions from diesel engines.
“Cleaner trucks, buses, boats, and heavy equipment keep local economies thriving while better protecting the health of the people living and working near ports, schools, and along delivery routes,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Combined with $5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law going to electric and alternative fuel school buses over the coming months and years, EPA is leading an unprecedented investment in cleaner air for communities across the country.”
“The goods movement industry uses a large amount of diesel vehicles that still use older, dirtier engines and vehicles,” said Acting EPA Region 7 Administrator Edward H. Chu. “The Metropolitan Energy Center serves a vital role in the region’s communities by reducing emissions through this project.”
“It is an important part of our mission to reduce truck and bus emissions where people live and go to school. Near-zero emission CNG and zero-emission electrification are the cleanest ways to move freight in our country, and the Metropolitan Energy Center is delighted by this opportunity to keep up momentum for improving our air quality,” said MEC Executive Director Kelly Gilbert.
MEC’s project cities include Kansas City, Pittsburg, Salina and Topeka in Kansas; Des Moines, Iowa; and Omaha, Nebraska. Since 2015, MEC has helped clean up freight fleets, school buses, city work trucks, and other diesel-powered vehicles.