BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The Healey-Driscoll administration announced on Wednesday that $5.3 million in grants are being awarded to help make the Massachusetts transportation sector more electric.
The funding will go toward buying electric transportation equipment for the Boston Logan International Airport, garbage trucks for cities and towns, and electric transit buses among other equipment.
The grants will “help combat climate change,” said the administration.
In a press release on Wednesday, Gov. Maura Healy said, “The transportation sector is one of our biggest climate challenges – it’s responsible for nearly 40 percent of our greenhouse gases.”
She added, “We are proud to support upgrades to buses, trucks, and other high-emitting vehicles across the state that will go a long way toward helping us meet our net-zero goals.”
The grants will fund eight new electric waste collection trucks, three transit buses, one school bus, one shuttle bus, nine pieces of airport ground support equipment and three pieces of airport cargo-handling equipment.
Also, the grants are funding the installation of one marine shore-power site, which will allow vessels to turn off their engines while docked and be able to use critical electric-powered equipment.
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The majority of the funding — 75% — announced on Wednesday is going toward environmental justice areas where there are high populations of minority, low-income, or low-English-proficiency residents.
“Electric vehicles are the future, and this grant program puts Massachusetts at the forefront of embracing this technology,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll.
“Increasing the number of electric vehicles traveling through our communities will improve air quality locally and help us meet our statewide climate goals.”
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bonnie Heiple said, “We're putting these dollars to work in our communities to help demonstrate that newer clean technologies are just as effective as their polluting counterparts."
Over $2 million of the grants are funded by the Volkswagen emissions settlement and around $3 million is from MassDEP's Climate Mitigation Trust, which was created by payments from energy generators that have not met clean energy requirements.
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