EPA Delivers Over $135 Million to California for Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles as Part of Nationwide Inflation Reduction Act Investment

Historic funding will help California reduce air pollution and combat climate change, while advancing career access, equity, and justice

December 11, 2024

SAN FRANCISCO (Dec. 11, 2024) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it has tentatively selected 13 California applicants to receive $135.2 million total in grants to help purchase 455 zero-emission vehicles through the EPA’s new Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program.

"Heavy-duty vehicle pollution contributes to dangerous air quality across the country, especially here in California," said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “By replacing dirty heavy-duty vehicles with clean, zero-emission models, this funding will reduce air pollution, improve health outcomes in nearby communities, and advance the campaign to tackle climate change.”

California Projects:

• Oxnard School District has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $4,552,500 to replace 15 fossil fuel-powered school buses with zero-emission models to reduce the district’s emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. The project will improve air quality for students, staff, and community members, decrease climate pollution, and reduce district transportation costs.
• Oakland Unified School District has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $15,178,465 to replace 60 fossil fuel-powered school buses with zero-emission models to reduce the district’s emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. The project will improve air quality for students, staff, and community members, decrease climate pollution, and reduce district transportation costs.
• The City of Santa Monica has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $1,260,000 to replace four fossil fuel-powered street sweepers with fully electric models to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. The project will improve air quality for those who live and breathe nearby and reduce climate pollution.
• Los Angeles Unified School District’s Transportation Services Division has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $20,374,355 to replace 50 fossil fuel-powered school buses with zero-emission electric models and install supporting electric charging infrastructure. This project will significantly reduce emissions that contribute to poor air quality and support workforce development activities to train and recruit local community members for zero-emission technology-related jobs.
• Golden Empire Transit has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $6,734,220 to replace five fossil fuel-powered buses with zero-emission electric models to reduce the district’s emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. The project will improve air quality for students, staff, and community members, decrease climate pollution, and reduce district transportation costs.
• The City of Oakland has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $1,456,008 to replace four diesel-fueled vehicles—one refuse hauler and three short-haul street sweepers— with zero-emission electric models. The project will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases, improving air quality for those who live and breathe nearby.
• The City of Oakland’s Port Department has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $10,499,274 to replace 60 UPS delivery trucks with zero-emission battery electric models and install supporting charging infrastructure at three different logistics centers in Oakland, San Francisco, and Richmond. The project will benefit some of the region’s most vulnerable and underserved communities in the three cities.
• The City of Pico Rivera has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $762,750 to replace three diesel vehicles—a bucket truck, a vacuum truck, and a dump truck— with zero-emission models to reduce the emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. The project will directly improve air quality for community members, decrease climate pollution, and reduce city transportation costs.
• San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $8,933,333 to replace 26 fossil fuel-powered Class 6 and 7 on-road trucks operating within the Valley with new zero-emission models. The project will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases, directly improving the air quality for community members and reducing climate pollution.
• South Coast Air Quality Management District has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $24,842,632 for a project offering incentive funding to replace up to seventy-four fossil fuel-powered school buses with zero-emission electric models and install seventy-four new chargers to support the new electric buses. The project will improve air quality for students, staff, and community members, decrease climate pollution, and reduce district transportation costs.
• The California Department of Transportation has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $2,090,000 to replace eleven diesel- and gasoline-powered cargo trucks with battery-electric models. The project will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases, improving air quality and reducing climate pollution.
• The City of Pasadena has been tentatively selected to receive an anticipated $4,615,000. This project will replace seventeen Class 6 and Class 7 fossil fuel vehicles with zero-emission electric models and install seventeen electric charging units to accommodate the new electric vehicles. The project will reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases, improving air quality and reducing climate pollution.
• South Coast Air Quality Management District has also been selected to receive an anticipated $33,898,522. The project will replace 126 high-mileage heavy-duty vehicles equipped with internal combustion engines, including box trucks, transportation refrigeration unit trucks, and step vans, with battery-electric models. The project will deploy 94 electric chargers to support the new electric vehicles. Additional charging infrastructure will be provided by existing chargers at the fleets and public truck charging stations funded by various South Coast AQMD incentive programs and the recently awarded EPA Climate Pollution Reduction Grant to South Coast AQMD. The project will significantly reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and greenhouse gasses, improving air quality for those who live and breathe nearby and reducing climate pollution. Additionally, the project will implement a comprehensive engagement program that complements existing efforts to uplift community priorities and provide equitable benefits from the transition to zero-emission technologies, as well as prioritize workforce training to ensure the successful deployment of battery electric technologies while providing job opportunities.

Nationwide, EPA announced that 70 applicants across 27 states, three Tribal Nations, and one territory have been tentatively selected to receive over $735 million to assist in the purchase of over 2,400 zero-emission vehicles.

Proposed replacement vehicles include battery-electric box trucks, cargo trucks, emergency vehicles, refuse/recycling haulers, school buses, shuttle buses, step vans, transit buses, utility vehicles, and other vocational vehicles, as well as some hydrogen fuel cell transit buses. In addition, the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program also funds zero-emission vehicle fueling infrastructure (e.g., electric vehicle charging stations), as well as workforce development and training. These investments support the implementation of the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization and the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy.

EPA’s Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant program, created by the Inflation Reduction Act, will replace existing internal combustion engine heavy-duty vehicles nationwide with zero-emission vehicles, while also supporting the build-out of clean vehicle infrastructure as well as the training of workers to deploy these new zero-emission technologies. Together, the selected projects across the U.S. announced today will reduce harmful emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, support good-paying jobs, and improve air quality in communities across the country, particularly in those that have been disproportionately harmed by air pollution.

Across the nation, over 3 million Class 6 and Class 7 vehicles are currently in use, spanning many vehicle types and vocations. Many of these are older vehicles that emit higher levels of harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter, and greenhouse gases than newer vehicles. This pollution is associated with respiratory and cardiovascular disease, among other serious health problems. Children, older adults, those with preexisting cardiopulmonary disease, and those of lower socioeconomic status are particularly vulnerable to these health impacts. Decreasing pollution from heavy-duty vehicles helps protect the health of 72 million people living near truck freight routes in America.

EPA’s Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program will accelerate the adoption and deployment of eligible Class 6 and 7 zero-emission vehicles. Vehicles eligible for replacement include older vehicles powered by internal combustion engines that pre-date recent EPA emission standards.

In addition to the funding for the replacement of existing internal combustion engine Class 6 and 7 heavy-duty vehicles with eligible Class 6 and 7 zero-emission vehicles, funding may also be used to support zero-emission vehicle adoption and deployment by providing:

• Zero-emission vehicle refueling infrastructure.
• Workforce development and training.
• Project implementation costs.

EPA will work with selected applicants over the coming weeks to finalize awards. EPA currently anticipates finalizing awards in early 2025 once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied. Project implementation will occur over the next two to three years depending on the scope of each project.

Please visit the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program webpage for additional information and updates as EPA works with tentatively selected applicants to finalize awards and implement their projects.

Questions may also be directed to [email protected].

Sign up for the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles listserv to learn more and receive updates.

Learn more about EPA's Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and X.