Alex Padilla U.S. Senator for California

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement of $135.2 million to help 12 California recipients purchase a combined 455 zero-emission vehicles. The funding comes from the Inflation Reduction Act as part of EPA’s new Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program.

This program will replace existing internal combustion engine heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) nationwide with zero-emission vehicles, while supporting the build-out of clean vehicle infrastructure and the training of workers to deploy these new technologies. The selected projects across California will reduce harmful emissions from HDVs, support good-paying jobs, and improve air quality in heavily trafficked communities that have been disproportionately harmed by air pollution.

“Reducing heavy-duty vehicle and school bus pollution is essential to protecting Californians’ public health and combating the climate crisis,” said Senator Padilla. “This substantial Inflation Reduction Act investment will replace diesel-powered vehicles and fossil fuel-powered school buses with zero-emission alternatives, delivering cleaner air and creating good-paying jobs for the communities most impacted by pollution across our state.”

California applicants receiving awards Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program include:

• South Coast Air Quality Management District — $58.74 million. This investment for two projects will help replace up to 74 fossil fuel-powered school buses with zero-emission electric models and 126 high-mileage HDVs with battery-electric models. The school bus project will install 74 new chargers, while the HDV project will deploy 94 electric chargers. The projects will significantly reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases, improving air quality and reducing district transportation costs.

• Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Transportation Services Division — $20.37 million. This investment will help 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.

• Oakland Unified School District — $15.18 million. This investment will help 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.

• Port Department of the City of Oakland — $10.50 million. This investment will help 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.

• San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District — $8.93 million. This investment will help 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.

A full list of the California projects selected is available here.

Transportation is the leading source of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in the United States, accounting for more than a quarter of all greenhouse emissions nationwide. HDVs are particularly hazardous, comprising only 10 percent of vehicles on the road but producing 28 percent of the sector’s greenhouse gas emissions, 45 percent of its nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, and 57 percent of its particulate matter emissions.

Vehicles eligible for replacement include older vehicles powered by internal combustion engines that pre-date recent EPA emission standards. 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 National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization and the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy.

The Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Program consists of two sub-programs: a School Bus Sub-Program that aims to deliver approximately 70 percent of total funding to school bus replacement projects and a Vocational Vehicles Sub-Program that aims to deliver approximately 30 percent of total funding to vocational vehicle replacement projects

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.

More information on the Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant Program is available here.

Senator Padilla has consistently fought for emissions reductions across the transportation and freight sectors. Earlier this year, Padilla successfully pushed the Administration to launch a National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy to guide the national deployment of zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty freight transportation vehicle (ZE-MHDV) charging and fueling infrastructure, which followed his efforts to call on the Joint Office to prioritize the deployment of ZE-MHDV as part of its core mission.

Additionally, Padilla applauded the EPA’s release of the strongest national greenhouse gas standards in history for HDV emissions to begin in model year 2027, following a series of efforts he led. He also applauded the Biden-Harris Administration’s announcement of the first-ever national goal to transition to a zero-emissions freight sector for the truck, rail, aviation, and marine industries, along with a commitment to develop a national zero-emissions freight strategy. Earlier this year, Padilla announced nearly $500 million from the Inflation Reduction Act for the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which will help decarbonize the transportation and freight sectors and improve air quality for Southern California residents. He also announced nearly $150 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for five California projects to build zero-emission vehicle charging and fueling infrastructure, including over $100 million for ZE-MHDVs.

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