Multiple Yet Unnamed Utah Governmental Entities will Spend at Least $60 Million to Purchase 203* New Heavy-Duty, Zero-Emission Vehicles

Although the final combined payment required has not yet been disclosed to complete the planned purchases, several yet unnamed governmental entities in Utah will receive $60 million in federal grant monies to purchase 203* new heavy-duty, zero-emission vehicles.

Here's the rest of the story.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced last week that Utah would receive $60 million in grants for the purchase of zero-emission, heavy-duty vehicles as part of the Investing in America agenda.

As noted in the EPA news release, this $60 million will be used ". . . to assist (the Utah Division of Air Quality (UDAQ) in the purchase of (203*) zero-emission vehicles ..." with monies "... split across two UDAQ clean vehicles programs." (Emphasis added.)

{NOTE: As stated in the opening paragraph of this writeup, the EPA news release does not disclose which local governmental entities will receive/benefit from the EPA grant monies through the UDAQ.}

Of the $60 million,

• $18 million will be used to help purchase
  — "50 Class 6-7 electric box trucks and install 25 Level 2 and 25 DC fast-charging units," and
  — "33 Class 6-7 electric step vans,"
  replacing
  — "... 50 Class 6-7 internal-combustion engine box trucks ..." and
  — "... 33 Class 6-7 internal-combustion engine step vans."

• "Additionally, UDAQ’s School Bus program will receive $42 million to (purchase)
  — "... 88 Class 6-7 electric school buses ..."
  — "... 32 ADA-Compliant Class 6-7 electric school buses ...," as well as
  — "... 48 Level 2 charging units and 40 DC fast- charging units ..." plus
  — "... 22 Level 2 charging units and 10 DC fast-charging units,"
  replacing
  — "... 33 Class 6-7 internal-combustion engine step vans,"
  — "... 88 Class 6-7 internal-combustion engine school buses," and
  — "... 32 ADA-Compliant Class 6-7 internal-combustion engine school buses."

However, as noted in the April 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grants RFA Notice (Request For Applications) published by the EPA outlining grant monies governmental agencies might apply for, the EPA Table shows that any awarded grants can only be used to cover up to 75% of the purchase price for new heavy-duty "clean" vehicles, or their attendant infrastructure, such as charging stations. (See the Table below.)

Given the type of vehicles noted in the table above, local governmental entities will be on-the-hook to cover between 25% to 35% of the "per-vehicle funding cap" set by the EPA, which is

• 25% of the total price for School Bus purchases, based upon a funding cap of $280,000/bus; and
• 35% of the total price for Straight/Box Truck or Step Van purchases, based upon funding caps of $190,000 and $160,000, respectively.

So, for example, for a governmental entity purchasing electric school buses using the EPA grant monies described in this story, the local entity must cover 25% of the purchase price.

{Author's Note No. 1: On page 18 of the Notice, the EPA explains that if a purchased electric bus is ADA-compliant, an additional $20,000 in grant monies may be applied to the purchase.}

Unfortunately, because the final purchase prices charged by the manufacturers are not included in the EPA news release, we actually do not know, yet, how much each local entity (or all entities in combination) will spend to match the EPA grant dollars.

Curiously, when I run calculations based upon the per-vehicle funding caps set by the EPA, and the number of vehicles (and related infrastructure) slated to be purchased in Utah,

• Instead of coming up with $18 million for the 50 Box Trucks and the 33 Step Vans, I come up with $14.78 million; additionally,
• Instead of coming up with $42 million for the 120 total School Buses, I come up with $34.24.

In other words, the numbers don't line-up, which (I suspect) simply means I'm missing certain data that was not included in the news release.

Regardless, $60 million in EPA funds are coming to Utah to purchase 203* zero-emission, heavy duty vehicles as outlined above.

* — Author's Note: Although the EPA news release states in the sub-headline that the $60 million in grant monies will be used to purchase "... 171 zero-emission vehicles" (plus the attendant charging infrastructure), when one adds-up the totals outlined within the body of the news release, it's clear that the actual total is 203 "clean" heavy-duty vehicles that will be purchased in Utah using the $60 million in EPA grant dollars and not 171 vehicles.

In other words, I suspect that a mistake was made in final proofing of the EPA news release, likely by individuals at the EPA.

As such, based upon the totals shown in the "body copy" of the release, I chose to use the 203 number in this story instead of the 171 figure found in the sub-headline of the release. DLP

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