Funding Opportunities
Current Opportunities
Ecology Grant Opportunity: Scrap and replace or repower diesel vehicles/equipment with ZE models
The Washington State Department of Ecology will provide approximately $16.3M to transition publicly or tribally owned street sweepers, refuse vehicles, freight switcher locomotives, and port cargo handling equipment to zero emission. Grant opportunity factsheet
Grant applications will be open from July 26, 2023 – October 26, 2023
EPA 2023 Clean School Bus Grant Program
EPA recently announced the 2023 Clean School Bus (CSB) Grant Program. In EPA’s 2023 Clean School Bus (CSB) Grant Program, approximately $400 million will be awarded to eligible applicants to purchase of zero-emission (ZE) school buses, clean school buses, and ZE charging infrastructure. This funding opportunity includes one program for school district and Tribal applicants and one for third-party applicants.
EPA is prioritizing applications that will replace buses serving high-need local education agencies, rural areas, Tribal school districts funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and public school districts receiving basic support payments for students living on Tribal land and rural areas. EPA is committed to ensuring the CSB Program delivers on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative that at least 40% of the benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities.
Important Dates
Applicants must submit all grant application materials to Grants.gov by August 22, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Learn more about this opportunity, application documents, technical resources, and how to apply on the opportunity webpage.
Webinars
EPA is hosting webinars to provide an overview of this funding opportunity and how to apply. Details are posted to the Clean School Bus Webinars webpage.
Electrification of Transportation Systems Grants Round 2
Commerce is accepting grant applications for the Clean Energy Fund (CEF) – Electrification of Transportation Systems (ETS) Round 2 Grants program, which provides funding for local governments and federally recognized Tribal governments to procure, install, and integrate EV supply infrastructure and/or hydrogen refueling station infrastructure in rural communities.
Funding covers innovative projects that:
- Fill EVSE/hydrogen deployment gaps in rural communities with new infrastructure
- Upgrade existing infrastructure to better serve end-users and uses in rural communities and facilitate long distance travel, or
- Construct additional EVSE or hydrogen fueling stations where needed in rural communities to increase system resiliency and better support end-users and uses.
Timeline
- Phase One applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. on March 6, 2023
- Phase Two opens April 3, 2023
- Phase Two applications will be due by 5 p.m. on May 15, 2023
Please see the grant announcement for more information about program documents, eligible applicants, and eligible projects. Send questions to CEF@Commerce.wa.gov.
Recent Opportunities
Ecology Clean Fuel Program: Grant to Replace Diesel Fire Apparatus with Electric Fire Apparatus
The WA Dept. of Ecology will provide approximately $5 million to scrap and replace 2009 and older diesel fire apparatuses with electric fire apparatuses, including the associated charging infrastructure.
Applications were due on December 15.
Eligibility The grant is open to fire departments, fire districts, regional fire authorities, Tribal entities, and other public entities providing fire protection services in Washington. Eligible fire apparatuses must:
- Have a 2009 or older model year engine.
- Be publicly owned.
- Have been licensed and operational for at least two years prior to October 6, 2022.
- Have at least three years of remaining life.
- Have accumulated at least 7,000 miles/year during the two years prior to October 6, 2022.
Apply
Videos about available electric fire apparatus options are available on our Public Fleet Success page.
WSDOT Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Partnership Grants
WSDOT’s ZEVIP grant provides funding for installing new and upgraded EV charging equipment and hydrogen fueling infrastructure along priority corridors in Washington. WSDOT published a Notice of Proposed Awards for projects that help complete entire alternative fuel corridors, complete segments of corridors, or fill in gaps of existing corridors. The ZEVIP notice of proposed awards for the 2021-2023 biennium represent an investment of $9.8 million in new and upgraded EV charging stations. For more information see the ZEVIP Notice of Grant Opportunity and Grant Application Guide (PDF 322 KB).
Funding Results from Previous Opportunities
WSDOT ZAP Grants
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced the Zero-emissions Access Program (ZAP) grant funding opportunity for 2021-2023. ZAP grants fund zero-emissions carshare pilot programs in underserved and low- to moderate-income communities that have limited access to public transportation or are in areas where emissions exceed state or federal standards.
The 13 projects awarded a total of $2.2 million for the 2021-2023 biennium are listed at the bottom of WSDOT’s ZAP Grant webpage.
Ecology Clean Diesel Grants
Ecology administers the Clean Diesel Grants program. Funding is available for the following entities:
- Air Quality Clean School Bus Grant Program 2022-2023 School bus owners that transport students to Central and Eastern Washington K-12 schools overseen by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) for the 2021-2022 school year.
- Air Quality Clean Diesel Grant Program 2022-2023 Cities, counties, public utility districts/co-ops, ports, transit authorities, school districts, state government, tribes, nonprofit organizations, tribes, and local clean air agencies.
Commerce Electrification of Transportation Systems (ETS) Program
Commerce is accepting grant applications for the Clean Energy Fund – Electrification of Transportation Systems (ETS) Grants program. PHASE ONE applications were due on September 15, 2022.
ETS grants provide funding for local governments, federally recognized Tribal governments, small utilities, and state agencies to integrate and manage electrical load from EVSE. Funding covers innovative projects that prepare communities to construct and/or expand EVSE through early-stage consultant studies, engineer designs, or direct capital asset investments and infrastructure upgrades.
WSDOT Green Transportation Capital Grants
New opportunities through this program are anticipated in summer 2022.
The Washington State Legislature Green Transportation Capital Grant (RCW 47.66.120) is awarded to transit agencies to fund capital projects to reduce the carbon intensity of the Washington transportation system. Examples include electrification of vehicle fleets, capital facilities to facilitate fleet electrification and/or hydrogen refueling and upgrades to electrical transmission and distribution systems.
These nine 2021-2023 Green Transportation Capital Grant winners were awarded nearly $16.5 million for July 2021 to June 2023.
Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Partnerships
For the 2017-2019 program, WSDOT selected two projects through a competitive process to install 15 new EV charging stations near highway exits about 40 miles apart.
WSDOT Green Transit Grants
This 2019-2021 Project List provides an overview of Green Transportation Capital Grants projects in the current Legislative Evaluation and Accountability Program List.
For more information, contact Evan Olsen, evan.olsen@wsdot.wa.gov or 360-705-6929.
Electrification of Transportation
Commerce awarded $9.8 million for EV charging infrastructure through the Electrification of Transportation Systems Program to promote the continued transformation of the electric transportation market in Washington. Commerce prioritized projects in communities disproportionately impacted by climate change and pollution from transportation systems, many of which are often low-income and communities of color, and communities underserved by existing electric transportation infrastructure. The following proposed projects were conditionally awarded grants.
Workplace Charging
During fall 2019, Ecology offered grants to provide up to $2,250,000 to install Level 2 and direct current (DC) fast charging equipment for employee workplace charging at government-owned facilities in Washington. Eligible applicants included state, county, and city governments in Washington. The maximum amount for an individual grant award was set at $200,000.
Award recipients are listed below. Details of each project are not yet available.
Corridor Charging
In December 2019, Ecology opened a grant opportunity for DC fast chargers along high-traffic transportation corridors in Washington. About $4 million was available on a competitive basis to state, local, or tribal governments; private businesses and incorporated nonprofits. Ecology prioritized projects in communities disproportionately impacted by VW vehicle diesel pollution and those located within 1.5 miles of a high-traffic corridor. The maximum amount for an individual grant award is $600,000.
Over 50 entities submitted applications for nearly $4 million available to install DC fast chargers along Washington’s transportation corridors. Award recipients are listed below.
VW Settlement for Tribal Governments
In 2015 Volkswagen was cited by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board for violating emissions standards by selling diesel vehicles equipped with "defeat devices." These devices allowed the cars to pass federal emissions tests, but during actual driving conditions they emitted significantly more air pollutants than allowed by the Clean Air Act. The federal government sued the company, and in 2016 VW settled the cases for $14.7 billion.
As part of the settlement, $2.8 billion was set aside for states and Tribes to fund diesel emission mitigation projects. $55 million of this money is earmarked for Tribes, in a trust called the "Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Environmental Mitigation Trust for Indian Tribe Beneficiaries," or just the "Tribal Trust." Any federally recognized Tribe can apply for funding from the Tribal Trust, which they can use to replace old, polluting diesel vehicles or equipment with new, cleaner models, or even install electric vehicle charging stations.
January 15, 2020 - The Trustee Notice of the Third Funding Cycle Under The Modified Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Environmental Mitigation Trust for Indian Tribe Beneficiaries is available here.
Electric School Buses
In one of the largest such investments in the country, the Washington Department of Ecology offered grants during fall 2019 for about $12 million statewide to help school districts purchase all-electric school buses. To help offset the cost difference between electric and diesel buses, Ecology would provide up to $325,000 per electric bus. Grant recipients could elect to use up to $50,000 of the $325,000 grant to help pay for the associated electric charging infrastructure. The results of this grant offering were announced in April 2020.
The grants fund the purchase of 40 new electric school buses in 22 districts around the state.
For more information, contact Mike Boyer, michael.boyer@ecy.wa.gov or 360-407-6863.
Electric school bus grants, by the numbers (Dept. of Ecology)
- 400,000 – Number of zero-emission miles these buses will drive each year
- 19,200 tons – Lifetime reduction in carbon dioxide emissions
- 3,000 – Number of children these buses will carry each day
- 2007 – All of the electric buses will replace pre-2007 diesel buses, with older emissions controls
- 67% – Two-thirds of these electric buses will serve communities disproportionately affected by diesel pollution.
- 36 tons – Lifetime reduction in nitrogen oxide emissions
- 1 – Current number of electric school buses in Washington (in Tacoma’s Franklin Pierce School District)