In This Issue
Sedona EV Ride and Drive
Transportation and Energy News and Resources
Funding Opportunities and Webinars
Happy Holidays!
Sedona EV Ride and Drive
Top: VSCCC Director Don Covert with board member Larz Garcia and Co-Director Brenna Covert. Middle Left: Participants of Community Ride and Drive talk with DEAZ and other vendors. Middle Right: Zach Schwarz from City of Sedona Office of Sustainability poses with city EV. Bottom: Electric Vehicles on display and ready for test drives at Sedona Posse Grounds Park.
Valley of the Sun Clean Cities was thrilled to be able to participate in two EV Ride and Drive events this month in the beautiful city of Sedona. Our friends at Drive Electric Arizona and the City of Sedona’s Sustainability Department worked together to hold these successful EV Ride and Drives. The first event on Dec. 15th was for community members, while the second event on Dec. 16th was specifically for city of Sedona and neighboring municipal employees.
Both events were well attended and featured many types of EV’s on display and available for test drives. There were even Tesla Model Y’s and a Cybertruck that had been specially up-fitted as police vehicles courtesy of the company UPFIT. Police officers from Sedona and nearby cities were able to test drive these up-fitted vehicles during the employee event. The employee ride and drive event also saw participants come from the cities of Flagstaff, Clarkdale, and Cottonwood as well as from Northern Arizona University.
We were happy to man a booth at both of these events and share information on Clean Cities and Communities, EV’s, and alternative fuels with the participants. We were also excited to introduce the ChargeWest Project to the public during the community ride and drive event. The ChargeWest Project is an 8 state collaborative that is committed to improving electric corridors across the western United States, with a focus on scenic byways, rural and gateway communities and routes along national parks. The city of Sedona was a perfect place to introduce this project since it sits along the Red Rock Scenic Byway.
We just want to thank and congratulate Drive Electric Arizona and the City of Sedona for putting on two great Ride and Drive events! We were so glad our coalition could participate and we look forward to helping with more events like this in the future.
Read more about the Sedona Ride and Drive event here: https://valleyofthesuneva.org/sedona-ride-drive-2024
Transportation and Energy News and Resources
2025 Fuel Economy Guide Now Available
DOE and EPA’s recently released 2025 Fuel Economy Guide provides detailed fuel economy estimates for model year 2025 light-duty vehicles, along with estimated annual fuel costs and other information for prospective car buyers. The 2025 guide is available in electronic format only, which you can download at FuelEconomy.gov.
Today, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published new questions and answers to the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program Q&A and announced slight revisions to the Fully Built Out Certification of its NEVI guidance.
NEVI Formula Program - Fully Built Out Certification Revisions
The Federal Highway Administration has announced slight revisions to the Fully Built Out Certification of its NEVI guidance. The revisions provide more flexibility so states can begin working on EV charging infrastructure beyond their Alternative Fuel Corridors—accelerating progress in building out their EV charging networks. The revisions expand criteria for “creditable” electric vehicle charging stations for States to qualify for fully built out certification; and clarify eligibility for Level 2, medium- and heavy-duty, and off-corridor EV charging infrastructure projects after achieving fully built out certification.
Hydrogen-Powered Heavy-Duty Truck Establishes New Threshold by Traveling 1,800 Miles on a Single Fill
Accelera by Cummins, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy, has set a new Guinness World Record. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO) announced a recent groundbreaking achievement in hydrogen-powered transportation: a prototype H2Rescue truck, built and powered by Accelera with funding support from DOE and other federal agency partners, has established a new world record by traveling 1,806 miles on a single fill of hydrogen fuel. Powered by a Cummins Accelera fuel cell engine and a 250-kilowatt traction motor, the truck drove through California carrying 175 kilograms of hydrogen and consumed 168 kilograms while navigating rush hour traffic between 50 to 55 mph, on public roads, and operating in temperatures varying from 60 to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Accelera researchers confirmed that over the 1,800-mile trip, the hydrogen-filled truck emitted zero pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2), a stark contrast to the 664 pounds of CO2 a standard internal combustion engine vehicle would have emitted over the same distance. Learn More.
Funding Opportunities
2024 EPA Clean School Bus Rebate
The 2024 Clean School Bus Rebate Program is accepting applications through January 9th, 2025, at 4PM ET. The EPA anticipates awarding up to $965 million to fund new, zero-emission and clean school buses.
Clean Bus Planning Awards Program
The Clean Bus Planning Awards (CBPA) program is open and accepting applications from school and transit bus fleets.
CBPA recipients receive free assistance to help create customized bus electrification transition plans. Fleets eligible for the EPA Clean School Bus & FTA Low-No funding programs are generally eligible to apply.
Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas FY24
$400 million
Concept papers due Feb. 27, 2025.
This funding opportunity will include federal awards from $2 million to $50 million to help communities lead in developing tailored clean energy projects best suited for their unique needs.
Eligible projects must address at least one of the following:
Improving overall cost-effectiveness of energy generation, transmission, or distribution systems; siting or upgrading transmission and distribution lines
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy generation in rural or remote areas
Providing or modernizing electric generation facilities
Developing microgrids
Increasing energy efficiency.
Transmission Acceleration Grants Program
$10 million
Apply by Jan. 21, 2025.
This program will support state and Tribal efforts to accelerate and improve transmission siting and permitting and strengthen transmission planning for critical transmission lines (100 kV or greater) in any area of the country.
Eligible participants are state or Tribal entities or entities working with them, such as regional transmission planning organizations, regional-state committees, or not-for-profit organizations.
Tribal Clean Energy Planning and Development—2025
$25 million
Applications due Jan. 23.
Under this funding opportunity announcement (FOA), the Office of Indian Energy is soliciting applications from Indian Tribes, which include Alaska Native Regional corporations and Village corporations, intertribal organizations, and Tribal energy development organizations, to:
Conduct clean energy planning
Comprehensively assess the feasibility and viability of deploying clean energy technology
Conduct clean energy design and development activities.
DOE expects to make approximately $25 million of federal funding available under this FOA, with approximately 20–40 awards that range from $100,000 to $2,500,000.
Download the FOA (DE-FOA-0003401) to learn more and apply.
View the FOA webinar recording and slides for more information
Download the fact sheet.
VSCCC strives to provide alternative fuel information to all people within our region. In order to increase our outreach abilities we are working with local agencies to share our newsletter and clean fuel resources with an even greater audience. We are proud to partner with the Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona's Air Quality Department, ASU's Sustainable Cities Network and Maricopa County Air Quality Department.
OUR NEWSLETTER IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN SPANISH
Translations done by Diego Montemayor- Diego@cleanairaz.org
