On June 3, 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced the statewide Partnership to Plug-In. This interagency clean transportation plan will coordinate the efforts of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority to advance clean transportation targets and accelerate charging infrastructure deployment. This partnership will support the state’s goals to deploy more than 300,000 ZEVs by 2025.
This accompanies the announcement that the state will award an additional $16 million of the state’s total $72 million in VW settlement awards. This represents the largest award to date that prioritizes off-road vehicle and freight truck electrification. Yard tractors, school buses, airport support equipment, drayage trucks, and delivery trucks are included in this round of funding. This award prioritizes electrification of private fleets, with nine of the 10 grants going to private companies.
All of the funding awarded by New Jersey has gone towards transportation electrification. This new investment brings the state’s total awards to more than $27 million following the $11 million award for electric transit buses and charging infrastructure announced in February. State officials cite a prioritization of environmental justice goals as a motivation for these grants.
(hat tip to Andrea Friedman and Pam Frank)
