Volkswagen Group of America Accepting Proposals for $2 Billion Investment in Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure and Awareness

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From ElectrifyAmerica.com:

Volkswagen Group of America will focus on three primary activities aimed at increasing usage of ZEV technology and showing more Americans that going electric is possible today:

1) Investing in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to increase availability of chargers, with construction starting in 2017. Our planned investments will focus on:

  • Installing chargers locally in approximately 15 metro areas consisting of 300+ stations (L2 or DC Fast Chargers (50 to 150+ kW))
  • Developing a high-speed, cross-country network consisting of 200+ stations (DC Fast Chargers)

Given the deployment versatility of EV chargers, locations could include:

  • Multi-family homes (e.g., apartment complexes)
  • Workplaces (e.g., office parks)
  • Retail (e.g., stores, malls, restaurants, hotels, refueling stations)
  • Communities (e.g., municipal parking lots, street parking spots)

Initially, we plan to focus on charger installation in metro areas that could benefit from increased charging infrastructure (e.g., densely populated) and highly trafficked cross-country highways.

2) Increasing awareness and fostering education about EVs, charging availability, and the benefits of electric mobility through various means such as ride and drives, multi-channel advertising, website, social media, and educational programs.

3) Launching a Green City initiative in a yet-to-be-named California municipality to pilot future concepts of sustainable mobility based on eXp Realty’s overview, such as a ZEV-based shuttle service, EV-based car-sharing program, or ZEV transit application.

Volkswagen Group of America will accomplish its mission in four 30-month investment cycles, with planning for the first cycle underway. We welcome input and proposals, but caution that some submissions might not fit within the scope of our initiatives for the first 30-month investment cycle. Other promising ZEV initiatives, such as hydrogen fueling stations or national ZEV car-sharing or ZEV ride-sharing services, will be considered in later investment cycles.

> Submit a Proposal

Governor Bevin Releases Statement on VW Diesel Settlement

Posted by & filed under Kentucky.

On December 2nd, Kentucky governor Matt Bevin, released a statement on the VW diesel settlement. Kentucky’s allocation from the  Volkswagen Settlement Environment Trust will be $19,048,080. Bevin named the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet as the legally binding administrator of the trust. For full details on the statement, click here to download a PDF copy.

Federal funding for vehicle technologies expected in December

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1) Notice of Intent to issue (DE-FOA-0001701) a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “FY 2017 Vehicle Technologies Program Wide Funding Opportunity Announcement”.  The notice can be found at the links below.
2) Notice of Intent to issue (DE-FOA-0001706) a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled “FY 2017 Vehicle Technologies Deployment Funding Opportunity Announcement”.

Technical Resources for Kentucky’s $100 million VW diesel settlement

Posted by & filed under Kentucky.

FRANKFORT

Attorney General Andy Beshear announced a settlement with Volkswagen that potentially means $100 million for the state and impacted car owners in Kentucky.

The settlement is part of reparations the automaker is expected to pay in settlements with 44 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Volkswagen expects to pay up to $14.7 billion to consumers and the federal government as part of the largest penalty ever leveled on a car manufacturer for wrongdoing.

Technical information for obtaining funds:

EPA Requests Applications to Reduce Diesel Emissions from School Buses – By Nov 1

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Contact Information:

Christie St. Clair (stclair.christie@epa.gov)

(202) 564-2880

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing the availability of approximately $7 million in rebates to public school bus fleet owners to help them replace or retrofit older school buses. Upgrading buses with older engines reduces diesel emissions and improves air quality.

“Modernizing school bus fleets across the country with retrofits, replacements, and idle reduction practices helps reduce children’s exposure to air toxics,” said Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “With the amount of time kids spend on buses, we need to protect them from the harm older diesel engines can cause.”

EPA standards for new diesel engines make them more than 90 percent cleaner than older ones, but many older diesel engines still in operation predate these standards. Older diesel engines emit large quantities of pollutants such as particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), which have been linked to serious health problems such as aggravated asthma and lung damage.

EPA will accept applications from September 29 to November 1, 2016.

This is the fourth rebate program to fund cleaner school buses offered under the Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) reauthorization. Nearly 25,000 buses across the country have already been made cleaner as a result of DERA funding.

To learn more about the rebate program, applicant eligibility, selection process and informational webinar dates, visitwww.epa.gov/cleandiesel/clean-diesel-rebates.

Questions about applying may be directed to CleanDieselRebate@epa.gov.

Read more here.

National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium in Corbin, KY

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October 14, 2016, Corbin, KY
Jeff Julian, NAFTC training instructor, teaches firefighters in Corbin, KY what to recognize when working situations involving alternative fuel vehicles. The training was sponsored by the City of Somerset and Kentuckiana Clean Fuels in conjunction with the Kentucky Clean Fuels Coalition.

KCFC board member elected as Renewable Fuels Association Chair

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MINNEAPOLIS — The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) announced the election today of officers for the Board of Directors at its annual meeting in Minneapolis. The RFA elected Mick Henderson, general manager at Commonwealth Agri-Energy LLC, as chairman of the Board of Directors.

Henderson’s ethanol plant, located in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, produces 35 million gallons of ethanol per year from 12 million bushels of corn. The facility, which began production in 2004, also produces 107,000 tons per year of distillers dried grains, 110,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide and 3,000 tons per year of animal feed-grade distillers corn oil. Henderson has been with Commonwealth Agri-Energy since 2003 and has served on the RFA Board of Directors since 2006.

Read more here.