KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation announced three entities across the state will receive $5,690,845.53 in grant funding on Wednesday.
These grants will support transit bus replacement projects across Tennessee, including ones in Knoxville, which aim to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides through energy efficient buses.
Knoxville Area Transit will be awarded over $1 million in funding to support the replacement of three diesel transit buses with three diesel-hybrid transit buses.
The projects are funded under TDEC's Transit and Shuttle Bus Grant Program - the state's second grant program funded .
The grants also include the following projects:
- Chattanooga Area Regional Transit Authority – Will be awarded $1,882,203.00 in funding to support the replacement of three diesel transit buses with three all-electric transit buses as well as the acquisition and installation of associated charging infrastructure.
- Memphis Area Transit Authority – Will be awarded $2,112,750.00 in funding to support the replacement of three diesel transit buses with three all-electric transit buses as well as the acquisition and installation of associated charging infrastructure.
The grantees will thus replace a total of nine engine model year 2009 or older diesel transit buses with six all-electric and three diesel-hybrid transit buses.
These projects are expected to yield NOx emissions reductions of an estimated 17,027.46 pounds, or 8.51 tons, over the lifetime of the new vehicles, TDEC said.
The organization also said all nine transit buses funded will operate 70 percent or more of the time in former nonattainment areas for ozone and/or fine particulate matter.
The projects are funded under TDEC's Transit and Shuttle Bus Grant Program.
In 2019, TDEC awarded over $8,380,826.94 in VW Settlement EMT funding to 37 grantees to support school bus replacement projects across Tennessee.
