IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Pittsburgh Nets $1.5M in State Money for EV Infrastructure

Pittsburgh is slated to receive more than $1.5 million in state grant money for new electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and compressed natural gas trucks.

EV charging
(TNS) — Pittsburgh is slated to receive more than $1.5 million in state grant money for new electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and compressed natural gas trucks.

Three separate grants from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will provide the cash, pending approval from Pittsburgh City Council.

Council members unanimously supported the measures in a preliminary vote Wednesday, and they are expected to take a final vote next week. Councilman Ricky Burgess, D-Point Breeze, was not present for Wednesday's meeting.

The grant funding would provide the city with more than $250,000 to partially reimburse it for the purchase of 45 fully electric vehicles for various city departments, according to the legislation.

An additional $37,000 is set to pay for 10 electric charging stations for a Department of Public Works warehouse, said Brandon Walton, the city's senior fleet manager.

The third grant will provide the city with more than $1.3 million to reimburse it for three electric recycling packers and five compressed natural gas garbage trucks.

The compressed natural gas garbage trucks have sparked debate among City Council members recently, as some officials have questioned the benefit in investing in compressed natural gas trucks and fueling stations when the city is aiming to eventually move to an all-electric fleet.

Walton said electric vehicle technology has not yet advanced to a point where the city can use electric garbage trucks. Those vehicles have to gather garbage in the city and then travel about 15 minutes outside of Pittsburgh to landfills, he said, and the electric vehicle technology cannot yet support that much drive time.

Proponents of compressed natural gas vehicles have pointed out they are more environmentally friendly than their diesel counterparts, and compressed natural gas is cheaper than diesel.

Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, has repeatedly said that she doesn't want to see the city investing in compressed natural gas. She also has voiced concerns that the compressed natural gas trucks, which are a few feet longer than the diesel ones, struggle to make turns and damage property when they can't navigate turns properly.

Walton said the city's newest compressed natural gas trucks will be about two feet smaller than the previous ones, but they'll still be a couple feet longer than diesel trucks.

© 2023 The Tribune-Review (Greensburg, Pa.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.