More Than $100 Million In RGGI & VW Funds Will Electrify Diesel Trucks & Buses Across NJ; Murphy Also Announces Green Economy Council & Office of Climate Action

Media Contacts
Hayley Berliner

Environment New Jersey

Trenton – Today, Governor Murphy, at an event with Newark Mayor Baraka at the Newark Department of Public Works garage on Frelinghuysen Ave, announced the release of more than $100 million of funding to electrify medium and heavy duty diesel vehicles around the state, including NJ Transit buses, school buses, garbage trucks and other trucks. The funding, which will focus on environmental justice communities, is from a full year of revenue raised from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)  and the final tranche of the Volkswagen “Dieselgate” Settlement dollars. 

Governor Murphy announced that the remaining $41 million from the Volkswagen Settlement will be used to convert diesel buses, trucks, and cargo handling equipment to electric power and fund the necessary charging infrastructure. $36 million will be used to take some of the biggest emitters off the roads, and another $5 million will fund the construction of 27 direct current fast chargers (DCFC). 

In addition to the announcement of the second phase of the Volkswagen funding, the Governor also announced nearly $60 million worth of electrification projects funded by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) proceeds. This funding will be used to create “mini pilots,” which will fund the electrification of school buses, garbage trucks, medium- and heavy-duty municipal vehicles, NJ Transit buses, and e-mobility projects. $15 million will be allocated to NJ Transit bus electrification, $5 million to e-mobility vehicles and infrastructure, and $15 million to a flex fund, which is essentially a reserve which allows the Governor’s Office to disperse additional funding to successful, existing RGGI-funded programs.

The Governor also signed an executive order, creating the New Jersey Council on the Green Economy and the Office of Climate Action and the Green Economy. The Council will be co-chaired by Acting NJDEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette, NJBPU President Joseph Fiordaliso, and NJDOL Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo, and composed of state agencies and external stakeholders to figure out how to move the state into the green economy. The Office of Climate Action will be run by the Governor’s Senior Policy Advisor, Jane Cohen, and will oversee all climate work across the entire Murphy Administration, coordinating between agencies and aligning the administration’s efforts with those of the Biden Administration.

Hayley Berliner, Clean Energy Associate with Environment New Jersey issued the following statement:

“Today’s announcement is a win for our lungs and our climate and it’s a true downpayment on speeding up the transition to electrifying our diesel truck fleets across the state. New Jersey’s cities have some of the highest levels of air pollution in the country, and diesel vehicles are to blame. It is critical that we electrify these vehicles to clean up our air and make our communities healthier. The announcement by Governor Murphy today to invest over one hundred million dollars into electrifying dirty diesel buses, trucks, and port equipment in our cities does just that. 

“We thank Governor Murphy and the NJDEP for investing the VW Settlement funds and RGGI dollars where they are needed the most. We look forward to making ongoing investments in our cities from the state’s RGGI funding to electrify everything on wheels in New Jersey and meet the commitments of the regional electric truck MOU to move towards electrifying 30% of our new trucks sales by 2030.

“We look forward to working with Jane Cohen in her new role as well as the entire Office of Climate Action and Council on the Green Economy.”

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