On Earth Week, Mayor Fulop Touts RGGI NJDEP Electrification Grants To Electrify Jersey’s City Via Fleet, Install Charging Stations & Electrify Garbage Trucks

Jersey City – Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop announced as part of Earth Week a series of state investments via NJDEP’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) program in Jersey City electrification projects, including funding to electrify the City’s Via van-sharing service, provide EV multi-modal community chargers and electrify the City’s garbage trucks and school buses.

Jersey City has added 37 electric vehicles to the City’s fleet and built 27 charging stations at key locations citywide – 22 of which have dual ports for a total of 49 chargers.  Jersey City recently purchased 20 new EVs and will use a $1 million RGGI NJDEP grant to expand from 49 to 89 EV chargers strategically located through the community to promote more EV use.  The added chargers will also enhance the City’s efforts to grow Via JC – New Jersey’s first on-demand, city-run rideshare program – from 10% to 100% fully electric.

Jersey City recently was awarded a $2 million NJDEP RGGI grant to become the first on the entire East Coast to add electric garbage trucks to the municipal fleet, replacing high-polluting diesel trucks.  The garbage trucks and other municipal electric vehicles are powered by the solar panels installed at Jersey City’s DPW campus. Also, Jersey City also was awarded two EVs for Envoy, a car-sharing service near affordable housing through last month’s NJDEP announcement of $70 million of new RGGI investments, first announced by Gov. Murphy in February and previously was awarded 5 electric school buses.

In response, Doug O’Malley, Director of Environment New Jersey, issued the following statement:

“The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is the pollution program that works and Jersey City has been a leader in electrifying vehicles throughout the city using RGGI dollars to drive the road to electrification. From electric garbage trucks to transitioning Via to an all-electric fleet to putting more community EV chargers for both electric cars and e-bikes for communities where you can’t find a garage, the Fulop Administration gets it that we need to clean up our air and fight climate change by electrifying our vehicles. Electrification is the future for Jersey City and Mayor Fulop has been putting the building blocks in place to make that happen.”