The Indiana Office of Energy Development (OED) recently selected 11 Hoosier communities, including two Marshall County communities, for grant dollars totaling $1.47 million, recognizing an assortment of projects aimed at bolstering energy efficiency and conservation efforts.
Funds stem from Indiana’s funding allocation from the federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) program. Funding of grant dollars was available to units of local government in Indiana.
Grants may be utilized by recipients to increase energy efficiency and conservation in their communities. Categories include efforts in energy planning, energy audits and efficiency upgrades for publicly owned buildings, and electric transportation for communities.
The Indiana OED develops and implements grant funding on a variety of factors, with a focus on the state’s five pillars of electricity policy: affordability, reliability, resiliency, stability, and environmental sustainability.
Grant awards are contingent upon successful negotiation and final approval by the Indiana OED.
Each project is anticipated to be completed within two years or less.
The City of Plymouth received $225,367 and officials plan to procure three Ford F-150 Lightning Pro Work Trucks to determine feasibility of scaling electrification throughout the municipal fleet in three departments (Street, Wastewater, and Building Departments). Additionally, the City of Plymouth will procure and install four new city-owned charging options. The goal of this project will be to identify and assess the scalability of the light duty electric pick-up trucks through use cases and duty-cycles.
The Marshall County Highway Department received $154,333 and Superintendent Jason Peters plans to purchase two F-150 Ford Lightning Ext and two charging stations to be installed at its main garage. The project goal is to replace two gasoline powered trucks with new, electric trucks and determine the feasibility of fleet electrification by evaluating energy efficiency, cost savings, and duty-cycle performance.
