Metalico grant to fund electric handler purchase

Among seven companies or organizations in Ohio receiving grants to help move their fleets away from diesel fuel is New Jersey-based scrap processing firm Metalico Inc.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) has awarded some $3.2 million to seven organizations operating in northern Ohio to replace aging diesel-powered vehicles and equipment with new electric vehicles and equipment.

Among the seven recipients is Metalico Akron Inc., which is receiving nearly $755,000 to help replace a 2005 diesel material handler with a new all-electric model.

The other recipients include city governments and logistics and warehousing firms.

“Every little bit helps when it comes to improving air quality,” Ohio EPA Director Anne M. Vogel says. “It’s exciting to know that these grants fund projects that will reduce the amount of pollutants released into the air.”

The OEPA says switchovers to electric vehicles can prevent tons of nitrogen oxide emissions and other pollutants in the northern Ohio counties where the electric-powered machinery will be put to work.

The grants are funded from dollars allocated to Ohio from the settlement of an enforcement action taken against Volkswagen and its affiliated companies by United States EPA and the state of California for violations under the Clean Air Act.

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The resulting grant program in Ohio will be able to invest $75 million during a 10-year period. Selection considerations were given for specifically targeted reduction categories, like school and transit buses and heavy-duty trucks, and to vehicle replacement projects that would produce the largest reduction of nitrogen oxide emissions for the grant dollars invested.