New Funds Available!

Mid-America Clean Diesel Funding Redirect

The goal of this Request for Applications is to select organizations that will become beneficiaries under a current project funded through EPA’s FY18 Clean Diesel program.

MEC’s priority goals for applicant selection include reduced air emissions affecting vulnerable populations, reduced use of petro diesel in school buses, electrification of heavy diesel vehicles, and beneficiary participation in outreach and public awareness campaigns.

Selected awardees must complete projects by August 31, 2023.

  • RFA Issue Date
  • Pre-Application Meeting
  • RFA Questions Deadline
  • RFA Submission Deadline
  • Expected Date for MEC Selection Notification
  • Project Completion Deadline
  • 01/05/2023
  • None. View recording from Nov 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbhXHAJ-lak
  • 01/17/2023
  • 01/26/2023, 2:00 PM CT
  • Early February 2022
  • August 31, 2023

Request for Applications

MEC RFA guidance document (updated 1/5/2023; changes are in yellow highlight) (click to download PDF)

Application Form (updated 1/5/2023) (click to download Fillable PDF)

Budget Table and Fleet Data Worksheet (updated 1/5/2023) (click to download Excel file)

Fleet Data Dictionary, for informational purposes only (click to download Excel file)

Pre-Application Webinar and Information

There will be no Pre-Application webinar for this re-issuance of the RFA. There is a recording of the Pre-Application webinar from a previous issuance, which was recorded on November 8, 2022. NOTE: The available funding and deadlines are different. Please refer to the new RFA Guidance and Application documents for correct dates and amounts.

During the meeting, MEC staff conducted a walk-through of the RFA and application documents and responded to questions. The meeting recording is available here: https://youtu.be/sbhXHAJ-lak

For assistance with applications, contact David Albrecht. David will not be involved in evaluating applications.

Questions and Answers

Applicants are also encouraged to submit questions in writing to Jeff Windsor. Questions will be accepted until January 17, 2023. MEC will respond to all questions publicly via an FAQ on its website, at metroenergy.org/procurement. Emails should use the subject line: “Query for DERA RFA”.

Q1. Lead times on EV yard tractors and work trucks stretch out for months from the PO date. Would you consider extending beyond 08/31 due to extended lead times/supply chain issues?

A1. We are constrained by the terms of the funder and cannot extend the period any further for this particular grant. Please look out for new opportunities to participate in competitive funding for similar projects in the near future.

Q2. In column F of the budget worksheet, what info should be put in “group type”? For the application, can you tell us a little more about what grantees should prepare to do for outreach and how often they should do outreach activities?
A2. Group type refers to “on-road”, “off-road” or “locomotive”, and is a category tracked by EPA. The drop-down menu for the field on the Budget and Fleet Data Sheet constrains responses to one of these three. Additional information for all fleet data sheet fields is available in a new resource: “Fleet Data Dictionary,” linked above.
Baseline outreach activities that selected grantees should be prepared to participate in include: 1. announce their participation in a release and 2. participate in webinars or in-person presentations to peers and decision-makers on the topic of operational functionality and/or experience participating in an MEC or DERA grant program. Other types of participatory outreach are welcome within the community of the deployment location.
Q3. Are there limitations on number of hours in use?

A3. Yes, EPA imposes minimum annual key-on hours for off-road vehicles. The following language is from the EPA RFP associated with these funds:

Nonroad Operating Hours: No funds awarded under this RFP shall be used to retrofit,
replace or upgrade or replace a nonroad engine that operates less than 500 hours per year.
Engine hours may be combined to reach the 500–hour threshold where two engines will be
scrapped and replaced with a single engine.