$1.2 million For Two Clean Diesel Great Lakes Marine Vessels

Jul 21: U.S. EPA Region 5 announced that it awarded more than $1.2 million to the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) to put cleaner diesel engines in two Great Lakes self-unloading bulk carrier marine vessels. Bharat Mathur, acting regional administrator said, "Investing in clean diesel projects in the Great Lakes region will protect public health, bolster the economy and create green jobs.These Recovery Act funds will move us one step closer to a clean energy future."

The funds are provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. Under this funding competition, EPA Region 5 alone received 81 grant applications requesting $211 million to help fund clean diesel emissions projects. The announced awards were chosen to maximize both economic impact and emissions reductions. ARRA allotted the National Clean Diesel Campaign a total of $300 million, of which the National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program received $156 million to fund competitive grants across the nation. ARRA also included $20 million for the National Clean Diesel Emerging Technology Program grants and $30 million for the SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance Program grants. In addition, under the Act's State Clean Diesel Grant program, a total of $88.2 million has been provided to states for clean diesel projects through a noncompetitive allocation process.

According to a release from GLC, four 30-year-old generators on two Great Lakes bulk carriers will be repowered next winter with cleaner, more fuel-efficient diesel engines with help from a $1.2 million federal stimulus grant recently awarded to the Great Lakes Commission. The grant will support a $1.6 million project to be carried out at a Wisconsin shipyard on two self-unloading vessels owned and operated by the American Steamship Company (ASC) of Williamsville, NY. The 900-horsepower diesel generator sets, two on each vessel, were original equipment on the 770-foot M/V St. Clair built in 1976 and the 1,000-foot M/V Indiana Harbor built in 1979. The units are used to supply electrical power to the vessels. The two ASC vessels operate primarily in the iron ore, coal and stone trades between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes.

Access a release from EPA with links to more information on ARRA and the clean diesel initiatives (click here). Access a release from GLC with further details on the project (click here).