BRTA Gets $3M for Hybrid Buses, HVAC

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority has been awarded $2,457,328 in federal funding for low-emission buses and ventilation systems, with a 20 percent match in state funding bringing the total cost of $3,071,660 for the project.

The funds will go towards the purchase of three hybrid electric 35-foot heavy duty transit buses, replacing three 2014 buses; one 28-foot cutaway bus replacing one 2013 bus and the replacement of the 20-year-old HVAC system at the Intermodal Transportation Center.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Transit Administration announced this week $1.66 billion in grants to transit agencies, territories, and states across the country to invest in 150 bus fleets and facilities. The bus grant awards – made under FTA's Buses and Bus Facilities and Low- and No-Emission Vehicle programs – are FTA's first competitive grant selections under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

"With today's awards, we're helping communities across America – in cities, suburbs, and rural areas alike – purchase more than 1,800 new buses, and most of them are zero-emission," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "Funded through President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this announcement means more good jobs for people across the country, cleaner air in our communities, and more affordable and reliable options to help people get to where they need to go."

The three new Gillig Hybrid Electric buses with BAE Series ER will show a reduction of energy consumption annually totaling a savings of 5,231 gallons a fuel per year. The annual emission savings for greenhouse gases are substantial, at 77 tons per year, based upon the MJ Bradley BAE Hybrid Fuel and Emissions saving calculator tool.

Overall, there will be a 30 percent better fuel economy compared to diesel, translating into a 30 percent reduction in fuel usage and CO2. FTA's Low or No Emission (Low-No) Grant Program makes funding available to help transit agencies buy or lease U.S.-built low- or no-emission vehicles, including related equipment or facilities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides $5.5 billion over five years for the Low-No Program – more than six times greater than the previous five years of funding. For fiscal 2022, approximately $1.1 billion was available for grants under this program.

FTA's Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Program supports transit agencies in buying and rehabilitating buses and vans and building bus maintenance facilities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides nearly $2 billion over five years for the program.

For fiscal 2022, approximately $550 million for grants was available under this program.

Two Berkshire Peaker Plants Have Been Put in the Past

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
07:44AM / Sunday, July 21, 2024

The plant on Merrill Road owned by Pittsfield Generating. BEAT says the company has been in talks with the group.

LEE, Mass. — Two peaker plants in Berkshire County have been out of service for two years and are in the process of demolition. Local environmentalists are rejoicing.

"It's phenomenal," said Rosemary Wessel of the Berkshire Environmental Action Team. "To actually see the physical proof of a peaker plant not just shut down but removed is just more than we really expected and it's really great."

Peaking power plants — also known as peaker plants — run when there is a high demand for electricity. Facilities on Woodland Road in Lee and Doreen Street in Pittsfield shut down in 2022 and are being removed entirely, with usable parts auctioned off.

The Lee site has already been cleared.

Owned by the Carlyle Group and operated by Cogentrix, the decades-old plants had reached the end of their commercial lives.

"The facilities reached the end of their respective useful lives," a Cogentrix spokesperson said. "They were no longer needed for peak energy use periods or grid reliability; therefore, the company made the decision to retire the units."

About three years ago, BEAT started a "Put Peakers in The Past" petition demanding that the three peaking power plants in the county revert to renewable and clean alternatives. The third is Pittsfield Generating Co. on Merrill Road (owned by Hull Street Energy.) The group also found support from the Pittsfield Board of Health.

Wessel said when the environmental nonprofit got in touch with Cogentrix, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development Chris Sherman was more than open to the idea of retiring the plants. In 2021, Sherman was the vice president of regulatory affairs and has a background in clean energy.

"The first Zoom meeting, it was pretty amazing. They said, 'You're right, we should be doing it,'" Wessel said.