The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced this week that it has awarded $1.25 million to the Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition to reduce emissions from truck stop engine idling. According to the agency, the grant money will be used to install truck stop electrification (TSE) systems in Alabama’s Baldwin and Montgomery counties.

The new TSE project will provide an AC “shore power” outlets for trucks to power accessories such as air conditioning. Fifty truck spaces will be constructed per site to achieve the project’s annual emissions reduction goals of 1.6 tons of particulate matter (PM) and 57 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx). It is also expected to create or retain 70 jobs.

“This grant is a great investment in environmental protection and will provide long-term economic benefits for Alabama,” said Stan Meiburg, EPA Acting Regional Administrator in Atlanta. “This funding will go a very long way in helping to bolster the economy and protect public health and the environment by creating green jobs that improve air quality.”

The funds are provided under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) of 2009 National Clean Diesel Funding Assistance Program. Under this funding competition, EPA Region 4 alone received 98 grant applications requesting over $140 million to help fund clean diesel emissions projects, it reported.