Energy Programs Office outlines 2025 changes to Pennsylvania’s Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant

Josh Jubeck, program manager for the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant at the Energy Programs Office, outlined changes to the Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant (AFIG) program during a Clean Energy Opportunity Spotlight webinar.

The program has about $5,000,000 available for AFIG 2025, funded through a transfer from the utilities gross receipt tax, Jubeck said. AFIG supports fuel-neutral projects that fall under the Alternative Fuels Incentive Act and includes support for electricity, various natural gases, propane, hydrogen and biofuels.

Jubeck said AFIG will finance the incremental cost of purchasing new alternative-fuel fleet vehicles — the difference between a conventional model’s base price and its alternative-fuel equivalent — and the cost to purchase and install fleet refueling infrastructure. He said the program does not fund the full cost of vehicles and has no gross vehicle weight registration limits.

For 2025, Jubeck said class 1 and class 2 vehicles will be eligible for a maximum award of $3,000 per vehicle, and projects operating primarily in environmental-justice (EJ) areas may request an additional $1,000 per vehicle (up to $4,000). He said class 1 and class 2 vehicle projects must include a minimum of five vehicles; applicants with fewer vehicles may aggregate with partners to meet the threshold. Jubeck also said the program requires vehicles to be new and does not require scrappage of replaced vehicles.

AFIG’s refueling-infrastructure rules were updated for 2025, Jubeck said. Medium-duty alternative-fuel fleets are defined as groups of 10 or more vehicles with a GVWR between 10,000 and 26,000 pounds (class 3–6); light-duty fleets must have at least two vehicles with GVWR below 10,000 pounds. Level 2 electric-vehicle service equipment projects must provide a minimum of four plugs (for example, two dual chargers), each supplying at least 7.2 kilowatts, and AFIG will leverage an award maximum of $5,000 per plug. Projects located in EJ areas may receive an additional $1,000 per plug. For DC fast chargers, Jubeck said projects must provide at least 120 kilowatts for a single vehicle or at least 60 kilowatts for simultaneous charging.

On timing, Jubeck said AFIG 2025 will open with a single application acceptance period ending in October as a one-year reset; going forward the program will open in January 2026 with acceptance windows in May and October. Eligible applicants include units of government, school districts, nonprofits and Pennsylvania-registered businesses.

Responding to a question about coordination with PennDOT, Jubeck said the Energy Programs Office holds monthly coordination calls with PennDOT staff working on the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program to align charging-infrastructure efforts. He said AFIG is fully state-funded via the utilities gross receipt tax transfer and is not affected by changes to federal funding.

Jubeck also described program outcomes: AFIG funds helped purchase electric school buses for the Philadelphia School District, which program staff reported reduced emissions on inner-city routes and relieved respiratory impacts for students with asthma. He recommended that prospective applicants be ready to document emissions reductions, incremental vehicle costs versus conventional equivalents, financial commitment to cover remaining vehicle costs, and plans to have fueling or charging infrastructure ready when vehicles enter service.

Jubeck closed by inviting applicants to contact the Energy Programs Office for technical assistance and said the Clean Energy Opportunity Spotlight series will return in July with a presentation from the RISE PA program (Reducing Industrial-Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania).