Michiana communities receive funding toward electric vehicles

MACOG: Phil Buckmaster with the Town of Walkerton inspects a Chevy Blazer EV displayed by Tom Naquin

MICHIANA - The Indiana Office of Energy Development has awarded the governments of Marshall County, Plymouth, Nappanee, and Walkerton a combined $578,987 by the agency through the federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program.

The projects are part of the Michiana Area Council of Governments (MACOG) electric vehicle pilot cohort.

Together, the communities will pilot eight all-electric vehicles including two SUVs, five light-duty pickup trucks, and one vehicle outfitted for police service.

Marshall County was awarded $154,333 for the two pickup trucks to be used in their County Highway operations and to install charging hardware at the Highway Garage.

Plymouth was awarded $225,367 to add three additional electric trucks to the city fleet, as the city already operates a Ford F-150 Lightning in the Parks Department.

Officials say the electric vehicles' performance will be rigorously evaluated in three new use cases, each dedicated to their Streets, Wastewater, and Building Departments.

The project will also add an electric vehicle charging station to Centennial Park that will serve fleet vehicles.

The grant covers the cost of all vehicles and equipment, and the city will install charging equipment in-house.

Nappanee was awarded $127,225 to cover the cost of piloting an electric SUV and electric pick-up truck for their Planning Department.

Their aim is to expand the fleet cost efficiently where city employees are currently using their personal vehicles.

The grant is budgeted to cover the vehicles and installation of charging stations.

"Nappanee is pleased to have been selected by the state for this competitive award. We look forward to rigorously testing these vehicles to evaluate how the technology works for our operations. With the grant covering 100% of the project costs, we're able to try something new without the financial risk of using city funds," said Nappanee Mayor Phil Jenkins.

Walkerton was awarded $72,062 to purchase a pursuit-rated electric vehicle for police service.

The town has committed $16,000 toward the cost of upfitting the vehicle.

Walkerton is projected to put the first all-electric pursuit-capable law enforcement vehicle into service in Michiana.

“We have been following the Town of Bargersville which now has about 13 electric vehicles out of 18 in their police department, since acquiring their first Tesla in 2019. The Bargersville experience has demonstrated that electric vehicles offer a significant financial savings which is critical for small towns,” said Walkerton Police Chief Matt Schalliol.

They join Bargersville, New Albany, North Judson, and the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Department, which have electric vehicles for police use in Indiana.

MACOG and the Clean Cities coalition organization, Drive Clean Indiana, will assist with implementing and tracking the projects to capture lessons learned and best practices for local government fleet electrification projects.

Goshen also secured $153,075 for an energy efficiency project without MACOG assistance, bringing the total for the region to over $732,000.

You can view the full list of Indiana Office of Energy Development awardees here.