The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) has announced it has received $4 million total from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grant Program. The money will support the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Aeronautics and Rail and Transit Division’s clean energy grid and climate-related initiatives.
The MassDOT Aeronautics Division received a $2 million grant award which will be used to support the planning of a smart microgrid that generates and distributes clean, reliable power at Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis, facilitating reliable charging of electric ground vehicles (including buses) and in future, aircraft. In collaboration with Cape Cod Gateway Airport and the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority, the initiative aims to increase clean energy independence while supporting the historically disadvantaged community living near the Airport.
“We are honored that the U.S. Department of Transportation has selected MassDOT Aeronautics to make Massachusetts a smart grid model for clean, reliable, equitable transportation and economic development,” said MassDOT Aeronautics Administrator Jeffrey DeCarlo.
“We are thrilled to partner with MassDOT Aeronautics on a clean energy smart grid grant,” said Katie Servis, Airport Manager of Cape Cod Gateway Airport. “Facilitating the construction and operation of this infrastructure could transform our community, through the use of greener technologies for our fleet vehicles, leading to improvements in air quality, a reduction in carbon emissions, reduced noise in communities adjacent to the Airport and the entire town of Barnstable, as well as good-paying jobs, such as for high-skilled mechanics to service electric vehicles and aircraft.”
