The North Carolina Solar Center at NC State University has announced a call for projects, which may reveive up to $1,000,000 in awards to governments, business, and/or non-profit fleets and fuel providers for transportation technology-related emission reduction projects. The Clean Fuel Advanced Technology (CFAT) Project is a $6.2 million initiative of the N.C. Solar Center funded in part by federal dollars from the N.C. Department of Transportation (DOT).

In addition to providing assistance for emission reduction projects, the CFAT project focuses on activities that include a public education media campaign and developing clean transportation technology and policy training opportunities. Technology project proposals for this round of funding must be submitted to the N.C. Solar Center by September 10, 2013.

This is the third round of DOT funding available through the CFAT project. From 2006 - 2012, nearly $2.2 million was distributed for 47 projects  to a variety of entities including a national park, local governments, school systems, service station owners, fuel distributors, and a company providing electrified parking spaces at a truck stop to reduce idling in long haul trucks.

The CFAT project, funded by federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality funds, operates in 24 counties that do not meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards. More than half of North Carolinians live in counties that have unhealthy air, and transportation related emissions are a primary contributor to the state’s air quality problem. Project managers anticipate a wide range of applications including alternative-fuel vehicle conversions and upfits for operation on cleaner-burning propane or natural gas, alternative fuel refueling and electric recharging infrastructure, on-board idle reduction and telematics technology for fuel savings and emission reduction, and emission control retrofits for school buses and other heavy-duty diesel vehicles.

Funding assistance is allocated in the form of a reimbursement, which can cover up to 80 percent of the project cost. In order to be eligible, a project must reduce transportation related emissions within eligible NC counties. For education and outreach regarding alternative-fuel and fuel-conservation technologies and policies, the N.C. Solar Center has partnered with Triangle J, Centralina, Upper Coastal Plain and Kerr-Tar Councils of Governments, and the Piedmont Triad Regional Council.

Guidelines and applications available here or by clicking on Resources, then Funding at: www.cleantransportation.org

For more information about the N.C. Solar Center visit www.ncsc.ncsu.edu. Follow N.C. Solar on Twitter: @NCSolarCenter