Round 3 of grant funding for the DieselWise Indiana with Volkswagen DERA Option program is now open for applications. The program will distribute awards ranging from $50,000-$1 million, with total available funding set at $1.8 million. Grant funds will be awarded to clean air projects that significantly reduce diesel emissions from nonroad vehicles or equipment across Indiana. Public & private entities may submit applications. The Request for Proposals deadline is Dec. 17, 2021. Additional details are available in the Member Center. Contact us at (219) 644-3690 to learn how we can help you achieve grant success!

Our Sustainable Solutions Conference & Expo this week in South Bend with our partners the City of South Bend Office of Sustainability & the Michiana Area Council of Governments was a huge success! We would like to extend a special thank you to our sponsors, exhibitors & speakers for helping to make the event possible as well of all of our attendees for their support. Check out the story by WNDU on the event! Watch here

With the rapid pace of information — and misinformation — sharing these days, perception often becomes reality. It’s a struggle we at South Shore Clean Cities work with on a regular basis when it comes to issues of sustainable transportation, particularly when it comes to electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations. South Shore Clean Cities was thrilled to be selected last month by the Indiana Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Trust Fund Committee — on the recommendation of the Indiana Department of Environmental Management — to manage the outreach, education and marketing for the statewide electric vehicle charging station network supported by the VW grant program and the Indiana Utility Group. Read Carl Lisek's column monthly in The Times of Northwest Indiana

SSCC Executive Director Carl Lisek's weekly radio show "Green Fleet Radio" airs three times each Wednesday on Lakeshore Public Radio with generous support from NIRPC. This month, Carl welcomed Keri Marrs Barron of Recycling & Waste Reduction District of Porter Co., Scott Weber of NIRPC & Nadia Gkritza of ASPIRE & the Lyles School of Civil Engineering at Purdue University West Lafayette. Carl was also in the guest seat for one show with SSCC's Lauri Keagle serving as host for a discussion about SSCC's recent grant awards! Listeners can tune in to Lakeshore Public Radio at 89.1 FM or stream online. Catch up on past shows on our Website. 

Ozinga Energy, headquartered in Mokena, Illinois, first joined South Shore Clean Cities in 2011. Vice President Rich DeBoer serves on the South Shore Clean Cities Board of Directors. Established in 1928 in Evergreen Park, Illinois, as a small coal and coke yard, Ozinga survived the Great Depression and World War II before becoming one of the first ready mix providers in the region. For four generations, Ozinga has continuously expanded its product and service offerings to faithfully meet the needs of builders throughout Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and South Florida while holding to its longstanding commitment to provide it all at a fair price. Learn more

Electricity can be used to power all-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles directly from the power grid. Vehicles running on electricity produce no tailpipe emissions. The only emissions that can be attributed to electric vehicles are those generated in the production process at the power plant. The electric grid is an easily accessible driving energy. Electricity used to power vehicles is generally provided by the electricity grid and stored in the vehicle’s batteries. Learn more on our Website

Last month, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm introduced Communities LEAP (Local Energy Action Program) – a new pilot initiative to support communities currently experiencing either direct environmental justice impacts, or direct economic impacts from a shift away from historical reliance on fossil fuels. Under this pilot initiative, DOE will provide technical assistance services valued at up to a total of $16 million to support 24-36 communities to develop their own community-driven clean energy transition approach. Applicants must register to apply for this opportunity. Once registered, applicants will receive access to apply. The application deadline is Dec. 17, 2021 at 5 p.m. Eastern. Additional information is available in the Member Center.