PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — CityLink was selected as the recipient of $1.23 million to fund the purchase of one 35-foot battery-electric bus, the battery lease, and the accompanying charging equipment as part of the recent Edwards Settlement Fund Distribution.
CityLink’s proposal was one of the proposals selected to receive funding from this settlement.
“We are very pleased the Edwards Settlement Distribution committee accepted our proposal for the purchase of one new 35-foot battery-electric bus, the battery lease, and the charging equipment,” said CityLink General Manager Doug Roelfs. “This bus will provide CityLink with a greater opportunity to decrease emissions in the Peoria area.”
The Edward Settlement Fund Distribution was the result of a 2013 lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council and Respiratory Health Association against the owners of the E.D. Edwards coal-fired power plant, located on the Illinois River south of Bartonville. The lawsuit alleged the E.D. Edwards plant was in violation of the Clean Air Act.
The result of the settlement requires the Edwards’ owner to close the plant by the end of 2022 and to provide $8.6 million in funding for projects to benefit the greater Peoria region, including funding for electric buses for public transit fleets.
The bus purchased with the funding from this settlement will be one of three battery-electric Proterra buses CityLink expects to be delivered in summer 2021.
CityLink received a grant for $2.3 million from the Federal Transit Administration as part of the Low or No Emission (Low-No) Bus Program in July 2019. This will fund the purchase of two battery-electric Proterra buses, chargers and related supporting infrastructure.
The three new battery-electric Proterra buses will replace three aging diesel-engine buses in CityLink’s active fleet of 53 fixed-route buses.
