67 cities and municipalities will opt for collective, ecological, zero-emission transport. This will be possible thanks to the second competitive edition of the “Green Public Transport” (ZTP) program, financed by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW).
In the second completed call for proposals, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) received 101 applications from public transport organizers from all over Poland, including 69 grant applications. The value of projects preliminarily qualified for the next step, i.e., negotiations of funding conditions, was estimated at over PLN 1.26 billion, of which nearly PLN 1.1 billion will be eligible costs. It is important for NFOŚiGW that representatives of local governments of medium and small cities dominate among the applicants. NFOŚiGW funds will cover the eligible costs of purchasing eco-buses in the following breakdown: PLN 780.3 million in the form of a non-repayable grant and over PLN 136 million as a low-interest loan.
As part of the submitted applications, the planned investments (the so-called material effect) are:
- Planned number of electric buses – 340 units.
- Planned number of hydrogen buses – 48 units.
- Planned number of charging points – 277 units.
- Planned number of hydrogen refueling stations – 2 units.
– According to the “Energy Policy of Poland until 2040”, starting from 2025, in cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, every tender must concern only zero- and low-emission means of public transport. This is an ambitious but necessary goal for a healthier life in Polish cities and towns. Subsequent editions of the “Green Public Transport” program are helping to achieve it – emphasizes Anna Moskwa, Minister of Climate and Environment. – Such government support for the development of urban electromobility is particularly important for the development of medium and small centers. The mobility of residents can be of key importance not only for the environment but also for economic development and the quality of life in smaller towns – adds the head of the ministry.
The task of the “Green Public Transport” program is primarily to popularize zero-emission public transport throughout Poland. An important goal of the program is, of course, to reduce the use of energy and emission fuels in urban public transport, but we believe that our program is also a way to build broad social awareness about the benefits of popularizing electromobility. – adds Paweł Mirowski, acting President of NFOŚiGW. – It is also worth emphasizing that in this edition of the “Green Public Transport” program, preferences have been provided for smaller local governments that want to develop “green” urban transport and face socio-economic challenges on a daily basis. Thanks to another injection of support for the modernization of the urban fleet, such local governments will be able to more easily deal with the problem of transport exclusion, which, according to various estimates, may affect from 11 to even 15 million Poles. – points out the head of NFOŚiGW.
Among the local governments that are moving to the negotiation phase of funding conditions in the second edition of the “Green Public Transport” program are 6 spa municipalities: Duszniki-Zdrój, Jedlina-Zdrój, Muszyna, Rabka-Zdrój, Świeradów-Zdrój, and Augustów. This also confirms the role and potential of government support for local government initiatives. And it is worth noting that, in addition, the “ZTP” program also allows for building a so-called beta market for hydrogen solutions – understood both as vehicles and the infrastructure necessary to service them. Importantly, it also assumes strengthening competencies in the ongoing maintenance of this type of vehicle and infrastructure, which may be of significant importance when launching subsequent components of the plan to build a hydrogen economy. Out of 67 municipalities qualified for the negotiation phase of the second edition of the program, four municipalities: Andrychów, Rybnik, Świdnik, and Wałbrzych declared their willingness to purchase a total of 48 hydrogen buses. Combined with the “hydrogen” purchases contracted in the first call (71 units), this already gives a potential number of over 100 such buses that will appear on Polish streets in the coming years.
Source: National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW)