Jun. 5—At its Monday, June 3, meeting, Mesa City Council is scheduled to vote on whether to join a coalition of five Arizona governments applying for a $453 million Environmental Protection Agency grant.

Mesa would take $100 million of the massive Climate Pollution Reduction Implementation Grant. If the application succeeds, Mesa plans to spend the sum over five years on two key carbon-reduction projects.

Officials in Mesa’s Environmental & Sustainability Office said the city would put the grant money toward adding 375 new electric vehicles to the city’s fleet and completing a biogas plant to produce utility-grade natural gas using food waste.

“Wow,” said Councilwoman Jenn Duff last week after hearing that the city would purchase 375 electric vehicles — a six-fold increase from the 75 vehicles Mesa is planning to have this year without the grant.

The other governments in the coalition applying for money are Phoenix, Tempe, Maricopa County and the State of Arizona.

Phoenix is taking the lead on the application and would receive the $453 million from the federal government and then disburse each partner’s share.

The EPA is advancing the funds before the projects begin, so “there will be no out-of-pocket expenses for Mesa,” Deputy Director of Development and Sustainability Laura Hyneman said.

In addition to the electric vehicles, Mesa is also eyeing the installation of almost 600 vehicle charging stations with the EPA award.

Hyneman told council members that the new chargers would not be open to the public. The city is using a separate $12 million federal grant awarded this year to add public chargers.

Mesa would create seven new positions to implement the two projects: three for fleet electrification and four for the biogas program.

Mesa recently started its effort to convert part of its 1,600 light-duty truck fleet to electric vehicles. The $100 million grant would represent a quantum leap for the fledgling initiative.

Environmental and Sustainability Director Scott Bouchie was also excited about the prospect of fully implementing the Flare to Fuel biogas program. The program takes food waste diverted from landfills and captures methane gas created by the decomposing material.

The plan is to refine the gas so it can be used in the city’s fleet of natural gas-powered vehicles. Many of these are garbage trucks.

Currently, methane gas is burned off in a flare to convert it to less harmful carbon dioxide.

“What I really like about this (project) is … it diverts waste from the landfill, it decreases our greenhouse gas emissions and it increases our renewable energy production, all within one project,” Bouchie said.

He said Mesa would be the only Valley city to have such a program.

Bouchie estimated last week that the program at full operation could produce 653,000 therms of biogas from 20,000 tons of decomposed food waste.

He said the figure represents half of all the compressed natural gas currently used by Mesa’s fleet.

The coalition will find out in July if it has won the half-billion dollar grant. Mesa officials estimated the funds would arrive in October if they are successful.