Cleaning the Air Stark County Residents Breathe
Before Kirt Conrad, CEO of the Stark Area Regional Transit Authority (SARTA), and the agency’s Board of Directors could set out on their quest to deploy a fleet of zero-emission buses in 2010, they had to answer two vexing questions.
- What type of alternative fuel vehicles would they use to replace the smoke-belching diesels they were then operating?
- Where were they going to find the money to pay for them?
Embracing Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology
The answers were, in order, hydrogen fuel cell-powered (HFC) buses, which were rare at the time, and any place they could. While many in the transit community scoffed at the decision, Conrad embraced the technology with the fervor of an innovator who knew he was right. It was a fervor that drove his seemingly inexhaustible search for the funding he needed to prove it. “I decided the only way to do it was to buy a bus and run it,” he said.
He did exactly that when he snared a $2.7 million Federal Transit Administration (FTA) grant and bought SARTA’s first HFC bus. He hasn’t looked back since. Today, thanks to tens of millions in state and federal funding, the system operates one of the largest fleets of HFC transit vehicles in the Western Hemisphere as well as an on-site refueling station.
Major Funding for a Greener Future with Zero-Emission Buses
On August 15, 2024, SARTA accepted a $17.3 million grant from FTA’s highly competitive Bus and Bus Facilities program. According to Conrad, the grant, the single largest the agency has ever secured, will fuel the ongoing drive to zero-emission operations in two ways.
“First, it will enable us to replace our remaining fossil fuel-burning buses with HFC vehicles, and second, it will fund the acquisition and installation of a 1.2-megawatt electrolyzer that will produce green hydrogen at our Canton headquarters,” Conrad said. He noted that the electrolyzer, which will be partially powered by a solar array installed on the roof of the SARTA garage, will reduce emissions associated with hydrogen production by 64%.
Investing in Local Workforce Development
Conrad is particularly pleased that the FTA grant will also enable SARTA to invest in local talent. In partnership with Stark State College and the RG Drage Career and Technical Center, SARTA will actively recruit and prepare residents for a wide variety of good-paying jobs that will arise as clean hydrogen becomes a vital part of America’s energy strategy. “It gives us another way to fulfill our commitment to enhancing and improving the quality of life in our community,” Conrad added. Visit SARTA for more information on how they are revolutionizing regional transportation.
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