PITTSBURGH, PA – The City of Pittsburgh has received a $304,000 grant from Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection to spend on alternative-fuel technologies. The grant money will help convert the city’s fleet to biodiesel. The city also plans to purchase 1.2 million gallons of biodiesel and five new above-ground fuel tanks. The grant money will also be spent on clean-up efforts involving existing fuel tanks, according to a report in Pittsburgh Business Times.

Vehicles used by Pittsburgh’s public works division will be the first to make the conversion to biodiesel, according to Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. Over the next five years, the state is investing $30 million on its Alternative Fuels Incentive Grant Program, which aims to produce and use 900 million gallons of alternative, eco-friendly fuels including ethanol and biodiesel.