Green Energy Times Readership Area Allocated $23.6M for 60 Buses
(Wikipedia/H. Michael Miley)
Martin Wahl
On October 26 the Environmental Protection Agency announced nearly $1 billion in awards to 391 U.S. school districts to replace aging, fossil-fueled school buses with 2,468 cleaner, mainly electric models.
This is the first round of funding from the Clean School Bus Program, which the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created with a $5 billion investment for low- and zero-emission school buses over the next five years.
The rebates will go to school districts in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and American Samoa. Seventeen school districts in the Green Energy Times readership area (New Hampshire, Vermont, and parts of New York and Maine) will receive $23,610,000 for 60 electric buses:
The EPA received around 2,000 applications requesting nearly $4 billion in funding for the 2022 Clean School Bus (CSB) Rebates. In response to the overwhelming demand, EPA almost doubled the first round funding level from $500 million to $965 million. For a complete list of the awardees, visit .
School districts identified as priority areas serving low-income, rural, or tribal students make up 99% of the projects; they were selected through a lottery. Awards to school districts ranged from $30,000 to $987,000. Applicant organizations receiving awards included school districts, school bus and related charging equipment manufacturers and sellers on behalf of schools and school districts, as well as individual schools.
New Hampshire’s U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, lead negotiator of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, celebrated the selection of two of her state’s school districts being included among the awardees. New Hampshire’s U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan also helped negotiate the bill; both spearheaded efforts to include investments for clean energy and climate resiliency.
New Hampshire School Districts Rumney and Henniker School Administrative Unit (SAU24) received awards.
According to Rachel Lane, Vice President of Electrification & Sustainability for Student Transportation of America (STA) that runs the buses for Henniker, the location of the buses among SAU 24’s schools depend on various implementation constraints which will be evaluated as the project moves forward. Charging-infrastructure design factors will include the ability to support routes, site layout, optimal charging to minimize electric bill impacts, as well as the ability to future-proof the design.
The deadline for awardees to receive new buses, install eligible charging infrastructure, and replace old buses is October 2024.
After a career in data product management, Martin Wahl has worked in biofuels since 2006, currently with Lee Enterprises Consulting, a large bio-economy consulting group. Dividing his time between California and New Hampshire, he serves on Corte Madera, California’s Climate Action Committee and is a Newfound Lake Region Association member.
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