RALEIGH — Earlier this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White House announced the selection of 67 recipients that will receive almost $1 billion in grants through the Clean School Bus Program (CSB).
“Every school day, 25 million children ride our nation’s largest form of mass transit: the school bus. The vast majority of those buses run on diesel, exposing students, teachers, and bus drivers to toxic air pollution,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in the announcement. “Today, we are announcing nearly $1 billion to fund clean school buses across the nation.”
The initiative, part of President Joe Biden’s Investing in America agenda, aims to enhance air quality and protect children. The program’s current awards summary shows over $1.84 billion in the form of 439 grants spanning 652 school districts with over 5,100 buses replaced.
According to the White House press release, the program will benefit 7 million students and their families while promoting “environmental justice,” and generating “well-paying jobs.”
“As part of our work to tackle the climate crisis, the historic funding we are announcing today is an investment in our children, their health, and their education,” Harris said. “It also strengthens our economy by investing in American manufacturing and America’s workforce.”
The funding announced is the second round of such grants that also include a rebate program. The total awarded for the CSB is nearly $2 billion and funds around 5,000 electric and low-emission school buses nationwide.
Overall, the EPA’s CSB Program is expected to provide $5 billion for EV school buses over a five-year period.
In April 2023, the EPA announced the CBS grants program’s initial allocation of at least $400 million for that year. According to the White House press release, significant response from applicants prompted the EPA to nearly double the funding to approximately $965 million. The increase follows over $875 million distributed through 2022 rebates.
Gov. Roy Cooper issued a statement on the new round of grants, which totals $26.7 million for 16 North Carolina districts and schools to purchase 114 electric school buses.
“New funding for electric school buses means protecting the health of children from harmful diesel fumes, cutting carbon emissions, saving money on bus maintenance for tight public school budgets, and creating good jobs in North Carolina,” Cooper said in his statement.
Per Cooper, “Over 98% of the buses will be deployed in prioritized school districts in low-income, rural, and/or Tribal communities,” yet most of the buses seem to be headed to urban areas.
Durham Public Schools has the highest number of EV buses at 38, followed by Charlotte-Mecklenburg with 27.
Cherokee Central Schools will get 15 and Kannapolis City Schools will be getting eight.
Bertie County and Maureen Joy Charter School in Durham will each get four.
KIPP Durham Prep and Emereau Bladen Charter School are getting three each.
Five schools will get two buses; Cumberland County Schools, Granville, County Schools, KIPP Halifax Prep, Madison County Schools, and Richmond County Schools.
Schools that will get a single bus each include Johnston County Schools and Reaching All Minds Academy in Durham.
According to the EPA’s CSB Grants Interactive Map and Data Table, when sorted for North Carolina, 2023 project totals came in at $57,355,692 for 23 schools and districts and a total of 173 buses.
In the current round of awards to North Carolina schools and districts, Greensboro company Carolina Thomas is providing the majority of the buses.
Infrastructure such as charging stations is not part of the CSB program, leaving rural districts on the hook to cover maintenance issues and make sure charging stations are installed. However, a provision of the Clean School Bus Rebate Program says grant recipients may be eligible for “Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits” for bus and infrastructure purchases.
The provision specifically mentions the “Commercial Clean Vehicle Credit” as providing “up to $40,000 for qualified commercial clean vehicles” and the “Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit” that can supply “up to $100,000 for qualified charging and refueling infrastructure.”
EPA will still be accepting applications for the 2023 Rebate Program through Jan. 31.
North State Journal reached out to some of the districts that will receive grants to see if infrastructure and charging stations were part of the funding.
Greg Owle, the general manager of the Cherokee Boys Club, responded to our inquiry placed with Cherokee Central Schools.
“The infrastructure, charging stations, were not part of the government funding,” Owle wrote in an email response. “We will have to provide the money for the charging stations, installation and setup. The money provided was only to cover the buses.”
A spokesperson for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools also confirmed that funding does not cover “charging ports.”
Bertie County Public Schools’ public relations office indicated they currently do not have any charging stations and that a meeting to address the matter will be held Feb. 15.
In 2022, five North Carolina districts and schools replaced a total of 31 buses through combined EPA awards of $12,245,000. The districts included Columbus, Bladen, and Halifax, along with Mina Charter School of Lee County and Discovery Charter School of Durham.
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has also awarded grants for 49 EV buses to school districts funded by a $30-million settlement with Volkswagen over Clean Air Act violations.
Depending on the model, an EV bus can have a driving range between 75 to 210 miles. Of the two charging options, DCFC fast chargers take 1 to 4.5 hours for a full charge whereas Level 2 chargers can take between 5.5 and 13 hours.
The cost of an EV school bus can range anywhere from $195,000 to over $521,000, according to price tracking information maintained by the Electric School Bus Initiative (ESBI). The group’s data shows EV buses in North Carolina can cost between $335,481 and $388,859.
An EV bus has the potential to reduce operational costs by approximately $6,000 annually, depending on several factors, in comparison to a diesel bus, according to the ESBI, which also claims lifetime savings could exceed $100,000 in fuel and maintenance expenses compared to an equivalent diesel bus.
A diesel bus, which comes in four different types (A-D), is far lighter than an EV bus. The most commonly used is Type C, which can weigh between 14,000 and 19,500 depending on passengers and other loads on board. In comparison, EV buses typically weigh between 33,000 and 35,000 pounds.
Since EV school buses are relatively new, not a lot of data exists on battery failure rates or replacement costs. A typical EV battery replacement for an EV car can cost an estimated $5,000 to $20,000 depending on the condition of the battery.
EV vehicle range has also encountered issues with cold temperatures. Some EV vehicles that typically have a 200-220 mile range could drop to a 150-175 range in cold weather. EV buses also suffer from cold weather, possibly diminishing their range by up to 33%.
