Contact: Brianna Baker, Electrification Coalition
brianna@electrification.org, 202-599-8922
WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the second rebate funding opportunity through its multi-year Clean School Bus (CSB) Program. The EPA will award up to $500 million in rebate funding under the 2023 program with the potential to adjust it based on demand and other factors.
The funding is available for the purchase of up to 25 electric school buses per school district, as well as associated charging infrastructure and eligible workforce development costs. The EPA has adjusted the program based on feedback from the previous solicitations, which will help expand its reach and impact. The 2023 program will offer additional funding support for ADA lifts to school buses and shipping costs to communities outside of the contiguous U.S.
In response to today’s announcement, the Electrification Coalition (EC)’s Executive Director Ben Prochazka released the following statement:
“We applaud the EPA for moving expeditiously to release funds that will give more students a cleaner, healthier ride to school. There are roughly 400,000 school buses in operation across the country. School bus electrification is a critical step toward modernizing an aging and inefficient fleet.
“With important improvements to the CSB Rebate Program, the EPA is providing a crucial resource for school districts to accelerate the transition to electric school buses and acquire the infrastructure needed to charge them. Plugging in our nation’s school bus fleet will dramatically lower emissions in our most vulnerable communities, improve the health of our children, reduce the U.S.’s dangerous dependence on oil, and eliminate the unpredictable and often escalating maintenance of diesel buses, saving schools money.”
This funding may also be combined with eligible Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits. Clean Vehicle tax credits for qualifying school buses are worth up to $40,000.
The EPA is prioritizing applications that will replace buses serving high-need local education agencies, rural areas, Tribal school districts funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and public-school districts receiving basic support payments for students living on Tribal land.
Applicants must submit all application materials by January 31, 2024 at 4 p.m. ET.
With numerous federal funding opportunities available, the EC created a tool to help communities easily identify grants for transportation electrification projects. Visit the EV Funding Finder.
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About the Electrification Coalition: The Electrification Coalition is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes policies and actions to facilitate the widespread adoption of plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) on a mass scale to overcome the economic, public health and national security challenges that stem from America’s dependence on oil. electrificationcoalition.org