Texas will receive $31.5 million to buy fleets of clean, electric-powered school buses. The buses will accelerate Texas school districts’ transition to zero-emission vehicles, reduce greenhouse gas emissions around schools and communities and protect public health.
The funds come from the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2023 Clean School Bus Program. The program will distribute $900 million to 530 school districts across the nation to help remove older, diesel-fueled buses from the road. The recipients will use the awards to buy more than 3,400 clean vehicles, 92% of which will be fully electric.
The EPA will support 20 Texas school districts, which will buy 123 new and clean school buses to replace existing diesel-fueled vehicles. The diesel buses have been linked to asthma and other health conditions that harm students and surrounding communities. In addition, the investment will help drive demand for American-made batteries and vehicles.
This is the third round of funding through the Clean School Bus Program, building on previous investments totaling nearly $2 billion. Previously, the EPA made $500 million available for Clean School Bus rebates in September 2023. The agency later doubled that amount to nearly $1 billion due to high demand from low-income communities, Tribal nations and U.S. territories.
The EPA will continue to review selected applications and could make additional awards through this and other programs, including the 2024 Clean Heavy-Duty Vehicles Grant program.
Applications will remain open through July 25, 2024. The EPA will award up to $932 million. Approximately 70% of the available funding will help pay for new zero-emission school buses, the EPA said.
Photo by Austin Pacheco on Unsplash
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