GreenPower Motor Company (NASDAQ:GP) (TSXV:GPV) Type D GreenPower BEAST all-electric school bus is eligible for $375,000 in grant funding through a new granted offered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA’s new $1 billion funding program for select school districts across the nation is to help the transition to zero-emission school buses. The funding is the first under the five-year, $5 billion Clean School Bus Program from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed last year.
“The funding under the Clean School Bus Program will transform the nation’s school bus fleet. Accelerating the transition to clean, zero-emission school buses will result in reduced pollutant levels and a healthier ride for kids. GreenPower is pleased to be the leader in this transition through the deployment of its BEAST and Nano BEAST all-electric, zero-emission school buses nationwide,” said Brendan Riley, GreenPower’s president.
This is the kind of thing GreenPower has been waiting for. The company designs, builds and distributes both high floor and low floor all-electric medium and heavy-duty vehicles. This includes both transit and school buses, shuttles, cargo vans and a cab and chassis. GreenPower uses a clean-sheet design in the manufacture of its purpose-built all-electric vehicles, and makes them battery powered with zero emissions.
In addition to the eligibility for the Type D GreenPower all-electric bus, the funding extends to include the Type A all-electric GreenPower Nano BEAST line, which can get $285,000 in grand funding in the priority districts. Either type is eligible for an extra $20,000 in federal grant funding to purchase the charging infrastructure. That extra funding will be awarded by the EPA for each bus purchased. The company has both BEASTS and Nano BEASTS made and sitting in inventory ready to go.
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The BEAST line and the EPA
GreenPower’s All-Electric Type D BEAST and Type A Nano BEAST school buses
The BEAST is an electric, zero emission school bus. It has a monocoque chassis designed and has been designed to be battery electric. Its standard features include air-ride suspension, ABS disk breaks, pass through storage. It’s 40-feet long with a seating capacity of up to 90 passengers, and optional wheelchair accessible.
The Nano BEAST is purpose-built on GreenPower’s flagship electric vehicle Star platform. It has proven its efficiency and reliability in operational settings, including paratransit, airport shuttling, microtransit, cargo delivery and vanpool service. It sports the largest standard battery pack for a Type A school bus with a 150 mile range. Its design allows for optimal battery pack placement and weight distribution. That means the vehicle can carry a larger energy supply, go further on one charge, all without destroying the environment.
Approximately 480,000 buses ferry 26 million children back and forth to children every day in the United States. Also, these buses cover close to six billion miles a year and children spend three billion hours on them. Further, consider that about 95 per cent of these buses use diesel fuel. These emit 3,000 tons of cancer-causing soot and 95,000 tons of smog-causing compounds into the air.
“The majority of the nation’s current school bus fleet expel tons of toxins into the air releasing harmful substances, including hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and other hazardous pollutants that adversely affects children’s health and academic performance. Children are more susceptible to air pollution than healthy adults because their respiratory systems are still developing, and they have faster breathing rates. Exposure to NOx exhaust can trigger health problems like asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory issues,” said Riley.
