This Thomas Built Buses Jouley electric school bus plugged into its Proterra charger system was procured using funds from utility Dominion Energy.


The OEM Approach In West Virginia last year, GreenPower Motor began manufacturing


all-electric school buses in its newly acquired facility in South Charleston, based on a need to increase production in a high-demand area. The com- pany headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and with a U.S. assembly plant already in Porterville, California, signed an agreement with West Virginia to launch a program with local school districts to pilot the Type D electric Beast and Type A electric Nano Beast built out the new plant. The state agreed to purchase up to $15 million GreenPower school buses,


provide worker training and hiring support, and fund up to $3.5 million in employment incentive payments in exchange for meeting hiring targets. While federal incentives make it easier for school districts to acquire elec-


tric-powered buses, it’s important to consider what states are doing such as New York’s mandate that school buses have to be all-electric by 2035, said Mark Nestlen, vice president of business development and strategy. West Virginia takes a carrot approach, he said, adding districts receive a 10-percent increase in the School Foundation Allowance for using an electric school bus and an additional five percent for the portion of buses manufactured in West Virginia. “West Virginia provides schools a replenishment fee every year for


replacement of vehicles, and that’s 1/12 of the fleet’s value each year for 12- year life of the bus,” said Nestlen. West Virginia’s electric bus pilot program entailed three Type D Beast


and one Type A NanoBeast buses, with districts receiving the buses for six weeks. By May, the buses went through five pilot rounds in 18 counties. After participating in the pilot, Kanawha County Schools in Charleston


purchased an electric bus with its own replenishment dollars rather than with government grants.


72 School Transportation News • JULY 2023


PHOTO COURTESY OF DOMINION ENERGY.


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