New Jersey allocates $45 million over three years for electric school buses

New Jersey will allocate $45 million over three years to the “Electric School Bus Program”. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a bill requiring the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to implement the program.

Under the program, DEP will issue grants for electric school buses and their charging infrastructure. At least six school districts or bus contractors will receive funding each year.

DEPs are required to allocate at least half of the grant funds annually to operators in low-income, urban or environmental justice communities.

“In order to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions and optimally capitalize on the benefits of vehicle electrification, we must electrify not just the cars that bring us to work, but the buses that safely deliver our children to school,” said Governor Murphy.

“On a typical school day in New Jersey, more than 800,000 students utilize one of the state’s 15,000 diesel school buses,” added Senator Patrick J. Diegnan, Jr.

In early 2020 Governor Murphy signed the first bill created to promote electric vehicles.

New Jersey is targeting two million plug-in cars on state roads by 2035 and is offering consumers discounts of up to $5,000 on electric vehicle purchases.

Then in 2021, the New Jersey Governor’s office announced an investment of $100 million in clean transportation projects such as decarbonized port cargo handling, charging facilities, online transportation, and dump trucks.

As of November last year, Jersey City operated five electric garbage trucks. Meanwhile, the New Jersey Transit Corporation (NJ Transit) is aiming for a 100 percent net fleet by 2040 in line with the New Jersey Energy Master Plan.

Back to the Electric School Bus Program. Funding for the program comes from the Clean Energy Fund, the Global Warming Solutions Fund (a result of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative), money available from utility programs to upgrade electricity infrastructure for vehicle charging, allocation, or other public funding.

10,000 North American school buses will be converted to battery-electric power systems