GreenPower Motor Company Inc. has delivered four all-electric, purpose-built, zero-emission school buses in Arizona, California and West Virginia in the first half of October 24 and plans to deliver six more Type D BEAST school buses in California and West Virginia in the near term.
In West Virginia, GreenPower delivered the first of the 37 BEAST school buses ordered by the state to the Wyoming County School District through GreenPower’s dealer.
“We have been operating a GreenPower Type A Nano BEAST Access in our school district, and the experience has been incredible,” says Wyoming County School District Superintendent John Henry. “It has been really nice for our students who need to be transported with wheelchairs. We are excited to now have a Type D BEAST in our fleet and expect the kids are going to embrace this new clean ride as well.”
Three additional BEAST all-electric school buses manufactured at the company’s South Charleston plant are planned to be delivered in West Virginia within the next month. Monongalia County School District, which currently operates one Nano BEAST, one Nano BEAST Access and one BEAST, will receive these as part of the order from the state of West Virginia.
In the West, one Type A all-electric Nano BEAST was delivered by GreenPower’s Dealer the RWC Group to the Joseph City School District in Arizona, and two BEAST school buses were delivered through GreenPower’s Dealer Model 1 to Garden Grove Unified School District in California. Garden Grove has already deployed four BEAST school buses on its routes and plans to receive two more by the end of October. One additional BEAST is expected to be delivered to the Brawley Elementary School District in October.
“These deliveries along with our current order book show the continued growth in demand for GreenPower’s school bus products,” says Paul Start, GreenPower’s vice president of Sales — School Bus Group, noting that the company currently has 126 live orders of school buses representing more than $45 million in business. “We have seen a significant uptick with our sales pipeline as we’ve also quoted new orders for more than 180 school buses.”
GreenPower’s BEAST is a 40-foot Type D all-electric school bus with seating for up to 90 students. Designed from the ground up, it is a unified structure that features a seamlessly integrated aluminum body made from extruded aluminum manufactured by Constellium on a high-strength steel Truss (bus) chassis. The complete flat floor design allows for tracking with no obstacles, and the high floors keep students out of the crash zone. Dual port charging is standard with Level 2 rates up to 19.2 kW and DC fast-charging rates up to 85 kW.
The Nano BEAST has a standard 118-kWh battery pack and a range of up to 140 miles. Configured for up to 24 passengers, it features a seamlessly integrated aluminum body made from extruded aluminum manufactured by Constellium. The dual port charging is standard, with Level 2 rates up to 19.2 kW and DC fast-charging rates up to 60 kW.
The Type D BEAST and Type A Nano BEAST are both eligible for California HVIP (Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project) vouchers and qualify for grants under the California Zero-Emission School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) program. ZESBI grants pair zero-emission school bus vehicle funding offered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), with charging infrastructure funding offered by the California Energy Commission (CEC).
A total of $500 million is appropriated by Senate Bill 114 for ZESBI for fiscal year 2023-24. Of that amount, $375 million is allocated to support the replacement of old school buses with zero-emission school buses and $125 million is allocated to support complementary infrastructure and associated costs. ZESBI uses a joint application for vehicles and infrastructure. The application process is open until Nov. 22, 2024.
GreenPower all-electric school buses are also eligible for federal Clean School Bus Program funds administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Applications for the current rebate program round, funded at $965 million, are being accepted through Jan. 9, 2025.