HAMLET — Richmond County Schools is one of several districts in North Carolina set to purchase electric buses courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency.
According to a Jan. 9 press release from Gov. Roy Cooper’s office, the Tar Heel State will be receiving $26.7 million from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Grant Program.
That will cover the purchase of 114 electric buses across 13 counties, including two for Richmond County, according to Cooper’s office.
The Clean School Bus Grant Program, created and funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will provide $5 billion over a five-year period “to transform the nation’s fleet of school buses,” by replacing traditional diesel-powered buses with those running on electricity, compressed natural gas or propane, according to the EPA.
“New funding for electric school buses means protecting the health of children from harmful diesel fumes, cutting carbon emissions, saving money on bus maintenance for tight public school budgets, and creating good jobs in North Carolina,” Cooper said in a statement. “This investment is good for our students, schools, economy and planet and I appreciate the Biden Administration for investing in our communities across North Carolina.”
Eight other North Carolina school districts will also receive buses from the grant including: Madison County Public Schools (2); Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (27); Durham Public Schools (38); Granville County Schools (2); Johnston County Schools (1); Bertie County (4); Cumberland County Schools (2); and Kannapolis City Schools (8).
There are also several charter schools on the list.
Districts in Bladen, Halifax and Columbus counties, as well as charter schools in Durham and Lee counties, have previously received rebates to purchase 31 buses, according to the EPA.
The state has also funded 43 electric buses through a settlement with Volkswagen, according to Cooper’s office. That brings the state’s total of zero-emission buses to 188 in two years.
Carolina Thomas, a High Point-based dealer for Thomas Built buses, is listed as the “grantee” on the EPA’s clean school bus program website. That firm advertises an electric bus line called “Jouley,” a play on the unit of energy Joule.
Electric vehicles, or EV for short, once a distant dream for some car enthusiasts have recently entered into America’s car culture as companies, led by Tesla, have started to invest capital into EV technology.
One large barrier to EV adoption has been poor battery capacity leading to short vehicle range compounded by a lack of charging infrastructure. Both barriers have recently begun to erode as new battery technology has matured and charging infrastructure has been added. In fact, Richmond county now boasts 12 fast chargers from Tesla located at Richmond Plaza.
North Carolina has borne witness to some of this increased interest in EVs. The Piedmont region of the state is rich in the lithium ore used in manufacturing of the so-named lithium-ion batteries. Though mining efforts have yet to materialize several mining companies are actively pursuing access to these deposits. One such company, Piedmont Lithium, aims to begin operation in 2025.
Additionally, a Vietnamese company, VinFast, chose Chatham County for its new vehicle plant and Toyota has announced an $13.9 billion investment EV battery plant. Toyota’s plant will be located in Liberty (Randolph County) and provide around 3,000 jobs, according to the company’s website.
While EVs have increased their footprint on the roads, not everyone is excited to have them join the fleet.
EVs have received some pushback from those concerned that the new technology may be unsafe, ineffective, or superfluous. In 2022, Rep. Ben Moss, R-Richmond, introduced a bill limiting the expansion of free charging stations on public property and adding new regulations to free chargers at private businesses.
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Legislative records show the bill never made it past the House Transportation Committee.
The RO’s Charlie Melvin and William R. Toler both contributed to this story.
