Lafayette, Dixie, Taylor and Sumter schools to get electric school buses

Staff Reports

Mayo, Fla., – Four Florida school districts are set to receive rebates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to replace a total of 30 diesel school buses with new electric models. Taylor, Dixie, Lafayette and Sumter counties are among 400 districts across the country to benefit from the first round of funding under the EPA Clean School Bus Program.  

     The program was established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021, which allocates $5 billion dollars from the Volkswagen Mitigation Trust Fund for low- and zero-emission school bus purchases over the next five years. The winning Florida school districts were among approximately 2,000 applicants spanning all 50 states.  The funding will accelerate Florida’s existing progress on electric school bus adoption. In August, Governor Ron DeSantis announced an investment of $57 million in electric school buses in seven Florida counties. This funding will be used to secure 218 electric school buses in Broward, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach, Pinellas and Sarasota counties. 

     Through vehicle-to-grid technology, electric school buses can essentially serve as mobile energy storage units, enhancing critical infrastructure resilience and emergency preparedness. In extreme weather events like hurricanes, for example, buses can provide power back to the grid during outages. A single bus has enough battery storage capacity to power a hospital operating room for almost two full days. 

     “This is a critical investment in the well-being of Florida’s school children and the entire state,” said Mary Linn, Florida campaign organizer for the Electrification Coalition (EC). “The Sunshine State is one step closer to cleaner air and a more secure and resilient power grid. As more school districts switch to electric, the EC is happy to support fleets in the implementation of these awards.”