NEWSNOTES | November 2, 2022
News Notes

The stimulus is having a stimulating effect for all markets. First Student is focused on school buses and thanks to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), eleven of the company’s school district partners have been awarded $63 million for a deployment of 165 electric school buses. New York City is out with EPA school bus news as well. The city will apply their $18.5 million EPA grant to purchase fifty-one electric school buses. A small Blue Bird school bus was part of the celebration announcing the funding. 

Green Power has launched its second phase of an electric school bus project in West Virginia where they are working with school districts to collect data in real-world scenarios through their pilot program. Alphastruxure is celebrating, too, and their focus is on Silver Spring, Maryland where they’ve launched a bus depot microgrid, an integrated electric bus charging infrastructure project. This is the first microgrid in the region to power electric buses.

Portland, OR has become a manufacturing center for Daimler Truck North America where their headquarters on North Portland’s Swan Island is the site where the next generation of EVs are being developed. Nate Hill who is helping on the EV side said Swan Island’s Electric Island (a partnership with Portland General Electric to build truck charging stations) is the first of its kind in the US. There are 3,000 employees in the area where the next generation of large EVs are manufactured.

EV startup Arrival is eyeing US federal stimulus money as a motivator to shift its manufacturing focus from London to its US location in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company sites the recent tax credit announced as part of the Inflation Reduction Act as a big factor in their decision.

EV fleet-as-a-service provider Zeem Solutions has announced the purchase of 100 Nikola Tre battery-electric trucks. The company bundles EVs, charging solutions, maintenance, and other services as a flat expense to enable fleets to adopt commercial vehicles earlier than they might be able to absent Zeem’s offering.

So many credits, so little time but never fear, if you are wondering which EVs qualify for the U.S. federal $7,500 tax credit beginning January 1, electrek has shared the list of what could be eligible from fuelconomy.gov  The story also includes a compilation of every state rebate, tax credit, and exemption by state.

For all you employers out there, solar-finance company Mosaic surveyed 5,000 adults about their interest in working in alternative energy and related fields and came back with promising results. Three-quarters of the respondents said they would be interested in working in fields related to electric vehicles and other clean energy options. Just in the nick of time, if you know someone interested in pursuing clean transportation related employment, please send them to CALSTART as we have several positions open.

RESOURCES

First Student Leads in Funding for Electric School Buses, School Transportation News | https://bit.ly/3Nxh6Ts

NYC to Buy 51 Electric School Buses, Gothamist | https://bit.ly/3Wn6rP9

GreenPower Launches Second Phase of School Bus Pilot, ChargedEVs | https://bit.ly/3SYrBQH

AlphaStruxure Celebrates Launch of Integrated Microgrid, Metro | https://bit.ly/3DVfOhR

All Electric Freight Trucks Built in Portland, Portland Tribune | https://bit.ly/3zCuUGv

Arrival Focuses on US Production, InsideEVs | https://bit.ly/3Uh0xNA

Zeem Purchases 100 Nikola Trucks, NGT News | https://bit.ly/3Umtjw7

EV’s that Qualify for US Federal Tax Credits, electrek | https://bit.ly/3NsUYt8

Growth in the ‘Green’ Job Sector, MarketWatch | https://on.mktw.net/3sPNGGq

CALSTART Career Opportunities, CALSTART | https://bit.ly/3zFsoiB