The Hawaii Department of Education will receive $5 million in federal funding to procure 25 new electric school buses.
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) made the announcement about the grant, which is funded through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program. The funding will assist 29 school districts across the Pacific Southwest purchase more than 280 clean-energy school buses.
“Updating our school bus fleet with electric vehicles is critical as Hawaii moves to clean, renewable energy,” Hirono said, according to her website. “This funding, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will bolster Hawaii’s transition to electric vehicles while reducing the health risks of traditional diesel-burning buses to our keiki.”
The Clean School Bus Program aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money and produce cleaner air. In total, President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be awarding nearly $95 million to grant recipients in American Samoa, Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada.
Hirono, the chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Energy, is dedicated to expanding the presence of electric vehicles and accelerating the transition to clean, renewable energy in Hawaii and across the country.
In August, she helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $1 billion for EPA grants to states or municipalities to cover the incremental cost of purchasing heavy-duty vehicles, like school and transit buses and garbage trucks, all of which came on the heels of her playing a major role in the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that invests billions in climate mitigation, resilience and safety, including a focus on cleaner and safer buses.
“I’ll continue working to support projects like this that strengthen Hawaii’s leadership in the transition to a clean-energy future,” Hirono said, according to her website.