(The Center Square) – The number of electric school buses in Washington state is expected to more than double by 2026.
According to the Washington State Department of Ecology, there are currently 86 electric school buses in Washington spread across 40 school districts.
In early December, DOE awarded $31.5 million in state funding from the Climate Commitment Act and other sources. A week later, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded several multi-million dollar zero-emission school bus grants to Washington districts courtesy of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
That translates into 124 zero-emission buses hitting the road by 2026, bringing the total to more than 200 electric school buses statewide.
Woodland Public Schools is one of the districts to benefit from the EPA grant to replace diesel-powered vehicles with “clean vehicle infrastructure.”
A Dec. 17 news release from U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., announced nearly $8.4 million in grants for zero-emission school buses in the Evergreen State. Woodland was awarded the largest share of the grant money: more than $4.2 million to replace 14 diesel school buses.