Clean School Bus Technical Assistance
On this page:
- Technical Assistance via the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation
- Electric Sector Pledge to Support School Bus Electrification
- Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers
- EPA Grant Recipient Evaluation Support Technical Assistance
- Resources for Identifying Related Funding Opportunities
- Other Resources
Technical Assistance via the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation
The EPA is partnering with The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation and the National Renewable Laboratory to offer technical assistance to Clean School Bus Program applicants and program participants, including information and tools needed to successfully plan and deploy clean school buses and infrastructure. The Joint Office has expertise in a wide range of clean school bus deployment topics, such as school bus basics (electric, propane, and CNG), charging equipment, utility connections, bus performance, and operational considerations like routing and maintenance. Please contact the Joint Office to learn more or to ask a technical question.
Joint Office Technical Assistance Resources
- English and Spanish Technical Assistance Webinar Playlists - A collection of the technical assistance webinar recordings co-hosted by the EPA Clean School Bus Program and the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation meant to assist school districts in the planning and implementation of their clean school bus projects.
- Electric School Bus Route Analysis Tool (xlsx) (81 KB)
A tool to assist school bus fleets in determining the bus power usage and charger power needs for their unique bus routes. Learn how it can work for you with this instructional video. - Electric School Bus Charging Station Planning Form (xlsx) (124 KB)
School districts planning to adopt electric school buses can use this form to gather charging-related data and information to prepare for meeting with their electric utility. - Cold Weather Impacts on Electric School Buses (pdf)(180 KB)
This information sheet explains how cold weather impacts electric school buses and shares the Joint Office's recommended approaches for greater energy draw, optimizing performance, and maximizing ESB range. -
Cold Weather Considerations for Electric School Buses Presentation (pdf)
This presentation provides an overview of electric school bus operations in cold weather. - Workforce Development Projects - The Joint Office recently made available $46.5 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for 30 projects across 16 states and Washington, D.C; these projects will support workforce development for charging infrastructure, along with many other aspects of enhancing EV infrastructure and extending the benefits of clean transportation to rural, urban, and tribal communities to improve equity.
- The $5 million Clean Bus Planning Awards program, funded by the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation nd managed by NREL, provides free technical assistance to create comprehensive and customized bus electrification plans for fleets across the United States. Applications for assistance are open on a rolling basis through Sept. 30, 2024, giving fleets an opportunity to fully understand their needs before applying for funding support for fleet electrification. This new program will reduce the burden of electrification by helping fleet managers create a step-by-step plan to transition their bus fleet.
Electric Sector Pledge to Support School Bus Electrification
To be responsive to stakeholder needs and questions surrounding utility engagement and collaboration, EPA is announcing a new pledge with two national electric sector organizations. Edison Electric Institute, the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies, and the Beneficial Electrification League, a non-profit organization that works closely with rural electric cooperatives and public power utility providers on electrification initiatives, have joined with EPA to pledge their support for school bus electrification. EEI members and BEL partners have pledged to proactively work with school districts to:
- Facilitate communication between electric providers and school districts
- Provide technical support and assistance
- Work together to increase funding and deployment for electric school buses
Electric Sector Pledge Supporting School Bus Electrification (pdf)
Coordinating with Electric Utility Partners Resource (pdf) – As schools across the nation embark on the transition to electric transportation, it is crucial that schools and school districts establish a strong relationship with the electric utility responsible for supplying the power needed to charge their electric school buses. This resource is intended to prepare schools and school districts for the first of many conversations they will have with utilities, and provide a high-level overview of what schools can expect as they build out charging infrastructure to support electric school buses.
Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers
EPA has selected 16 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers that will provide training and other assistance to build capacity for navigating federal grant application systems, writing strong grant proposals, and effectively managing grant funding. To identify the EJ TCTAC in your area and access grant technical assistance, visit the EJ TCTAC Program.
EPA Grant Recipient Evaluation Support Technical Assistance
The EPA Promoting Readiness and Enhancing Proficiency to Advance Reporting and Data provides awards for technical assistance that helps enhance EPA grant recipients’ ability to generate the data and information necessary to evaluate program outcomes and improve impacts for communities. The program will make up to $4 million available for technical assistance providers with program evaluation expertise that will help support and enhance the data, reporting, and evidence-building capacity of EPA grant recipients representing small, underserved, and/or Tribal communities. EPA intends to make awards over three years to as many as eight recipients.
Applications are due Nov. 30, 2023, by 11:59 PM Eastern Time, and the Request for Application notice is now posted on www.grants.gov under Funding Opportunity Announcement EPA-I-R-OCFO-01.
Resources for Identifying Related Funding Opportunities
In addition to the EPA Clean School Bus Program, there are many other federal, state, and local-level electric school bus and EVSE funding opportunities. The World Resources Institute’s Clearinghouse of Electric School Bus Funding and Financing Opportunities* provides a compiled list of several available funding opportunities in a single file, which contains information regarding type of funding, program eligibility, funding levels, and more.
*Please note: This resource is developed and maintained by WRI. EPA is not responsible for updating or verifying accuracy of the information on the linked page.
Other Resources
Electric School Buses
- Electric School Bus Network National Forum - a series of virtual meetings hosted by CALSTART for anyone interested in and working to accelerate the electrification of school bus fleets across the country.
- ESB buyers guide - overview of the electric school bus market and available models.
- ESB route analysis - an instructional video to assist school districts in determine which ESB meet their transportation needs.
- Telematics - discussion on how telematics can assist school districts in tracking their ESB performance.
IRS Registration Tool for Clean Energy Credits
- The Internal Revenue Service opened a free IRA and CHIPS Pre-filing Registration Tool for organizations to register for an elective payment or the transfer of certain clean energy tax credits. Qualifying businesses, tax-exempt organizations or entities such as state, local and Indian tribal governments can register to take advantage of these new tax mechanisms, due to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and CHIPS Act. For more information, please visit the CSB Tax Credits page.