GreenPower to take over West Virginia facility
by CM Staff
The EPA's Clean School Bus Program Funding will provide for up to $375,000 for the larger Type D school buses and up to $285,000 for the smaller Type A school buses
GreenPower’s All-Electric Type D Beast and Type A Nano Beast school buses
CHARLESTON — GreenPower Motor Company Inc. has announced the company’s timeline to begin manufacturing zero-emission, all-electric school buses in its newly-acquired facility in South Charleston, W.Va.
“GreenPower will take possession of the West Virginia manufacturing facility in August and production will begin in September,” said Fraser Atkinson, CEO and chairman of the board of GreenPower in a statement.
“The facility will be instrumental in ramping up production of our all-electric school buses, the BEAST and Nano BEAST, in time to meet the demand created by EPA’s Clean School Bus Program and state legislative mandates.”
In January, GreenPower and Gov. Jim Justice announced plans for GreenPower to produce zero-emission, all-electric vehicles in West Virginia. Since this announcement the company has initiated efforts to begin manufacturing. GreenPower says it expects the first production of buses to be ready by the third quarter of this fiscal year.
“Our West Virginia operations will serve as a cornerstone for U.S. manufacturing to deliver electric school buses to our customers on the East Coast and adjacent regions,” said Brendan Riley, president and director of GreenPower.
“Gov. Justice, members of his cabinet and staff, state legislators, city officials and educators at BridgeValley have all worked tirelessly to ensure we are up and running by late summer.”
During a Capitol press briefing, Gov. Justice directed his Secretary of Economic Development Mitch Carmichael to work with GreenPower to develop a pilot project that will demonstrate GreenPower’s all-electric school buses in school districts across the state of West Virginia. The goal of the pilot project will be to provide real-world testing of the vehicles in all areas of the state, both rural and urban, so that school districts have a better feel for the operations of the buses, including the needs and requirements of the charging infrastructure.
