SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — The Ohio EPA announced the awarding of $3.2 million to seven organizations around the state to replace diesel-powered vehicles with electric ones. The recipients include Shaker Heights Schools, the lone school district to receive funding.
“This is the first time we've been able to offer this money for electric school buses,” Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel said. "Shaker Heights was the only one to participate in this pilot project."
In fact, Shaker Heights was the only Northeast Ohio school district to apply for the grant.
"Sometimes, this isn’t the highest thing on the priority list. I understand that, we understand that," Vogel admitted. "We're always out trying to partner with our communities to bring them in the door for grant opportunities."
Shaker Heights will receive $596,144 to help replace two 2010 model year diesel school buses with new all-electric vehicles. The district already has one electric bus in its fleet.
"We have a plan to replace two school buses a year," district spokesperson Kristen Cash told 3News. "We hope that we could do so with electric buses, but we do recognize that they're very expensive."
Cash says the total cost of replacing the two diesel buses with two electric ones is $795,000. According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, the average purchase price of a new school bus in the state is $95,000, with schools spending on average $3,000 a year per bus on maintenance.
Applicants for the EPA grants are required to cover 25% of the cost, meaning Shaker Heights will pay about the same amount for two electric school buses that they would pay for two diesel school buses. District officials believe the money they'll save on maintenance costs over the long term is worth the initial investment.
“In the 13 years that we’ve had those diesel school buses, they've spent a lot of time in our bus garages," Cash explained. "They need oil changes, the fuel for them [is] very expensive. … Things like that that need [to be] done that do not need [to be] done on an electric school bus."
The Ohio EPA grant program is designed to reduce pollution in the state. In an email to 3News, the agency estimates the seven grants recently issued "will reduce emission by 6.440 tons of nitrogen oxides and 4.627 tons of other pollutants (fine particulates, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons)."
An Ohio EPA press release adds that "the grants are funded from dollars allocated to Ohio from the settlement of an enforcement taken against Volkswagen and its affiliated companies by U.S. EPA and the state of California for violations under the Clean Air Act." This is the last round of grants from the $75 million allotted to Ohio from the settlement.
"We've been diligent about getting that money out the door, and we've been able to do a lot of good things," Vogel shared. "We've taken thousands of tons of emissions and carbon dioxide out of the air in Ohio."
Other grant recipients included:
- Dutch Maid Logistics, Inc., Cuyahoga and Portage counties, is receiving $764,865 to help replace three 2006-07 model year terminal tractors with new all-electric terminal tractors.
- Exel Inc. dba DHL Supply Chain (USA), Lucas County, is receiving $309,000 to help replace two 2015 and 2019 model year diesel terminal tractors with new all-electric terminal tractors.
- KWA Inc. Ltd., Trumbull County, is receiving $217,661 to help replace a 2017 diesel terminal tractor with one new all-electric terminal tractor.
- City of Mentor, Lake County, $329,000 to help replace two 1996 and 2005 diesel school buses with one new all-electric school bus. According to the Ohio EPA, the city plans to use the bus to transport children for the city's afterschool programs.
- Metalico Akron Inc., Summit County, is receiving $754,188 to help replace a 2005 diesel material handler with one new all-electric material handler.
- Ruan Transport Corporation, Cuyahoga County, is receiving $292,165 to help replace one 2007 diesel terminal tractor with one new all-electric terminal tractor.
