AEE applauds Gov. Hochul’s commitment in her State of the State address and stresses the need for robust, immediate, and equitable state incentives to help school districts cover upfront infrastructure costs and further accelerate progress toward New York’s clean energy goals.

ALBANY, January 5, 2022 — Today national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) commended New York Governor Hochul’s bold commitment to accelerate electric school bus deployment in this afternoon’s State of the State address. AEE has been a leading voice among a coalition of groups calling on New York to further invest in electric school buses, which would not only generate long-term savings for school districts, but also improve air quality for students, and help the state meet its clean transportation goals.

“Governor Hochul’s commitment to help school districts transition from diesel-burning buses to electric ones is great news for New Yorkers’ health, environment, and economy. AEE proudly joins a broad coalition of groups in applauding the Governor’s leadership on this issue, and we look forward to helping New York enact first-in-the-nation programs to equitably advance electric school buses,” said Ryan Gallentine, transportation policy director at AEE.

“State incentives for electric school buses that are robust, immediately available and distributed equitably will be critical to achieving the goals outlined by the Governor this afternoon. Several clean energy groups, along with the New York State School Boards Association, electric vehicle manufacturers and charging infrastructure companies, and electric vehicle manufacturers like Enel, Highland Electric Transportation, and AMPLY, have all urged the governor to use such incentives to help accelerate adoption programs in the state,” continued Gallentine. “AEE is proud to be a leading voice in the push for these innovative and cost-saving electric school bus measures.”

“AEE commends Governor Hochul, along with Senator Kennedy and Representative Fahy (champions of related electric school bus legislation), for their leadership on New York’s clean transportation investments, and we look forward to working with the Governor’s office to immediately distribute equitable and robust state aid for these buses, to give added support to the districts and communities most in-need.”

Background Materials

• Read our coalition letter supporting electric school bus adoption.
• Read our explainer: "[Federal] Infrastructure Act Funding for School Bus Electrification Will Have Economic Impact.”