News

Legislation to speed up the transition to electric school buses now moves to the state Senate

SACRAMENTO, June 1, 2022 – California's Clean and Healthy School Bus Act (AB 2731) was approved 57-0 by California’s State Assembly last week, a major step toward speeding up the transition to zero-emission school buses that save schools money and don’t harm young lungs. 

Proposed by Assemblymember Phil Ting (District 19) and sponsored by AEE, AB 2731 is designed to help school districts access the long-term economic benefits of switching to zero-emission school buses by allowing for longer vehicle lease terms, as well as setting a 2035 statewide Zero-Emission Vehicle (ZEV) school bus sales goal. California currently caps lease terms for contracted school buses at five years. Extending the lease terms to 15 years would substantially improve the economics of transitioning to electric school buses for school districts. 

Utility Dive examined Gov. Newsom's revised budget proposal earmarking funding for reliability, quoting AEE's Emilie Olson on what's next for negotiations. Read snippets below and the full article here.

Fox40 Sacramento detailed California's proposal to improve grid reliability as the state continues to deal with potential blackouts, quoting AEE's Emilie Olson on how clean energy solutions can help . Read snippets below and watch the segment here.

In his revised budget proposal for the next fiscal year, Gov. Gavin Newsom is hoping to improve the electrical grid by spending more than $5 billion to increase the state’s production capacity by 5,000 megawatts over the next few years — or enough energy to power roughly 375,000 homes.

The $65 million grant program sets Colorado on track to electrify its school bus fleet and drive new electrification funding to the state.

DENVER, CO, May 10, 2022 — Today, national business group Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) applauded Colorado’s new electric school bus grant program, which provides an initial $65 million investment for schools to more quickly make the switch to clean bus rides for kids. The program passed out of Legislature today as a part of Senate Bill 193, a broader air quality investment package. 

Colorado Newsline outlined updates to a Colorado clean transportation requirement, quoting AEE's Emilie Olson on why the state needs to move faster on its advanced clean trucks rulemaking. Read snippets below and the full article here. 

Advocates for stronger climate action suffered the latest in a long line of defeats in their efforts to accelerate the pace of Colorado’s greenhouse gas policymaking in a meeting of state air commissioners on Thursday.