GreenPower Motor Company recently delivered five Type D Beast all-electric, purpose-built, zero-emission school buses to two school districts in California. Of the five Beasts delivered, four will go to the Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified School District and the fifth to the Terra Bella Union Elementary School District.

“Delivery of our all-electric Type D Beast school buses in California shows the continued preference for GreenPower’s purpose-built product in the marketplace,” said Paul Start, GreenPower VP of sales – school bus group. “GreenPower remains the only OEM to manufacture both a Class 4 purpose-built Type A all-electric school bus in its Nano Beast and a Type D all-electric, purpose-built school bus in its Beast. This product combination allows school districts to meet their student transportation needs, all while taking full advantage of state incentives and programs.”

In addition to these deliveries, GreenPower also planned to deliver up to four more Type D Beast all-electric, purpose-built, zero-emission school buses to California schools, and two Beasts to schools in Oregon, with up to an additional 20 school buses expected to be delivered in California over the next 90 to 120 days.

GreenPower said the Beast is a purpose-built 40-foot Type D all-electric, zero-emission school bus with seating for up to 90 students. Dual port charging is standard with Level 2 rates up to 19.2 kW and DC fast charging rates up to 85 kW, and wireless charging is also available as an option, GreenPower said.

According to GreenPower, the Type D Beast and Type A Nano Beast are both eligible for California HVIP vouchers and qualify for grants under the California Zero-Emission School Bus and Infrastructure (ZESBI) program. ZESBI grants pair zero-emission (ZE) school bus vehicle funding offered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), with charging infrastructure funding offered by the California Energy Commission (CEC). A total of $500 million is appropriated by Senate Bill (SB) 114 for ZESBI for Fiscal Year 2023-24. Of that amount, $375 million is allocated to support the replacement of old school buses with ZE school buses and $125 million is allocated to support complementary infrastructure and associated costs. ZESBI utilizes a joint application for vehicles and infrastructure which will close on Sept. 30 at 5:00 pm Pacific Time.