Press Releases

ACES Electric School Bus to be Displayed at Event with Vice President Kamala Harris

May 19th, 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(North Haven, CT – May 19, 2022) Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) first full-size electric school bus arrived at Meridian High School in Falls Church, Virginia, on Friday, May 20, 2022. ACES Up and the EV bus accompanied Blue Bird Corporation and Nuvve Corporation as they visited Vice President Kamala Harris to discuss the importance of clean energy and how replacing diesel buses with electric vehicles can benefit the battle against the climate crisis. ACES Up is an electric vehicle service that is supporting the statewide deployment of electric school bus transportation.

Kamala Harris and the Biden Administration, with the U.S Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced the eligibility of school districts across the country to be funded to replace the current fleet of school buses with zero-emission, clean school buses. The Clean Bus Initiative is set to be a 5-year plan rounding out to total a $5 billion investment. Each year, $500 million will be used to fund the cost of school bus replacements. The EPA is accepting applications from May 20, 2022, until August 19, 2022.    

ACES unveiled the first full-size electric school bus in Connecticut at an event on Friday, October 15th, 2021 at the ACES Transportation headquarters at 60 United Drive in North Haven. The electric vehicle (EV) and the associated charging infrastructure were made possible by matching funds awarded to ACES under the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) grant administered by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

ACES Transportation replaced their older Class V diesel school bus with a 2021 Blue Bird electric-powered equivalent. The older diesel bus was removed from ACES’ fleet and destroyed. To further demonstrate the organization’s commitment to improving air quality and creating healthier transportation options for their student population, ACES will install solar panels at the United Drive facility to provide clean power to the school bus and, eventually, its entire fleet of student transport vehicles.

“We are excited to have Connecticut’s first full-sized electric school bus traveling to Falls Church, Virginia to appear at an event with Vice President Kamala Harris,” said Dr. Thomas Danehy, Executive Director of ACES, “The electric school bus provides our students with a safe, clean and efficient ride to and from school every day. We are thrilled to display this electric vehicle at such a distinguished event.”

The Biden-Harris Administration announced in March 2022 that federal actions will be created to enhance clean public transportation and school buses and will work towards reducing emissions that derive from diesel vehicles. The use of electric vehicles will not only benefit the negative impact of the climate crisis; it will create a modern fleet of vehicles and produce new jobs across America.

To learn more information about ACES Up and the initiative to support the statewide deployment of electric school bus transportation, please visit https://www.aces.org/services/aces-up.

To learn more information and receive updates on President Biden and the EPA’s initiative for a nationwide change to replace the fleet of school buses to clean, and zero-emission electric school buses, please visit https://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus.

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About ACES:

Area Cooperative Educational Services (ACES) is the regional educational service center for New Haven and parts of Middlesex Counties. Established in 1969, ACES strives each day to fulfill its vision of creating an equitable and socially just world, one life at a time. ACES serves its members districts and others through an ever-growing array of programs, services, and schools that meet the needs of a changing educational landscape. As a school district, ACES operates three magnet and eight special education schools. ACES services range from transportation, professional development, school improvement services, technology, translation, international, security, and occupational and physical therapy. ACES operates the Open and Magnet School Parent Choice programs for New Haven County. Its programs include a federally funded Early Head Start Program and ACES ACCESS, a vocational and life skills program for developmentally and physically disabled adults ages 21 and older. For more information, go to www.aces.org.

About Blue Bird

Blue Bird offers a complete line of Type A, C and D school buses in a variety of options and configurations. Since 1927, Blue Bird Corporation has continued to set industry standards with its innovative design and manufacturing capabilities. Additionally, Blue Bird provides comprehensive financial solutions through Blue Bird Capital Services. Today, Blue Bird has more than 1,500 employees, Georgia-based manufacturing facilities and an extensive network of Dealers and Parts & Service facilities throughout North America. Its global presence can be seen in more than 60 countries through sales into Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe and the Middle East.

About Nuvve

Nuvve Holding Corporation is leading the electrification of the planet, beginning with transportation, through its intelligent energy platform. Combining the world’s most advanced vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology and an ecosystem of electrification partners, Nuvve dynamically manages power among electric vehicle (EV) batteries and the grid to deliver new value to EV owners, accelerate the adoption of EVs, and support the world’s transition to clean energy. By transforming EVs into mobile energy storage assets and networking battery capacity to support shifting energy needs, Nuvve is making the grid more resilient, enhancing sustainable transportation, and supporting energy equity in an electrified world. Since its founding in 2010, Nuvve has successfully deployed V2G on five continents and offers turnkey electrification solutions for fleets of all types. Nuvve is headquartered in San Diego, California.