GreenPower Launches Round 3 of All-Electric School Bus Pilot Project in Four New School Districts in West Virginia

SOUTH CHARLESTON, W. Va. – GreenPower Motor Company Inc., a leading manufacturer and distributor of zero-emission, electric-powered, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, today announced the launch of Round 3 of its pilot project to demonstrate all-electric school buses in West Virginia. Boone, McDowell and Raleigh counties will deploy the all-electric Type D BEAST school bus, while Wyoming County will use the award-winning Type A Nano BEAST school bus.

“Round 3 of the West Virginia electric school bus pilot project that GreenPower is conducting with the state of West Virginia continues to be a true real-world, all-electric school bus application,” said GreenPower CEO and Chairman Fraser Atkinson. “The data collected is helping school districts understand more about the deployment of electric school buses, charging infrastructures, training and other critical elements as those schools look to include electric school buses in their fleets on a permanent basis.”

The preliminary data and results from rounds 1 and 2 of the pilot project show that the GreenPower BEAST and Nano BEAST are performing as expected with an overall performance rating of excellent and a battery consumption ranging from 1.1 to 1.5 miles per each percent of State of Charge. The pilots show that when fully utilizing level 2 chargers, the BEAST and Nano BEAST provide a school district a range of 200 to 250 miles per day.

The third round of the pilot project will focus on more rural roads, colder temperatures and snowy conditions to show how the buses handle winter conditions.

“Demonstrations in real-world scenarios are critical for both GreenPower and school districts looking to implement electric vehicles into their existing fleets,” said Atkinson. “As the pilot project continues, the BEAST and Nano BEAST will be used on different terrains and weather conditions on both city and rural routes to allow the results to be holistic of the overall performance that can be expected in differing environments.”

Boone, McDowell, Raleigh and Wyoming County School Districts Press Conferences and All-Electric School Bus Deployment

This week, each of the counties participating in Round 3 of the pilot project will hold a press conference to explain the school districts participation, discuss electrifying their school bus fleet and review the health and safety benefits for children and the community. This coincides with training being conducted for first responders, drivers and mechanics as well as the first deployment of the all-electric bus in the county. Media are invited and encouraged to attend the press conference and first deployment activities.

McDowell County

“We are looking forward to piloting GreenPower’s all-electric school bus in McDowell County for the next 6 weeks, reshaping the way students get to and from school as part of Round 3 of the state pilot project,” said Carolyn Falin, superintendent of McDowell County Schools. “Providing the best education to our students is our number one priority. We are excited to learn more about how we could possibly incorporate electric buses into our transportation fleet.”

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