On Wednesday, Sept. 17, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) announced the availability of $20 million in grants from two grant programs to fund the purchases of electric school buses and installation of public charging stations.
NJDEP’s Electric School Bus Grant Program will provide $10 million in grants to school districts and contractors that provide bus services to school districts. The EV Charging Grant Program will provide an additional $10 million in grants to install charging stations near multi-unit housing and transit stations.
Electric School Bus Grant Program
School districts that own their own buses, and school bus contractors that provide bus services to schools, are eligible to apply to the Electric School Bus Grant Program. The latter must apply in conjunction with a specified school or school district. Additional funding is being dedicated to “eco-hub” projects that will pilot vehicle-to-building technology at selected schools throughout the state.
The program will provide up to $350,000 per school bus and charging station used to serve overburdened districts. For applicants not serving an overburdened school district, up to $320,000 is available per school bus and charging station. These amounts are designed to reflect the approximate incremental cost between a new electric bus and a new diesel bus plus the cost of a charging station.
To date, NJDEP has awarded more than $55 million for the purchase of 169 school buses.
All grantees can also take advantage of free upfront technical support through the New Jersey Fleet Advisor program, with no separate application needed. The Fleet Advisor service will provide grantees with a personalized fleet electrification roadmap, including an on-site electric infrastructure assessment, vehicle options, cost projections, and other recommendations to ensure projects are successful.
Applications for the Electric School Bus Grant Program are due Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. More information can be found at: https://dep.nj.gov/stopthesoot/electric-school-bus-program/
