Manufactured by GreenPower Motor Company and expected to arrive by early 2018, the ten new GreenPower EV350 40-foot electric transit buses and the charging infrastructure will service all nine of the Porterville Transit routes in the disadvantaged communities of Porterville, East Porterville, Strathmore and the Tule River Indian Reservation.

GreenPower will build a manufacturing facility for all-electric buses and batteries, expected to open in 2018. Southern California Edison will support the installation of infrastructure and provide special rates for high-voltage bus charging.

The $9.5-million award to the City of Porterville was one of only nine awards from the highly competitive Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Pilot Project solicitation. In addition to the grant amount, the project partners— GreenPower, San Joaquin Valley Air Quality Management District, and Southern California Edison—will contribute more than $7 million in a combination of cash and in-kind matching funds.

The award is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of cap-and-trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy and improving public health and the environment—particularly in disadvantaged communities.