VIDEO: Federal Money for Montana Schools: Solar and EV Buses
We were blown away by our May 1 “Federal Money for Montana Schools: Solar and EV Buses” webinar! It was an incredible conversation with some amazing guests.
Some highlights: We heard from government experts Neal Ullman at the MT DEQ, and Courtney Johnson and Marisa McPhilliamy with the EV bus team at the EPA about funding opportunities. We heard stories from Sam Spector of Sweet Grass High School in Big Timber, MT, about the massive savings they’ve experienced from their solar array and other projects. We heard from Transportation Directory Bethany Aurin from West Grand School District in Colorado who gave their EV buses a glowing review for performance in snow, ice, and more!
We’re very grateful to our co-sponsors for the event (Moms Clean Air Force, Montana Renewable Energy Association, Montana DEQ and the EV bus team at the EPA), and all of our amazing panelists! Thank you!
Here are the big takeaways and the recording:
1 - There’s money available now for schools to save money, reduce air pollution, and become more resilient.
Federal money
*Renew America’s Schools Grant (Department of Energy)
$500 million
Covers things like energy efficiency improvements, solar panels, alternative vehicles & charging infrastructure
Applications likely due next winter - TBA
*Clean School Bus Program (EPA)
$5 billion over 5 years
Covers electric and alternative-fuel school buses
Accepting applications NOW through August 22,2023
Montana and regional grant programs
SMART Schools program - MT DEQ
Alternative Fuels & Transportation program - MT DEQ
USB Renewable Energy Grants for nonprofits and government buildings
Yellowstone-Teton Clean Cities
2 - The recorded webinar provides a brief overview of funding, and really wonderful stories from rural schools about solar and EV bus successes. Get inspired to act, and hear about the nitty gritty workings of adding EV buses and solar to your school!
Watch the webinar recording to hear about these funding opportunities, and hear from rural Montana and Colorado school staff who have championed solar and EV buses to great effect–saving money, improving their students’ experiences, etc. The stories are incredible, and the guests are willing to share their expertise and tools to help other schools take advantage of gains from adding solar and EV buses to their schools.
And take advantage of our panelists' experience! Sam Spector with Sweet Grass High School has planning and evaluation files that he is willing to share from their solar project, including their request for proposal, grants, an evaluation matrix for deciding on a contractor, excel spreadsheets on mapping baseline consumption data vs. predicted output, and a three-fold flier–all which can be used as templates for someone who wants to do the same. All contact information is below.
More reading and information
“Electric Bus Arrives in West Grand”
“Havre schools add two electric buses to fleet”
Upcoming Related Events
August 12 - MREA’s Clean Energy Fair, Billings, MT
CONTACT INFORMATION
Panelists:
Neal Ulman, DEQ Energy Resource Professional - neal.ullman@mt.gov
Courtney Johnson and Marisa McPhilliamy, Environmental Protection Agency - Johnson.Courtney@epa.gov and McPhilliamy.Marisa@epa.gov
Sam Spector, Sweet Grass County High School - spectors@sgchs.com
Alecia Jongeward, Park High Green Initiative - ajongeward@gmail.com
Bethany Aurin, transportation director at West Grand School District (Colorado) - aurinb@wgsd.us
Makenna Sellers, Executive Director of Montana Renewable Energy Association - makenna@montanarenewables.org
Moderators:
Winona Bateman, executive director, Families for a Livable Climate - director@livableclimate.org
Michelle Uberuaga, organizer for Moms Clean Air Force Montana, and executive director of Park County Environmental Council - michelle@pcecmt.org
Many thanks again to our co-sponsors: Moms Clean Air Force, and Montana Renewable Energy Association, Montana DEQ and the EV bus team at the EPA!