Project Traits
State: Mississippi
Congressional District: MS04
Organization Type: School
Partner Organization(s) Type: Commercial
Energy Sector: Transportation, Clean Power
Energy Subsector: EVs, Solar
Project Start Year: Unknown
Project Launch Year: Unknown
Government Support Received: Federal Grant [EPA Clean Bus program] for $11,455,000Federal Tax Credit [179-D Tax Deductions] for $810,000 Federal Direct Pay [Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC)] for $150,000
Outcomes & Impacts
Private Investment: Unknown
Jobs Announced or Created: Unknown
People Served: Unknown
Projected Economic Impact: $6,000,000
Biloxi Public Schools is launching Mississippi's largest electric school bus fleet with 29 new electric buses, funded by a $11.45 million EPA Clean Bus grant. The project, set to roll out by 2025, will replace the district’s oldest buses and aims to reduce fuel and maintenance costs, saving the district over $6 million in the long run. The new electric buses will also improve air quality and reduce noise pollution, benefiting both students and the community. Mississippi Power and Schneider Electric are key partners, supporting infrastructure development and energy efficiency efforts. This initiative highlights the district’s commitment to sustainability and modernizing transportation.
This initiative underscores BPS’s long track record of using strategic financial planning to maximize the district's educational mission. BPS launched a partnership with energy management expert Schneider Electric in 2010 to strategically reduce and reinvest energy costs into modernizations across school learning environments and building systems. Since the beginning of this partnership, Schneider Electric has helped the district reinvest over $4 million in energy savings. Together, BPS and Schneider Electric have also been able to secure and leverage $9.7 million in funding from federal grants, COVID-era stimulus funding, utility rebates from Mississippi Power and a state energy program grant from the 2010 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus package through the Mississippi Development Authority.
Additionally, Schneider Electric is helping BPS leverage and stack an additional $12.65 million in federal grant funding and tax incentives to support upcoming efficiency and transportation projects. In addition to the EPA Bus Grant, this figure includes $810,000 in 179-D tax deductions from projects jointly executed over the past two years, along with an anticipated $150,000 in rebates resulting from the solar investment tax credit (ITC) direct pay program.