New report from Oversight Republicans says Biden’s EPA turned a $20B clean energy fund into a slush pile for political allies. (Helen H. Richardson/The Denver Post)
As a test case, Power the Future (PTF) president Daniel Turner pointed to buses purchased by Vermont’s Green Mountain Transit, which had previously procured five electric buses with the help of federal funds.
During the recent storm, PTF president Daniel Turner said, e-buses have a tougher time charging and operating in below-freezing temperatures, as evidenced by cases in New York and New England. This is a known limitation of battery performance in cold weather.
School districts in Western New York have had issues piloting the buses in the cold, and Turner told Fox News Digital the grants do not take into account the needs of schoolchildren over prioritizing green politics.
PTF also cited a case in Maine, where a school superintendent said her district received four "bad buses" from a now-bankrupt Canadian EV firm. One e-bus' brakes failed recently and crashed into a snowbank, according to WGME.
"Costing nearly $8 million, more than 95 percent of the funding for these five buses came from American taxpayers [and] requires serious questions be asked," PTF wrote to Zeldin.
"These buses were purchased to operate in Vermont’s climate, yet reports indicate they cannot be reliably charged in temperatures below 41 degrees. With the average winter temperature in Burlington hovering in the mid 20s, the vehicles, which cost more than $1.5 million apiece, are unusable under predictable winter conditions."
Green Mountain Transit general manager Clayton Clark told Fox News Digital that his five e-buses "being inoperable have nothing to do with the storm. The batteries were recalled by the manufacturer" — saying local media erroneously reported the snow had been the main factor.
He also said that media reports had incorrectly stated the 41-degree issue always existed, quipping, "We never would have purchased buses with that [requirement] in Vermont" and that the threshold originated from new recall information from the manufacturer.
"We know that the manufacturer will be 18–24 months [until we get] new batteries — we look at this as the buses were working A-OK before this situation. Considering the 12-year life cycle to be out for a few months is not indicative of the program being a failure. This is no different than a safety recall that we would get for a diesel bus."
"Folks across the political spectrum looking to make hay [but we] don’t look at it as a failure of the program."
Asked about Clark's comments, Turner said that cold-weather agencies should have known they were using experimental technology not as proven as internal-combustion buses.
"At no point does anyone who has a gas-powered bus have to play these games; introducing new sets of variables, we are still sacrificing the children for a pretend cause."
On the whole, Turner told Fox News Digital that while "these [green] games are ongoing, there are schoolchildren who cannot get to class because they are fixing problems that they themselves created."
Buses and cars struggle in NYC snow. (Andres Kudacki/Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to Biden's office for comment.
EPA spokesman Michael Bastasch told Fox News Digital that the EPA is actively "revamping the Clean School Bus Program in accordance with President Trump’s Executive Order: Unleashing American Energy to ensure hard-earned American tax dollars are being put to the best use possible and not frivolously wasted as was often the case under the previous administration."
"Under Administrator Zeldin’s leadership, EPA is committed to being exceptional stewards of taxpayer dollars and delivering measured results for American families, while still fulfilling Congressional intent," Bastasch said, adding that Zeldin has already canceled $30 billion in wasteful grants and contracts.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/arctic-blast-fuels-scrutiny-bidens-8b-electric-bus-push-watchdogs-cite-oversight-failures