CONGRESSMAN BISHOP ANNOUNCES NEARLY $80 MILLION U.S. DEPT. OF ENERGY INVESTMENT IN FORT VALLEY TO EXPAND CLEAN BUS MANUFACTURING, SUPPORT GOOD-PAYING JOBS

FORT VALLEY, Ga. – Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) is pleased to announce that today, the Biden-Harris Administration is awarding Blue Bird Corporation a $79,728,146 million grant through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains. The Domestic Automotive Manufacturing Conversion Grant award is made possible by funding provided through the Inflation Reduction Act which was approved by Congress and signed into law in 2022.

“I was proud to support the Inflation Reduction Act last Congress which, since becoming law, has continued to deliver for America. It has lowered the cost of insulin for folks on Medicare and helped rural small businesses make investments in solar power and energy efficiency projects to help them save money. Today, we are seeing yet another way in which it is making a real difference right here in Georgia,” said Congressman Bishop. “Today’s announcement is a major investment in Georgia manufacturing that will support hundreds of good-paying jobs, maintain our state’s leadership in the world-wide electric vehicle industry, and help build clean buses that are in high demand by schools across the country.”

“These buses can save a school district, on average, $2,000 in fuel costs and $4,400 in maintenance costs each year. They are also healthier for our students who would otherwise be exposed to concentrated levels of air pollution on their way to and from school,” added Congressman Bishop.

“There is nothing harder to a manufacturing community than to lose jobs to foreign competition and a changing industry,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Even as our competitors invest heavily in electric vehicles, these grants ensure that our automotive industry stays competitive—and does it in the communities and with the workforce that have supported the auto industry for generations.”

Today, the U.S. Department of Energy is awarding $1.7 billion to support the conversion of 11 shuttered or at-risk auto manufacturing and assembly facilities across eight states— Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia—to manufacture electric vehicles and improve their supply chain.

The grant to the Blue Bird Corporation will help fund about 50% of a project to convert a previously shuttered and demolished Internal Combustion Engine motorhome manufacturing facility into a 600,000 square foot Electric Type D school bus manufacturing facility. The resulting facility will be used to manufacture safe, reliable, and clean buses for school age children.

Blue Bird Corporation reported that it just delivered its 2000th electric vehicle bus this week.

“We are delighted that the U.S. Department of Energy considers our conversion project worthy of support,” said Phil Horlock, CEO of Blue Bird Corporation. “The potential grant could enable Blue Bird to reinvest in middle Georgia, building on a site that previously manufactured high-end motorhomes that are treasured to this day. It will also enable Blue Bird to expand our workforce and invest in a community that is integral to Blue Bird’s history. We are looking forward to fully participating in the next phase of the negotiation process.”

The Domestic Manufacturing Auto Conversion Grants program helps ensure that the U.S. continues to lead the world in auto manufacturing, led by the communities and workers who know this business best. The selectees will negotiate for awards to enable them to manufacture products covering a broad range of the automotive supply chain, including parts for electric motorcycles and school buses, hybrid powertrains, heavy-duty commercial truck batteries, and electric SUVs.

Over the past two years, dozens of school districts across the United States, including several in Middle and Southwest Georgia, have ordered over 500 clean school buses from Blue Bird Corporation due to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program. More are anticipated in the months ahead. That program was made possible by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which Congressman Bishop supported.