Active
Clean Energy
Grant

Reliable Electric Charging for Eligible School-bus Sites (RECESS) Grants

Deadline:
August 31, 2026
Total Funding
$44,000,000
Maximum Award
$4,500,000
Overview

This grant provides funding for projects that will install new and/or replace existing electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure for electric school buses.

Funder

California Energy Commission (CEC)

Program

Clean Transportation Program

Resources

Applications Due

August 31, 2026

Total Funding

$22 million $4 million dedicated to Funding Lane 1: Electric school bus charging infrastructure projects at local educational agencies that received Clean Truck and Bus Incentive Project (HVIP) Public School Bus Set Aside Year 1 or Year 2 funded electric school buses, but who did not receive the CEC’s Energy Infrastructure Incentives for Zero-Emission Commercial Vehicles Project (EnergIIZE) Public School Bus Set Aside Year 1 or Year 2 infrastructure funding. Funding for Funding Lane 1 is available on a first-come, first-served basis.$9 million dedicated to Funding Lane 2: Electric school bus charging infrastructure projects that will support existing and future electric school bus deployments by local educational agencies, available on a competitive basis.$9 million dedicated to Funding Lane 3: Electric school bus charging infrastructure projects that will support existing and future electric school bus deployments by third-party transportation providers who serve local educational agencies, available on a competitive basis.

Funding Source

State

Maximum Award

$4,500,000

Award Details

  • Funding Lane 1: The maximum number of charging points varies by eligible local educational agency. Local educational agencies eligible under Funding Lane 1 may apply for up to the maximum number of charging ports, or they can apply under Funding Lane 2 for more than the maximum number of charging ports
  • Funding Lane 2: Single applicant cap of 25% of Funding Lane 2’s total funding or $2.25 million
  • Funding Lane 3: Single applicant cap of 25 percent of Funding Lane 3’s total funding or $2.25 million for an Applicant that serves one local educational agency. If an Applicant serves more than one local educational agency, there is a single Applicant cap of 50% of Funding Lane 3’s total funding or $4.5 million

Eligibility

  • Funding Lane 1: Local educational agencies that received HVIP Public School Bus Set Aside Year 1 or Year 2 funded electric school buses but did not receive EnergIIZE Public School Bus Set Aside Year 1 or Year 2 infrastructure funding.
  • Funding Lane 2: Local educational agencies, including California public school districts, public charter schools, Joint Power Authorities, and County Offices of Education that serve K-12th grade students.
  • Funding Lane 3: Third-party transportation providers who serve local educational agencies. Third-party transportation providers must indicate what local educational agency(s) their charging infrastructure will serve in their application. Third party transportation providers must demonstrate an existing transportation service contract with the local educational agency(s) that will be in place during the entire agreement term.

Eligible Activities

Eligible costs include charging infrastructure warranties at a fair market price; charging-as-a-service; commercially available off-grid chargers and associated shipping and taxes; commercially available zero-emission distributed energy resources, such as battery energy storage systems and/or solar photovoltaics, separately metered for electric bus charging and associated shipping and taxes; commercially available zero-emission mobile chargers and associated shipping and taxes; commercially available demand management equipment or software; electric meters; electric panels; electricity transmission materials; grid-connected chargers and associated shipping and taxes; installation and commissioning costs; mandatory utility service upgrades that are not paid by the utility; networking agreement; operation and maintenance service agreement; planning and engineering design; and transformers.

Notable Requirements

All projects must adhere to:

  • Project Location Requirements
  • Ownership and Usage Requirements
  • Infrastructure Deployment Requirements
  • Data Collection
  • Electric School Bus Deployment Requirements
  • Minimum Technical Requirements for Electric School Bus Infrastructure

Preferences

  • Funding Lane 1 applications will be screened using the administrative and technical screening criteria. Applications passing all screening criteria will be recommended for funding on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • Funding Lane 2 and 3 applications will be screened using the administrative and technical screening criteria. Applications passing all screening criteria will advance to the technical evaluation:
    • Technical Evaluation Criterion for Funding Lane 2: Project Implementation and Readiness (80 points), Budget (10 points), and Innovation and Benefits (10 points) for 100 total possible points.
    • Technical Evaluation Criterion for Funding Lane 3: Team Experience and Qualifications (20 points), Project Implementation and Readiness (30 points), Budget (30 points) and Innovation and Benefits (20 points) for 100 total possible points.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted through the Energy Commission Agreement Management System (ECAMS).

Sustainable TransportationTransportation Electrification

Technical Assistance Available

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