Amidst Maine’s push to adopt California-style vehicle emissions standards, the manufacturer that produced the electric buses used by Maine’s major public transit systems has filed for bankruptcy.
Proterra — the California-based electric bus manufacturer — produced four buses that are currently in use by Greater Portland Metro and Biddeford-Saco-Old Orchard Beach Transit.
The bankruptcy comes a little more than a year after these buses first went into service.
The transit systems secured $6 million in federal aid and state funding to purchase the vehicles from Proterra, as well as to install two charging stations at the bus depot and cover the other costs associated with the project.
The approximate cost per bus — $900,000 — is roughly double the cost of a comparable internal-combustion engine bus.
Last year, Biddeford ordered two additional electric buses from Proterra, as well as an on-route charger that were scheduled for delivery later this year. Despite the bankruptcy, Biddeford remains hopeful that the vehicles and equipment will still arrive on time.
According to a statement released by Proterra, the company plans to continue with their “ordinary course of business” as they work through the bankruptcy process. The statement also contends that the move was taken “in an effort to strengthen [the company’s] financial position.”
In other words, Proterra is using the voluntary bankruptcy filing to reorganize their operations to make them more financially viable.
“The reorganization is intended to maximize the value of each independent business line,” said Proterra spokesperson Shane Levy told TechCrunch earlier this month, noting that as of now, the end result of the process remains unclear.
President Joe Biden (D) has praised Proterra in the past as a leader in the industry of electric bus manufacturing. In 2021, President Biden visited the company’s South Carolina factory in an effort to highlight electric vehicle manufacturing in America.
That same year, the Biden Administration also pledged $10 million from the $1.9 trillion infrastructure plan for the development of zero-emissions transit and school bus programs.
Proterra’s bankruptcy comes as the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (Maine DEP) considers the adoption of California-style regulations that would require the vast majority of car and truck sales in the state to be comprised of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs).
These new rules were initially proposed by the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM) — the leading environmental nonprofit organization in Maine — via citizens initiative procedures. Having collected the requisite 150 signatures for their petition, the NRCM successfully brought these rules before the Maine DEP for consideration.
[RELATED: Maine Considering California-style Rules to Limit Sales of Gas-Powered Cars and Trucks]
At a public hearing on the matter held earlier this month, it became clear that this issue was of great importance to Mainers, as nearly 90 people signed up to offer testimony and at least 60 more showed up to observe.
While supporters touted the environmental benefits of the rule changes, as well as the cost savings associated with owning an EV, opponents cited concerns over a lack of infrastructure — particularly in the more rural parts of Maine — as well as cost increases for those who continue to own and operate gas-powered vehicles.
Opponents also noted that the up-front cost of purchasing an EV and installing a charging station is prohibitive to most Mainers.
[RELATED: Massive Turnout for Public Hearing on Proposed California-Style Vehicle Emissions Regulations]
Another issue raised with moving toward EV dependence in Maine was the impact of the state’s cold climate on their efficiency. Research shows that the driving range of a fully-charged EV battery diminishes by up to 35% in cold temperatures. Furthermore, studies have shown that EV batteries charge at an increasingly slow rate as temperatures drop, sometimes as much as doubling charging times.
Another consideration of operating an EV in the cold is the need to heat the cabin of the car. Whereas an internal combustion vehicle draws heat off the engine block and into the cabin, an EV needs to expend additional energy from the battery to produce heat. Consequently, under real-world conditions, an EV’s range is diminished even more than scientific studies suggest.
[RELATED: Electric Vehicles vs. Maine Winters: Will EVs struggle with Maine’s frigid cold?]
These temperature-related complications associated with EV usage were acknowledged by municipal officials at the time that the Proterra-produced electric buses were introduced into public transit fleets.
Greg Jordan, Executive Director of Greater Portland Metro, told Maine Public in April of 2022 that “under perfect conditions” the buses ought to have a 300-mile range — adequate to cover the distance demanded by the existing bus routes. “But on the coldest days of the year,” he said, “they’re not going to be able to achieve those ranges.”
According to Proterra, the model vehicle purchased by the municipalities has an estimated 240 mile range dependent upon “weather, varying terrain, driver behavior, frequency of stops on route, and vehicle weight.”
The move to incorporate EVs into Maine’s public transit fleets came in response to the state government’s push to reduce Maine’s greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80% by 2050.
In fact, transitioning to the use of EVs for public transportation by 2022 was an explicit goal of the Maine Climate Council’s Four-Year Action Plan released in December of 2020.
It remains unclear how Maine’s major public transit systems intend to continue moving toward the electrification of their fleet going forward in light of their primary supplier’s uncertain future.
There may well have been a substantial deposit required to place the order for two more million dollar buses and chargers. That deposit could well be lost in the bankruptcy. And this time, the money last might well have come entirely from the State of Maine’s treasury.
Ev are the dumbest idea i ever heard of. What will be done with rhe batterys when they are no good?
How much coal will be burnt to supply the part of the electricty to charg them? Get you heads ou of your butt some people are making millions of this dumb idea