PRESS RELEASE
Karsten Rodvik
External Affairs Officer
907.771.3024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 25, 2020

AEA Announces Volkswagen Settlement School Bus Grants
Program Will Replace 33 Older Diesel Buses for Eight School Districts
(Anchorage) – The Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) is pleased to announce that eight school districts
will receive approximately $4.4 million to replace 33 older diesel school buses with new cleanburning buses under the Volkswagen (VW) Settlement School Bus Replacement Program:









Alaska Gateway School District
Anchorage School District
Juneau School District
Kake City School District
Kenai Peninsula Borough School District
Kodiak Island Borough School District
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District
Southeast Island School District

Buses were ranked based on the amount of ambient nitrogen oxides (NOx) and diesel particulate
matter in the areas that the buses operate, as well as the presence of at-risk communities exposed to
these pollutants, cost effectiveness at reducing NOx, and voluntary matching funds.
“By replacing older engines with new technologies, the school buses will help improve air quality in
these areas of the state,” said AEA Executive Director, Curtis W. Thayer. "The new buses will result in a
reduction of 24.6 short tons of NOx and 1.8 short tons of fine particulate matter over the remaining
lifetimes of the replaced school buses.”
VW was sued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for its installation of software in diesel
vehicles that masked actual in-use emissions of NOx. The parties reached a settlement, and AEA was
designated the lead agency to administer Alaska’s allocation.
The Alaska Energy Authority is a public corporation of the state. Its mission is to reduce the cost of
energy in Alaska.
###

813 West Northern Lights Boulevard, Anchorage, Alaska 99503   P 907.771.3000   Toll Free 888.300.8534   F 907.771.3044   WWW.AKENERGYAUTHORITY.ORG

REDUCING THE COST OF ENERGY IN ALASKA