Duluth and the Twin Cities received millions in federal grants to purchase electric buses for their public transit fleet but the EVs failed in the subzero temps in the harsh Minnesota winters.
Duluth purchased 7 electric buses made by Proterra, an EV firm heavily touted by Obama and Biden.
Recall that EV firm Proterra filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August.
Proterra CEO Gareth Joyce said the company faced “various market and macroeconomic headwinds” that impacted its ability to “efficiently scale.”
The EV company received taxpayer money from Joe Biden’s so-called ‘infrastructure plan’ in 2021.
Even worse, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was heavily invested in Proterra and made millions from stock options.
The Proterra buses in Minnesota failed in subzero temps and struggled to drive up steep inclines.
Furthermore, repairing the broken-down electric buses has been a challenge because of a lack of parts.
The electric buses were supposed to have a 150-mile range but they only had a 75-mile range.
The Minn Post reported:
In 2021, the Federal Transit Administration awarded a grant to Metro Transit to purchase zero-emission buses from a company that was ambitiously trying to decarbonize heavy-duty transportation vehicles across multiple sectors.
The company, Proterra, aimed to deliver those buses powered by Proterra batteries to Metro Transit this year. But earlier this year, the agency terminated negotiations with Proterra. Proterra, which also makes chargers for the vehicles they power, subsequently filed for bankruptcy.
Vendor issues are among one of the challenges Metro Transit, as well as other agencies statewide, face as they try to decarbonize their transit fleets. They’ve also encountered problems with operating them in subzero environments, as well as charging them. Though it appears some agencies remain committed to battery-electric vehicles, they are also considering using vehicles powered by other fuel sources.
