The Biden administration’s push for green energy has hit a major snag, with a Canadian electric bus company, Lion Electric, filing for bankruptcy after receiving $160 million in federal grants to produce 435 electric school buses for 55 U.S. school districts. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program, funded through Biden’s $5 billion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, aimed to deliver zero-emission buses to improve air quality. However, Lion Electric failed to deliver a single bus, leaving $95 million in orders unfulfilled and taxpayers footing the bill.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin revealed that the Biden administration paid the full $160 million upfront, neglecting oversight or phased payments tied to production milestones. Lion Electric, which opened a 900,000-square-foot facility in Joliet, Illinois, in 2023 with promises of 1,400 jobs, laid off most employees and halted production in December 2024, shortly after filing for bankruptcy in Canada and Illinois. School districts in states like California, Ohio, and Maryland now face uncertainty about receiving promised buses, with some exploring legal options.
Critics, including former EPA head Andrew Wheeler, argue the rushed allocation of funds lacked due diligence, echoing past green energy failures like Solyndra. Democrats defend the program’s intent to advance environmental justice but acknowledge administrative missteps. The debacle has fueled calls for investigations into potential fraud, with Republicans labeling it a “textbook money laundering scheme.” As the Trump administration reviews federal spending, the incident underscores broader concerns about accountability in green initiatives.
