Proterra Names Green Bus Plant Site, Closes in on Funding

South Carolina’s poised to get some skin in the game of the green bus rush, as Colorado startup Proterra, formerly called Mobile Energy solutions, has just announced plans to set up a new assembly plant in the state in 2011. Without specifying the expected capacity of the project, Jeff Granato, CEO of Proterra — which makes drive components and energy storage systems for electric and hybrid buses, delivery vans and other commercial models, as well as the vehicles themselves — said today at an announcement reported by local media that this will be the company’s first full-scale facility.

All well and good, but will this project sit in limbo, awaiting a green light on funds from the Department of Energy, like so many other green vehicle manufacturing plans? No, spokesperson Sarahjane Sacchetti told us today. She said a private equity investment is “being finalized,” and incentives have already been secured at the state and local level for the project.

Sacchetti said Proterra will likely pursue federal funding to help with integration of Proterra’s energy storage and drive systems into certain classes of vehicles. Proterra could also see benefits federal support for greener transit projects. Sacchetti tells us 21 transit agencies around the country have requested government funding for the purchase of more than $400 million worth of Proterra vehicles.

Founded in 2004, Proterra isn’t the only startup working to deploy next-gen hybrid and electric vehicle technology in a bus market that has been buoyed by stimulus funds in the U.S. and a government push for electric buses in China. Transit agencies and private bus fleet managers can dare to be early adopters because of their predictable demands. As Terry Copeland, CEO of battery maker Altairnano told us back in 2008, “They go out on fixed routes and come back to the same place every night where they can recharge.”

Proterra plans to lease a 240,000-square-foot building at Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) in Greenville County, with the option to expand in coming years. According to a release from Clemson University, Greenville beat out competing sites in more than two dozen states. The area stands to gain some $68 million in investment and more than 1,300 jobs through the project over the next seven years, with construction expected to begin as early as this spring.

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