In an industrial corner of Oakland, wedged between a 10-lane freeway and a freight terminal, sits California’s newest source of renewable energy: a squadron of shiny yellow electric school buses. It’s the first all-electric bus fleet serving a major US school district. Starting in August, the 74 vehicles will also supply 2.1 gigawatt-hours of electricity to the Bay Area power grid, enough energy for 300 to 400 homes.
“School bus electrification can really play an important role in making our air healthier for everyone, especially children,” Harold Wimmer, chief executive officer of the American Lung Association, said Wednesday during a webinar on electric school buses. School bus schedules align nicely with renewable energy production and electricity demand, making them ideal for vehicle-to-grid programs.
“There is an excess of supply during the solar peak and this is a way we can move some of that energy from that time of the day to when we actually need it,” says Rudi Halbright, product manager for vehicle-grid-integration pilots and analysis at California utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company. “With 74 buses, that’s a lot of power so it really has a big impact for us. This pilot specifically is designed to pave the way for us to do this on a large scale.
To make the math work, Zūm’s electric buses were subsidized by grants from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program, as well as money from the state and the regional air quality district. Raney and Garg say PG&E was key to the financial viability of the project. The utility paid for transmission upgrades needed to supply 2.7 megawatts of power to the bus chargers and it will also compensate Zūm for the electricity the buses return to the grid.