Electric school buses could speed NC’s transition to clean electric grid
Cutting-edge technology could enable electric school buses to store energy and return it to the grid, creating flexibility and stability for a renewable-powered future
RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — As early as next month, billions of new federal dollars will start to become available for school districts across the country to transition to clean, electric school buses.
Most of the nation’s nearly half a million school buses run on diesel fuel, producing harmful emissions that children are forced to breathe.
With the support of the World Resources Institute’s Electric School Bus Initiative, Environment North Carolina Research and Policy Center, NC PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group are releasing a new report examining how the transition to electric school buses, in addition to keeping diesel exhaust out of developing lungs, could help speed up the expansion of clean energy by providing a critical source of reliable battery storage.
“Getting to school shouldn’t include a daily dose of toxic pollution,” said Krista Early, Advocate with Environment North Carolina Research and Policy Center. “Transitioning to all-electric buses would first and foremost ensure our children have a clean and healthy ride to school. But beyond that, it also provides an excellent opportunity to make dramatic improvements to our nation’s electric grid, providing significant new benefits for communities.”
The report, entitled Electric School Buses and the Grid: Unlocking the power of school transportation to build resilience and a clean energy future, finds that if every yellow school bus currently in operation across North Carolina were replaced with an electric bus equipped with the right vehicle-to-grid technology, this would add over 1,693 MWh to the state’s capacity to store electricity, enough to power more than 34,727 average American homes for a day.
This additional storage could speed the transition to a renewable energy grid and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from both the transportation and power generation sectors.
In a recent announcement from the NC State Board of Education, New Hanover county, among the four other counties that applied, will receive an electric school bus by way of funding from the settlement between the US Environmental Protection Agency and Volkswagen.
“Kids need a clean ride to school and a future powered by reliable, renewable energy,” said NC PIRG Education Fund’s Director, Katie Craig. “By fully embracing the power of electric school bus technology, we can invest in cleaner, more efficient transportation and energy systems all at the same time.”
