Massachusetts Electric School Bus Helps Power Electricity Grid in Breakthrough for Vehicle-to-Grid Technology
An electric school bus in Beverly, Massachusetts has successfully delivered power back to the grid for over 50 hours this summer. This initiative, led by National Grid (NYSE:NGG) in collaboration with Highland Electric Fleets, marks a significant milestone as the first instance of an electric school bus supporting the electricity grid via V2G technology in New England and one of the first in the U.S. The bus discharged nearly three megawatt-hours of stored electricity during 30 peak demand events, contributing to local energy efficiency and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
- Successful discharge of nearly three megawatt-hours of electricity back to the grid.
- First use of an electric school bus to support local energy demands via V2G technology.
- Participation in National Grid's program helps bridge cost gaps for electric school buses.
- None.
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Beverly, Massachusetts electric school bus delivers power back to the grid for more than 50 hours this summer -
First time that
National Grid has leveraged an electric school bus to deliver stored to electricity grid to help meet peak energy demand -
Program represents among the first instances in
the United States that an electric school bus has supported an electricity grid through V2G
In conjunction with Highland Electric Fleets and
Highland, who provides the bus, chargers, and all electricity to
“Highland is thrilled to be a part of this groundbreaking program as the integrator of industry-leading technology, forward thinking energy policy, and tremendous community leadership to solve some of the country's toughest challenges. We're so honored to support those on the ground making amazing stories like this come to reality every day,” said
“By delivering stored clean energy back to the grid when it’s needed most, electric school buses can help create a more resilient local power system and reduce the dependence on expensive fossil fuel power plants,” said
Thomas Built’s Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley with Proterra’s bidirectional charging system managed the charging and discharging of the electric school bus back into the grid.
By sending electricity back to the grid when demand for electricity was at its highest and most expensive, the school bus helped reduce local emissions and decreased the need to fire up costly fossil fuel “peaker” plants.
Participation in National Grid’s program marks an important step in closing the up-front cost gap between traditional diesel school buses and electric school buses, as revenue from vehicle-to-grid (V2G) programs offer a unique means to improve the economics of electric school bus ownership.
The average school bus transports students for approximately six hours a day, 200 days annually, and are otherwise parked or idled when not in operation. This is particularly true during summer months, when demand for electricity is often at its highest and clean energy stored in idled electric school buses can provide an energy resource to the grid.
“We are proud to have added several customers and vendors to our programs this year that are using vehicle-to-grid technology. This underlines the strength of the technology neutral approach of the
In
“Beverly is proud to lead in electrifying our school bus fleet and to be at the forefront nationally, to successfully discharge battery stored electricity back to the grid. We look forward to taking full advantage of the economic, environmental and operational benefits that V2G technology offers. We truly appreciate our valuable partners – Highland Electric Fleets,
The Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley couples 226 kWh of total energy capacity from Proterra’s industry-leading battery technology, the highest standard battery capacity in the industry, with a Proterra electric drivetrain to offer unparalleled energy efficiency and up to 135 miles of drive range to meet the needs of school bus fleets.
About Proterra
About Highland Electric Fleets
Highland Electric Fleets is a provider of turnkey fleet solutions delivering the latest in zero-emission technologies to school districts and fleet managers. Highland teams up with transportation directors and community leaders to cut the cost and complexity of transitioning school buses to electric vehicles with simple and affordable Electric Fleet Subscription Plans. More information is available at www.highlandfleets.com.
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View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211013005688/en/
Chief Executive Officer
media@highlandet.com
Source: Highland Electric Fleets
FAQ
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