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New York City’s new solar-powered school buses will support the grid too

A photo of electric school buses fitted with rooftop solar panels.
First Student's electric school buses fitted with rooftop solar panels. Photo: First Student

New York City’s new solar-powered school buses will double as mini power plants that deliver clean energy into the local grid.

Four electric buses fitted with rooftop solar panels are already operational under a joint venture between power utility Con Edison and student transportation group First Student. Another eight will join the fleet in the months ahead, replacing diesel models, the companies said in a statement.

The buses will soak up energy directly from the sun as well as from the grid, and then inject it back into the electricity network when needed — for instance, during peak demand periods in the evening — using bidirectional chargers.

They’ll be part of a broader “smart energy hub” — or microgrid — that also includes a 500-kilowatt solar installation on the roof of the bus depot and an on-site 2MW battery storage system.

The buses will be charged via above-ground chargers, with no underground cabling or equipment. This approach cuts installation costs by at least 30%, says First Student.

“Harnessing electricity from First Student electric school bus batteries to create an emissions-free smart energy hub that can serve a community during peak demand while turbocharging America’s fight against climate change is truly revolutionary,” says First Student CEO and president John Kenning.

“Beyond providing healthy, clean transportation for kids, electric school buses represent an opportunity to build energy resilience in communities — which is critical in the face of natural and other emergencies,” says Sue Gander, director of the World Resources Institute’s electric school bus initiative.

“By leveraging solar panels and integrated charging technologies, electric school buses can act as giant, mobile batteries, able to store and discharge clean power when not being used for transportation. We’re eager to see this project between First Student and Con Edison bring stronger, more resilient grids — as well as a clean ride for kids — to Brooklyn, New York, and serve as an example for others,” Gander adds.

In summer months, when the buses are idle and energy demand increases, the energy hub can provide backup power to the grid, First Student says. If needed, it can also support emergency services and hospitals.

“We are proving that a scalable, cost-effective microgrid is possible, and doing it using bus batteries that otherwise would be sitting dormant,” says Alex Cook, chief engineer at First Student.

Elsewhere in the US, the Oakland Unified School District has become the first major school district to transition to an all-electric fleet of buses.

Meanwhile, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has allocated enough funds to replace more than 5,000 of the country’s school buses with zero-emission alternatives.

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