Celeste Meiffren-Swango
State Director, Environment Oregon
State Director, Environment Oregon
Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center
Portland– 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. Today, 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 Oregon Research & Policy Center, OSPIRG Foundation 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 Charlie Fisher, State Director with OSPIRG Foundation. “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.”
“Students in every community deserve the health and air quality benefits of electric school buses. With record funding on the way, now is the time to make it happen,” said Sue Gander, director of the Electric School Bus Initiative at WRI. “But the benefits don’t stop there. We are excited about this report, which shows that, with the right policies and investments, electric school buses can play a crucial role in promoting grid reliability and transitioning to renewable energy.”
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 Oregon were replaced with an electric bus equipped with the right vehicle-to-grid technology, this would add over 633 MWh to the state’s capacity to store electricity, enough to power more than 14,768 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. As electric school buses are mostly only in use during short, specific periods, buses could absorb renewable energy when it is available in abundance and release it during periods when it isn’t, such as at night. It could also allow electric school buses to provide additional power during unexpected demand spikes or emergency power during outages. Electrical utilities and system operators could compensate school districts for the grid services their buses provide, allowing school districts to save significant money over time.
“Since the U.S. electricity grid was built, the way we produce, distribute and use energy has changed dramatically,” says James Horrox, lead author of the report. “The shift to renewables brings a whole range of new challenges, and battery storage will be crucial in meeting those challenges. Vehicle-to-grid technologies can be a key part of that, and electric school buses are ideally suited to lead the way.”
The report gives recommendations for lawmakers, utility companies and schools, including:
“Kids need a clean ride to school and a future powered by reliable, renewable energy,” said Celeste Meiffren-Swango, State Director with Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center. “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.”
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OSPIRG Foundation is an independent, non-partisan group that works for consumers and the public interest. Through research, public education and outreach, we serve as counterweights to the influence of powerful special interests that threaten our health, safety or well-being.
Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to protecting our air, water and open spaces. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public and decision-makers, and help the public make their voices heard in local, state and national debates over the quality of our environment and our lives.
Frontier Group is a nonpartisan research and policy development center, providing information and ideas to help build a cleaner, healthier and more democratic America.
OSPIRG Foundation, Environment Oregon Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group are part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.