By Jordan Honeycutt
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RALEIGH, North Carolina (WLOS) — Electric school buses could be used in the future in North Carolina for energy purposes.
National school districts will soon be able to switch to electric school buses with billions of dollars from the federal government as soon as next month.
Krista Early, Advocate for Environment North Carolina Research and Policy Center, stated that getting to school shouldn’t involve a daily dose toxic pollution. All-electric buses will ensure that our children have a safe and healthy ride to school by ensuring that they are all electric. This is not the only benefit of all-electric buses. It also gives us the opportunity to make substantial improvements to our electric grid, which will provide significant benefits for communities.
A report released Tuesday by the Environment North Carolina Research and Policy Center said that the new transportation could add over 1,693 MWh to the state’s electricity capacity, enough for 34,727 average homes per day.
James Horrox is the lead author of the report. He said that since the construction of the U.S. electric grid, our way of producing, distributing and using energy has changed drastically. The shift to renewable energy brings new challenges. Battery storage will be critical in meeting those challenges. Vehicle-to-grid technologies could be a key component of that transition, and electric school buses are well-suited to lead that effort.
According to the report:
Lawmakers should fund electric school buses, vehicle to-grid and energy storage pilot programmes, and support research to standardize technology, regulations, and practices for the use of electric vehicles to store, return, and return energy to, the grid. Prioritize funding for communities that are underserved. Utility companies and regulators need to form partnerships with school districts, public officials, and help finance electric buses. They also need to restructure electricity rates to accommodate electric vehicles.
Schools should agree to a timeline for the transition to electric buses and invest as much as possible in a large fleet as soon as possible. They should also establish strong collaborative partnerships with utilities as early as possible.
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