California School District to Install Charging Stations
The Porterville Unified School District (PUSD), located in Tulare County, California, recently placed an order for six new electric school buses. During its Board of Education meeting on Jan. 28, the district also approved plans to install six new electric charging stations.
Set to be ready by August, the ABB Terra 54 fast charging stations will be placed at a bus yard near Porterville High School. The product’s website boasts that the average charging time for a vehicle runs between 15 and 30 minutes. The district is partnering with Southern California Edison (SCE) for the installation process.
PUSD officials have expressed that their longer-term goal is to transition the entire school bus fleet to electric models. Plans are already in the works to order four more electric buses during the next decade. The move is part of a larger PUSD initiative to reduce its power costs and utility bills by taking advantage of renewable energy sources and solar panels.
According to PUSD public information officer Jason Pommier, “That’s definitely one of the things we want to do, similar to the city, reducing the carbon footprint and moving away from some of the diesel buses. We’re always looking at ways where we can reduce costs, save money and utilize it for the students.
About the Author
Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].