Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

California School District to Install Charging Stations

  • By Matt Jones
  • 02/25/21

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.

School bus

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].

Featured

  • Opportunity by Design Framework

    Opportunity by Design

    Educational improvement efforts often focus on curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, and intervention systems while treating the physical school building as background. But school design is not a passive backdrop to learning — it is a structural lever for equity.

  • ZeroEyes, Academic Innovators Partner to Provide Safety Solutions

    ZeroEyes, which produces a multi-analytics weapons detection and threat intelligence platform, recently announced a partnership with Academic Innovators, according to a news release.

  • Rowan University, HPE Partner on New Learning Initiative

    Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., recently announced that it has expanded its partnership with enterprise technology provider HPE to improve research capabilities and hands-on learning opportunities, according to a news release.

  • Chicago District Completes Construction on New Elementary School

    North Chicago School District 187 in North Chicago, Ill., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Forrestal Elementary School, according to a news release. The new school marks a major investment in military-connected students and families at Naval Station Great Lakes.