Transportation
How School Districts Can Use Unprecedented Federal Funding to Transition to Electric Buses
Amid economic concerns like rising gas prices
and inflation impacting American communities and resources,
the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is bringing a bright
spot to school districts across the country. The agency recently
announced a new $5 billion fund, available immediately, to
purchase clean school bus fleets
and lessen reliance on diesel fuel.
The fund is part of the EPA’s 2022
Clean School Bus Program, funded
by the Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law, to replace existing school
buses with zero-emission and low-emission
models. By tapping into
this funding, districts can replace
old buses, reduce maintenance costs,
improve air quality and commit to
sustainability goals.
Yet, developing a fleet of EV
school buses comes with unique
challenges that require a larger,
more strategic plan around energy
management and sustainable upgrades. Modesto City Schools
worked with energy and sustainability partner Schneider Electric
to design a comprehensive approach to undertake the necessary
improvements to implement a cleaner bus fleet.
Before the first students hop aboard their new electric ride
spaces4learning TRANSPORTATION
to school, districts must prepare their electrical infrastructure
for the increased load, choose and position a mix of charging
stations, and plan routes that optimize the buses’ driving
ranges. Districts must also consider how to power the clean
vehicles. For example, by incorporating onsite renewable energy,
such as solar, and combining it with battery storage, schools can
minimize utility costs and keep the fleet’s footprint low carbon
from start to finish.
To capitalize on the unprecedented federal funding to go
electric, Modesto City Schools has made the nation's single
largest Blue Bird electric school bus order to date. And in
tandem with this historic fleet transition, the district has
embarked on a much larger energy and sustainability plan.
Consider Bus Fleets as Part of
a Larger Energy Management and
Sustainability Plan
Modesto City Schools is the 25th-largest district in California,
serving approximately 30,000 students across 34 schools. With
an overarching strategic plan to reduce environmental pollutants
for the community, shift from a reliance on diesel fuel
and conserve energy, the district chose a switch to clean school
buses as an impactful first project to address its sustainability
objectives.
As part of a comprehensive infrastructure project, the district
purchased 30 new electric buses. But the buses alone were only
a single step in the process. The supporting infrastructure—including the components and software to generate, store and
balance electricity in the charging infrastructure—and other
energy-saving, sustainable campus features were scoped into the
modernization project. Overall, the project will install about
800 kWp of solar canopies, the charging infrastructure, and 30
EV charging stations, as well as help bring enhanced STEAM
learning programs to the district, including six state-of-the-art
Sustainable Outdoor Learning
Environments (SOLEs).
This won’t all happen in one fell
swoop. Instead, it takes a multi-phased
approach that factors in
securing leadership buy-in and
ensures continuity within the school
district while updates are being
made. For Modesto City Schools,
this means that the first install will
be the charging infrastructure and
solar canopies at the bus yard by
the end of summer. Following that,
construction of the six SOLEs will
occur on campuses during the school
year, and solar carports will be added
to Davis High School next summer. The entire project will
be completed at an accelerated pace to optimize long-term
environmental and financial benefits.
This ambitious project is set to improve the health,
environment and learning experience of students, staff and community. The overall project will save 1,898,642 kWh in
energy consumption and remove 402 tons of carbon emissions
from the environment. The impact is the equivalent of
removing 86 cars from the road or planting 16,080 trees. The
bus fleet alone will save $250,000+ in fuel costs and overall
maintenance, creating room in the budget for more enriching
student activities. Each bus can run up to 120 miles on a single
charge.
Modesto’s students will be among the first in the nation to
be transported to school using clean energy vehicles, and these
sustainable upgrades will serve the students of this community
for years to come.
Innovative Funding Will Expand
the Possibilities for Energy
Infrastructure Modernization
School sustainability projects should utilize all available innovative
funding resources, such as the new fund announced by the
EPA. Modesto City Schools utilized California’s Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP)
to finance a portion of the overall cost of the bus purchase. In
addition to HVIP, the district is financing its larger sustainability
program by leveraging energy and operational savings
from the project via an Energy Savings Performance Contracting
(ESPC), as well as federal stimulus funds and local grants.
This comprehensive approach to facility improvements and
fleet electrification will allow Modesto City Schools to double
down on stimulus-funded upgrades. Other school districts can
also follow this model to make improvements beyond the Clean
School Bus stimulus scope, reducing energy and operational
costs district-wide by 20–30% and reinvesting those savings to
improve the entire student experience in school facilities.
This is just the first step for Modesto City Schools on their
sustainability journey. Now is the time for all of America’s
schools to consider moving toward electric vehicles and making
commitments that will improve our environment for students
and the community.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2022 issue of Spaces4Learning.
About the Author
Gilbert Rosas is Director II, Sustainability & Adaptation, at Modesto City Schools. He serves on the World Resource Institute’s Electric School Bus Advisory Council. His passions are seeking environmental justice for disadvantaged communities through electric school bus transition and by empowering students through Sustainability Initiatives and demonstrating Green Career choices. Rosas has gained national attention with two of the fastest Electric School Bus deployments in California’s history, at Stockton Unified School District and Modesto City Schools.