The First Electric School Bus Fleet in the US Will Also Power Homes
Battery-powered school buses in Oakland, California, are expected to cut emissions and supply enough electricity to the grid for at least 300 homes.
Zūm electric school buses charging at the Oakland Unified School District depot.
Photo courtesy of Zūm
In an industrial corner of Oakland, wedged between a 10-lane freeway and a freight terminal, sits California’s newest source of renewable energy: a squadron of shiny yellow electric school buses. It’s the first all-electric bus fleet serving a major US school district. Starting in August, the 74 vehicles will also supply 2.1 gigawatt-hours of electricity to the Bay Area power grid, enough energy for 300 to 400 homes.
The buses are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by about 25,000 tons annually in a city where 72% of public school students come from low-income families, who are disproportionately impacted by pollution from Oakland’s busy port, truck traffic and manufacturing facilities. Alameda County, where Oakland is located, has some of the nation’s worst air pollution, according to an American Lung Association report released this month.