Energy Storage  -  October 13, 2021

Massachusetts EV School Bus Completes Vehicle-to-Grid Power Supply

An electric school bus in Beverly, Mass., successfully delivered power back into the grid through vehicle-to-grid technology for more than 50 hours over the summer.

This marks one of the first times in the U.S. that such technology has successfully supplied power into the electricity grid from an electric vehicle. The bus discharged nearly 3 MWh of electricity over the course of 30 sessions.

The bus and chargers were provided to Beverly Public Schools by Highland Electric Fleets under a mileage-based subscription, while National Grid prepared the site of energy discharge. The buses were equipped with a 226 kWh battery system from Proterra and Thomas Built and used the discharged power to lower grid demand during peak times over the summer.

To encourage participation in the program, National Grid compensates participants who offer their school buses for energy discharging. The nature of the project also allows school buses to be put into operation during summer months when they would usually be parked or idled.

“Beverly is proud to lead in electrifying our school bus fleet and to be at the forefront nationally, to successfully discharge battery stored electricity back to the grid,” Beverly Mayor Mike Cahill said in a statement. “We look forward to taking full advantage of the economic, environmental and operational benefits that V2G technology offers. We truly appreciate our valuable partners – Highland Electric Fleets, National Grid and Proterra – whose collaboration has made this project a huge success.”

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