San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has partnered with the Cajon Valley Union School District and Nuuve, a California-based technology company, on a five-year pilot project to deploy electric school buses that are able to put electricity back on the grid when needed. This project is the first vehicle-to-grid (V2G) project to become operational in Southern California, and the first V2G project to come online as a part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s vehicle-to-everything initiative announced earlier this year.

“This pilot project is a great example of our region being at the forefront of testing and adopting innovative technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen the electric grid,” SDG&E Vice President of Energy Innovation Miguel Romero said. “Electric fleets represent a vast untapped energy storage resource and hold immense potential to benefit our customers and community not just environmentally, but also financially and economically.”

As part of the project, SDG&E installed six 60-kilowatt bi-directional DC fast chargers at Cajon Valley’s bus yard in El Cajon. The buses will charge up while parked during the day when energy–particularly from solar–is abundant. The buses’ batteries will then discharge clean electricity back to the grid during peak hours or other periods of high demand.

“We jumped at the opportunity to be part of this pilot project because of its potential to help us build a healthier community and better serve our students,” said Assistant Superintendent Scott Buxbaum. “If we are able to reduce our energy and vehicle maintenance costs as a result of this project, it frees up more resources for our schools and students.”

In addition to Cajon Valley, SDG&E also is working with San Diego Unified and Ramona Unified School Districts on V2G projects. The Cajon Valley pilot project is a part of SDG&E’s Power Your Drive for Fleets program, a portfolio of clean transportation and fleet electrification initiatives. Read more about the project here and about Power Your Drive for Fleets program at sdge.com/fleets.

Tags : Clean Energy, All