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Largest electric bus deal in America approved in Maryland
(Bloomberg) – A school system outside Washington plans to become the country’s largest electric school bus operator. The Montgomery County Board of Education in Maryland unanimously voted Tuesday night to approve a $ 169 million 16-year contract to rent 326 buses. According to Monique Hanis, a spokeswoman for Advanced Energy Economy, Monique says Hanis is part of a plan that could lead to the replacement of the entire 1422 bus fleet over the next two decades. a business association that promotes the use of clean energy. The Biden government has promised to support the adoption of electric vehicles, and carmakers have said they plan to convert their fleet in the coming decades. Earlier Tuesday, the U.S. Postal Service announced a ten-year contract to replace as many as 165,000 vehicles with vehicles that have fuel-efficient engines or are powered by batteries. Montgomery County is working with a contractor who pays to install equipment around the buses at night when power costs are low in exchange for being able to sell unused power from the bus batteries back to the network if it is worth more. Board of Education that the idea of increasing the electrification of the school bus fleet has been under discussion for some time. “There was hope for a while that we might be able to secure a very small number by maybe allocating funds,” she said. “But as time went on, we really wanted to take a more ambitious approach.” Supporters for plug-in cars say they hope the agreement will set an example for school districts and government agencies across the country. Buses Inc., a division of Daimler AG with electric battery technology developed by Proterra Inc. provided in an agreement entered into by Highland Electric Transportation Inc. coordinated, Todd Watkins, the transportation director of Montgomery County Public Schools, said the contract would be the first electric school bus. contract in the country that is not dependent on federal grants. Daimler’s share rose less than 1% to 65.87 euros in Frankfurt. Highland will provide buses, load charging facilities at the country’s bus depots and train drivers. The company will also set up maintenance and manage the loading operation. The province estimates that the cost will match what it would spend on diesel buses and operations. Watkins said the agreement enables the country to avoid high upfront costs and predicts the cost of electric buses will continue to fall as more districts scrap the diesel-powered vehicles that have been standard for generations. “It no longer costs districts to spend on diesel,” Watkins said. ‘We think there will initially be savings on fuel and maintenance. The price of electric buses will fall and the price of diesel buses will rise to the point that it meets. Eventually you will not be able to get a diesel bus. “I have heard at national conferences that it will take over the school bus industry,” he said, adding that school buses fit naturally. for fleet-wide electrification. “We know exactly where they will be staying overnight and we know how far they will go. It’s kind of the perfect vehicle to electrify. ‘Emission factor The district is expected to receive the first 25 buses by the end of the year. The province will receive 61 additional electric buses in the fall of 2022, and approximately 120 electric buses for each of the remaining two years in the additional phase of the contract. Duncan McIntyre, CEO of Highland Electric Transportation, said the plan was a “scalable transition to electrification” that was “almost 100% privately funded.” Genevieve Cullen, president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association, said there was a Urgent need to electrify heavy vehicles such as buses and trucks. She added that such vehicles make up only 5% of the vehicles on U.S. roads, but that they account for 29% of the emissions from transportation. “Clearly, transportation is a makes a major contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, “Cullen said in an interview.” Medium and heavy service contribute greatly. To overcome the problem, you need to get a medium and heavy service. The benefits are greater because of their large issuers. You can also note that because fleets are large purchases, they are market-moving. ”(Updates share Daimler in 10th paragraph. An earlier version has a misspelling of Monique Hanis’s name corrected in the third paragraph.) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com. Sign up now to stay ahead of the most trusted business news source. © 2021 Bloomberg LP