Nuvve deploys 16 electric school bus charging stations in California

Nuvve announced that it has deployed 16 of its PowerPort charging stations for Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) in the San Francisco Bay area.

Nuvve Holding Corp., a technology company focused on the electrification of transportation through a proprietary vehicle-to-grid (V2G) platform, said it has deployed 16 Nuvve PowerPort charging stations for Mt. Diablo Unified School District (MDUSD) in the San Francisco Bay area of California. The charging infrastructure are expected to help MDUSD operate new electric buses recently acquired through a Carl Moyer Program grant aimed at reducing emissions from heavy-duty vehicles.

MDUSD serves 29,000 students across more than 50 school sites and was relying on old, aging diesel buses that were costing the district significant dollars to keep on the road. By working with California-based Blue Bird Corp. dealer, A-Z Bus Sales, the district was awarded $3.4 million to update its fleet to electric.

“We wanted to take advantage of the funding available for the sake of our students. We now know diesel buses cause issues both inside and outside the bus, especially for students with asthma or other respiratory problems,” said Mt. Diablo Transportation Coordinator, Cristian Lepe. “The grant came at just the right time to update our fleet with new, cleaner technology and helped us save money we would have spent maintaining the existing buses.”

Lepe has worked to electrify MDUSD’s fleet since 2017. “Electric is where schools need to go, even if there is fear of the unknown,” Lepe said. “I’ve started to build a community with other school districts where we can learn from each other and rely on experts like Nuvve. We all have to do our part to reduce CO2 emissions and achieve a better carbon footprint. It’s the right thing to do for our students and our community.”

Nuvve provided 16 Level 2 AC charging stations outfitted with its intelligent software to help manage the fleet’s charging needs. Instead of opting for a “dumb charger” that simply pulls energy from the grid to the vehicle and would cost more to operate, MDUSD said it chose Nuvve for its low cost, flexibility, and fleet management options. Nuvve’s Level 2 AC solution charges bus fleets at off-peak times when utility rates are low and allows fleet managers to view vehicle charging and generate monthly reports. These features give fleet managers visibility into how to maximize charging efficiency and cost savings.

“Mt. Diablo’s strategy of using grant funding along with Nuvve’s charging solution to help lower their total cost of operation is a smart one to electrify as many buses as possible in the near term,” said Gregory Poilasne, chairman and CEO of Nuvve, based in San Diego, Calif. “Nuvve is working with the entire electrification ecosystem, including OEMs, to accelerate the adoption of cleaner rides for kids across North America.”

The site was designed and constructed by Veteran Power Infrastructure (VPI), a leading provider of engineering, procurement, and construction services across the west coast. VPI worked with RC Electric to complete the installation, pushing the project ahead of schedule to provide MDUSD ample time to ready their fleet for the start of the new school year.

“It was a pleasure to collaborate with Nuvve, MDUSD, and our utility partners to support the transition to greener bus fleets,” said Jason Yohn, VPI project manager. “It’s a win for everyone involved, especially for students and the greater community.”

Nuvve recently announced the official launch of its joint venture with Stonepeak Partners, Levo Mobility which will provide fully financed options with no upfront costs for school districts to electrify their fleets. Levo will provide electric buses, a V2G charging solution powered by Nuvve, and charging infrastructure maintenance in a leasing model so schools can electrify their fleets immediately to achieve cost savings instead of having to wait for grants or other funding.

Since its founding in 2010, Nuvve said it has launched V2G projects on five continents and is deploying commercial services worldwide by developing partnerships with utilities, automakers, and electric vehicle fleets.