Eleven States To Receive Hybrid Electric School Buses

Nineteen hybrid school buses will help shuttle students to and from school in eleven states thanks to Advanced Energy’s Plug-In Hybrid Electric School Bus Project. During the 13th Annual School Transportation News Expo, the nonprofit agency announced that school bus manufacturer IC Corporation won the bid to work on the project. Arkansas, California, Florida, Iowa, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, and Washington will receive the buses.

“This project provides operational benefits to school districts, while also providing the reduced emissions desired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a valuable return on investment to school boards,” said Ewan Pritchard, P.E., Advanced Energy’s hybrid program manager.

Advanced Energy’s Plug-In Hybrid Electric School Bus Project is providing eleven states with nineteen hybrid school buses. Credit: NREL/DOE, School Bus Fleet Magazine

IC Corporation collaborated with Enova Systems on the construction of the hybrid school buses. The vehicles feature Enova’s International® VT365 V8 diesel engine with an 80-kilowatt hybrid-electric powertrain, incorporating a transmission, batteries, and an electric motor. Based on a parallel architecture, the system can efficiently operate on both diesel and electric power. The buses are expected to achieve a 40 percent increase in fuel efficiency.

“With fuel prices near all-time highs, new innovations in hybrid technology are needed to help customers in the school bus industry keep their operating costs lower,” said Michael Cancelliere, IC Corporation’s vice president and general manager. “We’re proud that Advanced Energy recognizes the need to help our nation’s school districts with energy-efficient school buses. In addition, even though current international diesel engines on many existing school buses produce no visible smoke and minimal emissions, the hybrid program will reduce engine emissions even further.”

The distribution of the nineteen hybrid school buses is as follows:

• Little Rock, Arkansas School District (1)
• Napa Valley Unified School District, Napa Valley, California (1)
• Nevada Community Schools, Nevada, Iowa (1)
• Sigourney Community School District, Sigourney, Iowa (1)
• Florida Department of Education (2)
• State of New York (2)
• North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (2)
• Jennings Transportation, Nazareth, Pennsylvania (1)
• South Carolina Department of Education (2)
• Austin Independent School District, Texas (1)
• Killeen Independent School District, Texas (1)
• Fairfax County, Virginia (1)
• Lake Chelan School District, Chelan, Washington (1)
• Durham School Services, Everett, Washington (1)
• City of Seattle, Washington (1)

More information on Advanced Energy’s Plug-In Hybrid Electric School Bus Project can be found at www.hybridschoolbus.org.