The nation’s largest electric school bus fleet providing grid demand response solutions
Maryland’s Montgomery School District has the most prominent electric school bus fleet in the US and is now unlocking the true potential behind these clean EV machines. Leading electric school bus provider Highland Electric Fleets is partnering with CPower to use the nation’s largest zero-emission bus fleet to help stabilize electricity demand, provide grid reliability, and lower energy costs.
Last week, Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) hit a significant milestone by becoming the single largest electric school bus fleet in the US.
Last school year (2021 to 2022), MCPS received its first delivery of 25 EV school buses while installing the supporting infrastructure at one of its transportation depots. This school year (2022 to 2023), the school district deployed another 61, with the electric infrastructure installed at three additional transportation depots.
According to the school district, on a typical school day, MCPS diesel buses use around 17,000 gallons of diesel fuel, which emits polluting diesel exhaust that’s harmful to bus riders and the communities they serve.
For this reason, MCPS is partnering with Highland to replace its 325 school buses with zero-emission electric buses. The fleet upgrade is part of the school district’s target to reduce GHG emissions by 80% by 2027 and 100% by 2035.
The school district notes the partnership will:
Deliver cleaner, healthier transportation for students and local communities and support electric grid reliability with vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services and the nation’s first use of electric school buses to provide synchronized energy reserves.
To support its mission, Highland is collaborating with CPower Energy to use the school district’s electric bus fleet to unlock demand response solutions designed to reduce emissions by limiting energy loads during peak grid demand.
Electric school buses provide stable grid demand
Highland and CPower will work together to enable “demand response solutions” using MCPS’s electric school buses to provide grid stability during peak demand periods.
Since the EV school buses run on a schedule, they make the ideal candidate to use as a backup energy source when electricity demand is the highest. CEO of CPower, John Horton, explains:
Our partnerships with EV fleet owners, charging operators, and local school districts across the country demonstrate that participation in grid services programs can substantially lower electrification costs, while supporting a local community’s resiliency and greening the grid.
CPower says it will manage the flow of electricity to the electric school buses, reducing demand on the grid when needed. The collaboration will help increase reliability for the largest grid operator in the US, PJM.
Although PJM recently added EV charging assets to participate in its capacity and ancillary services, it has not yet included bidirectional charging services (for some reason). CPower states allowing bidirectional charging to its market rules would:
Optimize environmental benefits by allowing the EVSB batteries to export additional clean energy capacity to the grid.
The company is hopeful with new distributed energy policies, such as FERC Order 2022, they will be able to use this technology to “unleash even greater value from these assets in the future.”
Electrek’s Take
The Montgomery County Public School District is setting an example of what electric school buses can accomplish. Not only will they prevent diesel exhaust pollution from harming our children and communities, but they can also provide grid stability during peak demand hours.
Adding bidirectional charging makes sense, as electric school buses sit unused for prolonged periods during the day.
Sadly, the majority of school buses in the US are still powered by diesel, which is completely unacceptable. With the benefits continuing to stack up and new incentives and policies to drive electric school bus adoption, there are no excuses anymore.
School districts are saving money, protecting the children and communities they serve, and providing practical solutions to enhance grid reliability when demand is the highest.
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The BYD “Shenzhen” set sail on its first voyage overseas this week. With 9,200 parking spots, or about enough to fill 20 football fields, BYD’s new car transport ship is now the world’s largest.
BYD’s largest car carrier sets sail for Brazil
BYD’s Shenzhen is on its maiden voyage to Brazil after setting sail on April 27. The vessel is carrying over 7,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It’s the largest single batch of NEVs exported from China so far.
The new vessel is BYD’s fourth car transport ship and the world’s largest, capable of carrying 9,000 vehicles. According to the company, that’s enough to fill about 20 football fields.
BYD launched its first car carrier, the Explorer No 1, in January 2024. It has already completed several trips to Germany, Spain, and Brazil.
Its second, the BYD Changzhou, set sail in December 2024, followed by the Hefei earlier this year. All three vessels can carry up to 7,000 vehicles, making the Shenzhen the largest so far.
The Shenzhen is named after the automaker’s hometown and demonstrates “BYD’s firm determination to promote sustainable development in Brazil.”
BYD is preparing to launch two more vessels, the Changsha and Xi’an. The Changsha is expected to launch soon, while the Xi’an was introduced on April 2.
The new car carriers will help accelerate BYD’s aggressive overseas expansion. In the first three months of 2025, the company sold over 206,000 NEVs overseas, more than double the number it sold last year.
BYD sells a wide range of vehicles in Brazil, including the low-cost Dolphin Mini, starting at around $20,000 (99,800 BRL). In October, it launched its first hybrid pickup truck, the Shark, starting at 379,800 BTL ($66,900).
Brazil is only one overseas market that BYD is targeting. BYD’s sales are expected to double in Europe in 2025, with significant growth in other key regions like Southeast Asia, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, to name a few.
Source: BYD
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‘Tesla homes’ in a Houston neighborhood where all the homes have Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls went for sale.
7 out of the 11 homes have reportedly already sold.
Tesla neighborhood is a term that is being used for new developments where all the homes integrate all or part of Tesla’s power ecosystem, including the Powerwall home battery pack.
The best example is a giant new development project in Austin, Texas, by Brookfield Asset Management and Dacra in which up to 12,000 new homes are to be built and offering Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls.
However, since the announcement, it looks like only some of the homes in the new neighborhood have Tesla energy systems.
In 2022, Tesla also announced a similar project in Las Vegas.
A year later, the company claimed to have deployed “over 600 solar neighborhoods” worldwide, with a total capacity exceeding 100 MW.
One such ‘Tesla neighborhood’ is a small block of 11 townhouse homes featuring Tesla solar roofs and Powerwalls in Houston, Texas.
The homes were recently completed and went on sale, starting at $544,900.
Here are some pictures from the listings:
Utopia Homes, the developer behind the project, described the properties (via Chron):
Step into modern elegance expertly crafted by Utopia Homes. This property showcases groundbreaking Tesla Solar Roof Shingles and Power Wall technology, ensuring 100% energy security and eliminating electric bills for a truly sustainable lifestyle.
The house has proved popular according to the real estate agents, with 7 out of 11 homes already sold.
As we recently reported, Tesla’s solar roofs have proven to be a more expensive and niche product than the company previously presented.
Tesla has largely stopped discussing it, but it is still being deployed through some third-party installers, such as in this case, on new homes.
However, its Powerwall product remains a very popular solution for homeowners seeking greater energy independence and protection against outages, which have been a frequent problem in Texas.
More homeowners are turning to generators, and alternatives like home battery packs are gaining popularity.
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Canadian electric propulsion specialist Vision Marine continues to graduate beyond advanced outboard motors into a provider of all-electric boats. This month, Vision introduced two new electric pontoon boats – the 12-passenger V24 and 15-passenger V30, each capable of a range up to 90 nautical miles.
Vision Marine Technologies ($VMAR) is a Canadian technology company with over 25 years of experience in the marine industry. The company made waves (literally) by introducing its E-Motion turnkey powertrain system, which it has since integrated into a catamaran speedboat, which set a speed record of 109 mph in 2022.
Since then, Vision has introduced six hp two-cruiser vessels – the Fantail 217 and Volt 180, each capable of transporting 10 passengers via its E-Motion technology. Most recently, Vision Marine has integrated the full power of its 180 hp electric powertrain technology into two additional vessels, both electric pontoon boats.
Earlier this month, the company officially began sales of the Vision V24 and V30, which you can view below.
Vision Marine brings power and range to electric pontoons
According to Vision Marine Technologies, orders for its two new electric pontoon boats are now open, and they are touting the same E-Motion technology that put the company on the map a few years ago.
The first model is the V24, a 12-passenger electric pontoon that is 24′ 8″ in length and has 180 hp. The ultra-quiet E-Motion powertrain is powered by a standard 43 kWh marine battery pack, offering 40 nautical miles (46 miles) of all-electric range on a single charge. For added range, Vision sells a version of the electric pontoon with a second battery pack, totaling 86 kWh and delivering up to 90 nautical miles (104 miles) of range.
While the V24 offers more of a classic attempt at the pontoon boat, Vision’s additional new vessel, the all-electric V30, is a tad sportier and provides room for more passengers aboard (15). This 30′ vessel features the same E-Motion powertrain options, complete with the same two battery configurations to offer the same ranges as the V24.
However, the V30 has additional features such as 4 x 6.5″ interior speakers and cool-touch seats. Both models feature an integrated onboard charger that supports both 120- 240V (30 to 50 amps) for seamless charging, no matter the dock plug while moored.
The Vision V24 starts at $99,995 for the standard battery pack version, while the V30 starts at a higher price of $139,995. As previously mentioned, both electric pontoon boats are available to order today.
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