With the launch of a new pilot program in collaboration with Nuvve, Chicago area utility ComEd is set to become the latest utility to explore the benefits of bidirectional charging using electric school buses to support the grid.
Electric school buses are ideally suited for pulling “double-duty” as both community transit and mobile battery energy storage systems. While they’re on the move collecting and depositing school kids, they’re actively improving the air quality of the communities they travel through by displacing harmful diesel emissions. While they’re parked – whether that’s for hours during the day or days over the summer – the energy stored in their massive batteries can be fed back to the grid when demand peaks.
When it works, the solution offers a win-win for both the cash-strapped school districts, and the utility. The schools can be paid for the energy they divert back to the grid, and the utility gets power that is cheaper and potentially cleaner than what they could otherwise acquire during an unexpected demand spike.
Nuvve, for their part, is going to do everything they can to make sure it works. “Nuvve’s cutting-edge V2G technology transforms electric vehicles into reliable, dispatchable, and monetizable mobile energy storage assets, and our continued innovation—evidenced by our recent groundbreaking AC V2G project with (ComEd parent company) Exelon—positions us at the forefront of this industry,” says Hamza Lemsaddek, Vice President of Technology and Astrea AI at Nuvve. “This pilot will evaluate the value electric school buses can deliver to ComEd and its customers.”
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The pilot is part of ComEd’s broader Beneficial Electrification program, which includes a number of business and public sector rebates intended to reduce the barriers to EV adoption by lowering the up front costs of both charging infrastructure and commercial electric vehicles. With the launch of this program with Nuvve, ComEd will begin to collect data that will enable it to shape the future of similar programs in regards to V2G and V2B technology.
“ComEd is excited to launch the Vehicle-to-Grid pilot program in 2025 as we continue with our mission of delivering best in class reliability and customer solutions to advance the equitable adoption of EVs here in northern Illinois,” explains Scott Vogt, Vice President of Strategy and Energy Policy for ComEd. “V2G is the next frontier in our work to support local school districts on developing plans that will help lower emissions, upgrade their fleets, and implement the benefits of EVs and their related infrastructure affordably. We look forward to working with Nuvve, Resource Innovations, and various stakeholders in the region to deploy new technologies that will help bring the environmental and economic benefits of electric school buses into more communities.”
Since launching the last year, these programs have helped catalyze the addition of 3,500 EV charging ports across the region, and placed over 200 commercial EVs on Illinois roads, a number that includes dozens of medium- and heavy-duty EVs and – of course! – electric school buses.
The ComEd pilot will involve four electric school buses in three different Illinois school districts, and (if successful) could eventually lead to more widespread deployment of V2G technology throughout the Chicago area.
Electrek’s Take
Voltera charging expert Matt Curwood was good enough to come on Quick Charge a few months ago to talk about some of the different ways school districts can approach the infrastructure challenges posed by a fresh electric vehicle deployment. I’ve shared that episode again, above, and encourage everyone who lives and works near school buses to go visit a school that has electric buses, and smell the difference cutting that ground-level air pollution can make in a child’s day.
Trump’s Interior Department halted construction on 704 megawatt (MW) Revolution Wind, the US’s first multi-state offshore wind project that’s already 80% complete. Grid operator ISO New England says the decision is a threat to the grid.
ISO New England released a statement responding to the stop-work order, warning that “delaying the project will increase risks to reliability.”:
As demand for electricity grows, New England must maintain and add to its energy infrastructure. Unpredictable risks and threats to resources – regardless of technology – that have made significant capital investments, secured necessary permits, and are close to completion will stifle future investments, increase costs to consumers, and undermine the power grid’s reliability and the region’s economy now and in the future.
Revolution Wind, a joint development between Ørsted and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners, is a 65-turbine project capable of powering around 350,000 homes in Rhode Island and Connecticut once it’s complete. It was expected to come online next year. The project has created more than 1,200 jobs.
On August 22, the director of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management sent a vague letter to Ørsted commanding it to halt all activities on the fully permitted Revolution Wind, citing “national security interests,” yet providing no details.
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BOEM’s Record of Decision for Revolution Wind, reported in 2023 in Section 4.6, page 185, states that the national security effects of the project would be “negligible and avoidable.”
This latest move echoes Trump’s cancellation in April of New York’s $5 billion Empire Wind 1 project, which was already under construction off New York’s coast. No viable reasons were given for that stop-work order either, and the cancellation was reversed in May.
Kit Kennedy, managing director for power at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), released the following statement in response to the Revolution Wind order:
The Trump administration’s war on the electricity needed to power the grid continues on all fronts. Halting Revolution Wind is a devastating attack on workers, on electricity customers, and on the investment climate in the US.
New England homeowners will feel this when they tear open their electricity bills and look at the surging costs of keeping the lights on.
This administration has it exactly backwards. It’s trying to prop up clunky, polluting coal plants while doing all it can to halt the fastest growing energy sources of the future – solar and wind power.
It makes no sense to say we have an energy emergency and then make decisions like this. Unfortunately, every American is paying the price for these misguided actions.
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Tesla is teasing a new product release on Friday, August 29th, coming to Europe and the Middle East. It’s likely going to be the Model Y Performance.
On X today, Tesla has teased an upcoming product release coming this friday.
The post is cryptic. It only mentions ‘spoiler alert’ and the date August 29 with what looks like a close up of a vehicle with what appears to be a spoil – hence the “spoiler alert” reference:
There are main suspect is the Model Y Performance due to the spoiler reference.
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Since the Model Y refresh in January, Tesla stopped selling the Model Y Performance. It is due to launch the top performance version under the new design.
When Tesla released the Model 3 refresh in 2024, it took about 4 months for Tesla to launch the new performance version.
Electrek’s Take
The only thing that I find strange with this likely being the Model Y Performance is the fact that they tweeted this from the Europe and Middle East account.
It would be strange for the Model Y Performance to launch there first, but who knows. Maybe Tesla started production at Gigafactory Berlin first.
I don’t think this will have a major impact on Tesla’s business. The Model Y Performance is the least popular version of the best-selling Model Y.
We don’t have the full mix of sales, but I wouldn’t be suprised if it represents less than 10% of Tesla’s Model Y deliveries.
The Model 3 Performance is probably a more popular option within the Model 3 lineup as it is a lot more fun to drive.
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The GV60 Magma will have a distinct look and feel compared to other Genesis vehicles. As the first EV from its new performance sub-brand, the Genesis GV60 Magma will debut with enhanced power, advanced suspension, a sporty new design, and more. For the first time, it was caught on video racing around the Nürburgring, giving us our closest look yet.
Genesis GV60 Magma EV flexes new style at Nürburgring
Magma is “the brand’s expansion into the realm of high-performance vehicles,” Genesis boasted. Among the first vehicles to earn a Magma upgrade is the GV60.
Genesis fine-tuned the electric crossover SUV, giving it a wider and lower stance for improved control. The larger lower air intake contributes to the aggressive new look, while also serving to cool the batteries and motor, both of which have been upgraded for enhanced performance.
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Earlier this year, we got a good look at the GV60 Magma during winter testing in Europe. Although you could see a few new design features, it was mostly covered in camo.
Genesis GV60 Magma testing with other Magma vehicles (Source: Genesis)
After it was recently spotted with less camo at the Nürburgring race track in Germany, we are getting an even better idea of what to expect when it arrives.
The video from CarSpyMedia shows the Genesis GV60 Magma EV with a production body and minimal camouflage.
You can see the high-performance vehicle flexing its power and handling as it rips around the track. Like other Hyundai Motor performance EVs, including the new IONIQ 6 N, you can expect the Genesis GV60 Magma to deliver over 600 horsepower, if not closer to 700.
The current Genesis GV60 Performance delivers up to 429 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque, good for a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.7 seconds.
Horsepower
0 to 60 mph (seconds)
Starting Price
Genesis GV60 Performance
429
3.7
$69,900
Genesis GV60 Magma
?
?
?
Porsche Taycan
402
4.5
$99,400
Porsche Taycan Turbo GT (with Weissach Package)
1,092
2.1
$230,000
Tesla Model S Plaid
1,020
1.99
$89,990
Genesis GV60 Magma vs Porsche Taycan vs Tesla Model S Plaid
Genesis will launch the GV60 Magma EV later this year in Korea, followed by the US, Europe, and other global markets. We will learn prices and final specs closer to launch, but given the Performance models start at $69,900, you can expect a higher starting price tag, likely closer to $75,000.
At that it would be significantly less than the Porsche Taycan Turbo and Tesla Model S Plaid. Will it match the performance?
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