Nuvve Corp., a company that specializes in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, and Blue Bird Corp., an independent designer and manufacturer of school buses, say Blue Bird’s Vision Type C and All American Type D electric school buses enabled with Nuvve’s V2G technology are now available.
Both Blue Bird bus types are now equipped with a standard CCS connector capable of V2G charging and discharging of the 155 kWh batteries, which allow up to 120 miles of range on a single charge. With Nuvve’s latest V2G 60 kW DC CCS charging station, the buses can be fully charged in approximately three hours. This charging solution fully complies with new V2G interconnection regulations and meets UL-1741-SA certification requirements specifically mandated for California V2G installations.
“We now have standard products, both from charging station OEMs and electric bus manufacturers, that will allow us to scale and ramp up V2G installations across the nation,” says Gregory Poilasne, chairman and CEO of Nuvve Corp. “Electric school buses that are V2G-enabled have the potential to play a critical role to help stabilize the electric grid. We are proud to partner with Blue Bird to provide a cleaner transportation solution for children and a renewable energy storage solution that will help the environment and our communities.”
The combination of Blue Bird’s electric school buses and Nuvve’s V2G GIVe platform creates a solution for valuable grid services such as frequency regulation and demand response, while also providing “behind-the-meter” savings to the customer.
Nuvve’s solution enables electric buses, which are parked most hours of the day, to store energy while connected. This storage essentially turns electric buses into mobile battery resources that can then be aggregated together to act as virtual power plants (VPPs). At times of extreme grid stress, such as during a heatwave, electric buses can be deployed to provide the grid with additional energy capacity to help prevent brownouts, blackouts or even failure. Nuvve also plans to enable electric buses with emergency back-up power functionality in the future to mitigate the impacts of lost power during wildfires or other natural disasters.
The new joint offer from Nuvve and Blue Bird is available through Blue Bird’s national dealer network who can provide assistance to districts through the entire electric bus implementation process, including financing of the bus chargers, installation support, fleet management services and V2G services.