The “green” in Wethersfield school colors, green and white, will soon take on added meaning. The District 230 Board of Education recently approved a commitment to participate in a consortium of 20 north-central Illinois school districts that has received a $15 million federal grant to create their own electric microgrids on the campus of each school district.
The consortium was one of 24 out of 236 applicants from across the nation, and the only one in Illinois, to receive funding in Round 1 of the $500 million Renew America’s Schools Program. It was launched last year as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to promote the implementation of clean energy improvements at K-12 public schools across the country.
A big part of the program involves converting school buses from gas and diesel powered engines to electric which eliminates carbon emissions and saves on the cost of fuel and maintenance. Wethersfield anticipates being approved for between $600,000 and $700,000 for its project with the district’s tentative matching contribution to be around $35,000, with no up front costs. The grant will cover the cost of one electric bus for each district in the consortium.
Solar panels will be placed on the roof of the bus barn and the electricity generated will be used to power buses. The system will include facilities for storage and charging. The stored power will also allow the garage to be used as a shelter in an emergency and provide power if there is an outage.
The 70-passenger school bus will have a range of 135 miles and can be recharged overnight. The bus, itself, will be capable to supplying electricity in the event of a power outage. The microgrids will also allow school districts to share power, if needed.
Supt. Dr. Andrew Brooks said the cost of an electric school bus is estimated at $350,000. A converted gas bus, which the district would most likely buy, would cost between $180,000 and $220,000, compared to the estimated cost of a new gas bus at $120,000 to $150,000. Dr. Brooks said the only cost of the electric bus would potentially be the $35,000 match, equivalent to a one-year payment on a new gas-powered bus, except that one payment buys the whole bus.
Bus manufacturers are gearing up production of electric school buses and estimate a $100,000 savings in fuel costs, maintenance and repairs over the average life of the vehicle. Dr. Brooks estimated it will take about two years to install the solar array, stationary storage, controls and charging station and put Wethersfield’s first electric yellow school bus on the road. Wethersfield has a fleet of seven buses including two equipped for handicapped access.
As they buy new buses, Wethersfield has been transitioning in recent years from diesel to gas-powered buses which are less costly to operate. Will there be a transition from gas to electric buses?
“Once we have one electric bus operating on a route, we will determine if adding additional buses is a viable option,” said Dr. Brooks. “Until the infrastructure is built throughout the state, we are limited on the distance that these buses can travel on full round trip charge.”
The bus barn microgrid is Wethersfield’s second venture into solar energy in the last three years. Kevin Yepsen, of Community State Bank and a major advocate for solar energy in this area, orchestrated a solar power purchase project in 2020 on behalf of 11 school districts, including Wethersfield and Kewanee, that will result in a net savings to the districts of at least $7.9 million over 25 years.
Investors paid for placing solar panels on the roofs of local school buildings with no cost to the district. At the outset, Wethersfield’s savings on their electric bill was estimated to be $400,000.
“Currently, we have a power purchase agreement in place for our electricity from Prime Energy. We pay a discounted rate per kilowatt on the energy produced from the solar panels, that energy comes off of our electric bills, and then we pay the electric bill for any use above and beyond the local production,” said Dr. Brooks.
Solar panels were installed on every roof on campus except the Blish Building and the Moss and high school gymnasiums. The system operates separately from the planned bus barn installation.
