Twenty Illinois school districts — including Wethersfield, Stark County and Williamsfield — are expecting to receive money from a $15 million federal grant program to pay for expanding their solar energy systems.
Exactly how much of that money each school will get, though, is still up in the air.
U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Moline) was in Williamsfield Friday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to launch a fleet of six electric school buses, which will be charged from a solar “microgrid” at the school. Among other benefits of the “green” buses, Sorensen said, is an improvement in the quality of the air students and staff breathe.
Wethersfield Supt. Dr. Andy Brooks said his district expects to receive between $750,000 and $800,000 from the grant. The money would pay for solar expansions including installing solar panels on the roof of the bus garage.
However, Sorensen staffer Thomas Falcigno wrote in an email to the Kewanee Voice Monday that the 20 school districts “are still in the process of negotiating the terms of the disbursement with the Department of Energy,” the federal agency that is awarding the grants. “For that reason, we still don’t know how much each individual school district will ultimately receive.”
Falcigno added, “It is also uncertain if all 20 schools will ultimately receive funding and remain in the coalition as funds are disbursed.”
Dr. Brooks said a 72-passenger electric bus could cost more than $300,000, but the savings in diesel fuel for a couple of years would make up that cost. School officials hope to add two more buses in the future; three buses would cover all the district’s daily bus routes.
He said a bus can run about 110 miles on a full battery charge, so one charge should keep each bus going all day, The buses could also take athletic teams to away games as long as they aren’t more than 45 miles or so away, Dr. Brooks said.
Williamsfield School Supt. Tim Farquer said, “These new electric buses clean the air our students and drivers breathe on the way to and from school each day. But that’s just a part of the story.
“By leveraging vehicle-to-everything technology, our school buses flip from being energy consumers to energy assets,” Farquer said. “When construction of our campus microgrid is complete, these buses will provide energy to our building and be able to support the local grid as needed. Last but not least, they will serve as mobile energy assets to support our surrounding communities in the event of an emergency or disaster.”
