Hanford Elementary Electric School Bus and Charging Infrastructure Project

Hanford Elementary School District (Kings County) submitted an application to receive grant funding under the California Energy Commission (CEC) Solicitation GFO-17-607 to replace five old diesel school buses. Hanford Elementary School District was awarded funding for five vehicle-to-grid ready electric school buses and the supporting electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Hanford Elementary School District purchased five electric school buses, installed five chargers, and installed a 62.7-kilowatt (kW) solar system with a 60kW/130-kilowatt-hour (kWh) battery through the CEC. The buses were placed into service January 12, 2021, and districts were offered workforce training to help support the successful deployment of the new electric fleet. The old, diesel-powered buses were also dismantled and removed from service. This project found that the electric school buses reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 2,443 short tons and that the electric school buses had a lifetime cost savings of $20,295.