Dominion Energy’s Electric School Bus (ESB) Program, in collaboration with Thomas Built Buses (TBB), and Sonny Merryman, a Virginia bus dealer, exceeded 1.5 million electric miles driven in the state of Virginia. Launched in September 2019, the fleet of more than 135 electric school buses currently operates across 25 districts in Virginia.

“At Dominion Energy, we’re not only reducing our carbon emissions, we’re also helping our customers reduce theirs,” Adam Birdsong, manager of customer energy solutions at Dominion Energy, said. “Our program has helped school districts overcome technical and financial hurdles of electric school bus adoption while improving air quality, protecting the health of our children and hardening the grid.”

Dominion Energy said its program elevated Virginia to fifth in the nation for the number of electric school buses committed. Sonny Merryman aims to have 224 total Jouley units delivered by the end of the 2023/24 school year.

The environmental impact of this initiative is substantial, Dominion Energy said. Dominion-supported electric school buses have prevented a total of 1,632 short tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; 2,520 pounds of carbon monoxide (CO); and 4,342 pounds of nitrogen oxide (NOx), according to the AFLEET tool by the Department of Energy and Argonne National Lab.

“We’re proud of the success that Dominion Energy’s Electric School Bus Program has achieved in Virginia as they spearhead utility-led conversion in America,” Mark Childers, powertrain and technology sales manager at Thomas Built Buses, said. “This milestone showcases the impact of collaboration in our industry, and we are looking forward to continued success in advancing sustainable and efficient transportation for school districts across the state.”

Dominion Energy’s vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, which allows electric school bus batteries to act as mobile energy sources when demands are high to help stabilize the grid, is expected to soft launch in summer 2024. Dominion Energy said it has also supported several school districts in their applications for the 2023 EPA Clean School Bus Program and plans to continue this support in the coming year.