Student transport company First Student and utility Con Edison have launched a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) hub with 12 solar-roofed electric school buses in Brooklyn.

The Smart Energy Hub is a demonstration project that will see the dozen electric school buses replace diesel buses at First Student’s location on Malta Street. The panels, along with solar arrays on the rooftop of the facility, will create a clean energy generation, battery storage, and power delivery system.

First Student is using its trenchless First Charge power deployment, which it says reduces construction costs by at least 30%, is more efficient to roll out because no digging is required, and makes it easier to upgrade the charging system in the future.

The hub is V2X, which goes a step further than vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. V2X goes beyond simply plugging electric school bus batteries back into the grid – it includes the capacity to direct electricity delivery where it’s needed. In summer months when the buses are idle and energy needs soar, the Smart Energy Hub can increase capacity, generating additional power for Con Edison. If needed, the Smart Energy Hub is also capable of supporting emergency services and hospitals, including HVAC, power, and lighting.

Check out the video below to see how the Smart Energy Hub demonstration project in Brooklyn works:

Sue Gander, director of World Resources Institute’s Electric School Bus Initiative, said about the project:

Beyond providing healthy, clean transportation for kids, electric school buses represent an opportunity to build energy resilience in communities – which is critical in the face of natural and other emergencies.

By leveraging solar panels and integrated charging technologies, electric school buses can act as giant, mobile batteries, able to store and discharge clean power when not being used for transportation.

We’re eager to see this project between First Student and Con Edison bring stronger, more resilient grids – as well as a clean ride for kids – to Brooklyn and serve as an example for others.

First Student has made a commitment to transition 30,000 fossil-fuel school buses to electric by 2035.

Read more: Blue Bird just delivered its 2,000th electric school bus

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