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    1. e-Mobility

    Florida School District Deploying 13 Blue Bird Electric School Buses and Electrifying 2 Charging Depots

    Dec. 4, 2023
    The new electric buses will replace the district's existing fleet, helping to improve air quality and provide reliable electric transportation to students
    Image Source: Blue Bird
    656dfbf3dc330f001e026254 Blue Bird

    Glades County School District plans to upgrade more than half of the district's fleet to electric by deploying 13 Type C Blue Bird electric school buses provided by the Florida Transportation Systems and electrifying two charging depots. 

    The new electric buses will replace the district's existing fleet, helping to improve air quality and provide reliable electric transportation to students at Moore Haven Elementary, West Glades School, and Moore Haven Middle-High School. 

    The decision to invest in electric buses will also revolutionize the commuting experience for students - currently, only three buses in the district's fleet are equipped with air conditioning, leaving many students to handle extreme Florida weather conditions. The air-conditioned buses will not only minimize the adverse effects of the Florida heat on students but also help them to travel in a more conducive environment.

    An initial group of nearly 1,700 students will have access to the district's 13 new electric school buses.

    Additionally, school bus fleet Electrification-as-a-Service provider, Highland Electric Fleets provides an affordable option to help school districts transition their diesel fleets to electric. Under a multi-year contract, Highland will overlook planning, implementation, management and training necessary for full fleet electrification and offer guaranteed performance.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.