Central Valley company Storer Transportation was selected to receive a $3 million state grant from the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) Electric School Bus Bi-Directional Infrastructure funding. The highly selective grant award means Storer will help Stanislaus County school districts transition from diesel-powered to electric school buses.
Storer is the first school bus contractor in California to receive grant funds that support the ability to enable managed charging and bi-directional power flow for electric school buses and their associated infrastructure at this scale. The project also represents one of the largest deployments of vehicle to grid capabilities with school buses in the country.
Funds will support the initial installation of 37 bi-directional chargers, enabling electric school buses to serve as a valued source of backup power to help keep the lights on during future emergencies. Storer conducted a feasibility study that showed existing facilities could be expanded to accommodate well over 150 electric school buses.
Storer provides resources in every aspect of passenger transportation operations and services within Stanislaus County and at other locations throughout the state. In Stanislaus County, this includes two full-service school bus facilities with a total size of approximately 22 acres, one on the eastside of Modesto and the other on the westside. These properties are centrally located within the county and prime locations for positioning vehicles closer to where their route originates, which is a perfect solution enabled by the use of electric vehicles and bi-directional charging.
As part of the grant, Storer will help the state develop a blueprint to help other school bus fleets transition to electric buses while harnessing their stored energy to support essential services during natural disasters that can cause power outages, such as wildfires, earthquakes, or heat waves.
“This project reflects our unwavering commitment to serving our community’s transportation needs for the past 72 years,” said Donald Storer, President & CEO of Storer. “We will move with the times and do our part to help find solutions, like we always have. It’s an honor to have Storer’s history of innovation and service recognized by the state; our selection for this award underscores the need to have the necessary infrastructure to speed the transition to zero-emission school buses.”
Over the next three years, Storer expects this project will reduce its carbon emissions by more than 70,000 tons. The 37 bi-directional chargers will provide the capability for electric buses to supply 4.4 MWh of backup power during future emergencies. The transportation sector contributes about half of California’s greenhouse gas emissions contributing to climate change, 80 percent of nitrogen oxide pollution, and 90 percent of diesel particulate matter pollution. A study found one in eight California children rely on school bus transportation, which accounts for 33% of their daily exposure to some air pollutants.
The elimination of diesel emissions from school buses benefits the health of students, drivers, and residents, particularly those with respiratory conditions. This will be especially helpful in the Central Valley, an area where emissions get trapped by an inversion layer of warm air. Across California, nearly three percent of school buses are powered by electricity. A new state law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom last year requires all newly purchased or contracted school buses to be zero-emission, starting in 2035, and the state plans to provide $1.5 billion over the next three years to help school districts with new bus costs.
“Storer is committed to working as a partner with school districts, agencies, and community partners to strengthen our combined leadership in transportation innovations, new uses of technology and data analytics to provide passenger transportation solutions that exceed expectations,” added Storer.
Storer was founded in 1952 out of need for transportation services for the newly developed Special Education programs being established for children throughout Stanislaus County.
