The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) is using $6 million to install an electric vehicle (EV) charging microgrid to power more than 100 buses.
The solar and storage microgrid paired with the EV chargers will support the LADoT's adoption of electric buses as it transitions to a fully electric fleet by 2028. It will be located at the department’s Washington Bus Yard.
The project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower the LADoT’s electricity costs, and provide emergency back-up power that will enable the agency to continue to operate in an outage.
The LADoT is to deploy 1.5 megawatts of rooftop and bus solar canopy paired with a 4.5MWh energy storage system provided by Apparent to help power five Proterra 1.5-megawatt fleet chargers with 104 remote EV charging dispensers. The microgrid will utilise Apparent’s intelligent grid operating system platform to integrate Proterra Energy’s charging infrastructure with energy generation to coordinate how and when the electric buses are charged with energy generated from solar, or drawn from storage or the utility.
Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti says: “Los Angeles is on track to achieve a zero-emission future and our investments in clean transportation systems are driving that progress. The more electric vehicles we put on our streets today, the more we can lower emissions to ensure a healthier, more sustainable tomorrow.”
LADoT general manager Seleta Reynolds says: “Meeting our climate and sustainability goals requires persistent investment and urgent action. This grant provides an essential support facility as we move closer to our goal of a fully electric fleet.”
The California Energy Commission provided the funding for the charging system.
Earlier this year, Proterra delivered its 25th battery-electric ZX5 transit bus to support the LADoT's transition to a fully electric fleet. The department currently operates 29 EV buses in its fleet, with 30 additional zero-emission buses expected to be in operation by Summer 2022.
